The Dutch Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), an agrarian party created as a result of widespread protests against ‘green’ legislation, will govern together with the Green Party in the province of Zuid-Holland. Both have signed a coalition agreement, along with three other centrist parties.
The broad coalition of five parties will feature two that appear to be diametrically opposed.
The BBB was the major winner in the last national elections in the Netherlands, making its presence felt in every province. Almost overnight it became the biggest political formation in the country, while previously it was more or less disregarded as merely a one-woman party. The movement succeeded in joining the local government in several provinces but those coalitions were all centre-Right.
Now, in Zuid-Holland, the BBB has joined hands with the Green Party, which sits much further to the Left.
The main points concerning the BBB in that region are that any expropriation regarding nitrogen-compound fertiliser will not go ahead, there will be an investigation into the possibility of constructing a small nuclear power plant and new housing will be built in urban areas. Alongside that, it wants investment to be provided for innovation in farming, increased public participation in such issues and the implementation of less restrictive environmental laws.
Another of the coalition members, the green GroenLinks party, meanwhile, emphasises the creation of more new natural habitats, help for farmers to become more sustainable, an acceleration of the green energy transition, a focus on the local housing crisis and investment in sustainable energy and public transportation.
The deal with the BBB marks the first time the Green Party has had to go so far out of its comfort zone. Not all local politicians are happy. The coalition agreement also includes a provision to build in two non-urban areas, a very sensitive issue given that the Greens left a former municipal coalition precisely because of those building plans. Now, the province will allow the construction of houses in such areas.
Some other controversial policies are also proving difficult to digest. The agreement states there won’t be any forced buy-out of farmers and their farms, although the Green chairman in the province, Sinan Özkaya, told the press it was not entirely ruled out.
If it is deemed that nitrogen fertiliser reduction is not proceeding fast enough, “then we will indeed have to see if we could start such a procedure”, he said.
However, the BBB has had to compromise as well and in one case conceded that a farmer had to leave his farm to enable the creation of new natural habitats, a move that came as the result of previous arrangements with central government.
According to Özkaya, the negotiations with BBB were successful because all parties made efforts to appreciate each other’s positions. “Instead of only thinking from your own point of view. It is also important to understand the other person,” he said.
“If you put people first, even when it comes to farmers, there are few differences that cannot be bridged,” he added.
Trots op @BBBZuidHolland ! 💪🏻 Samen met VVD, CDA, PvdA en GroenLinks gaan zij zich o.a. voor deze punten inzetten. Wil je het gehele coalitieakkoord lezen? Klik dan op de link in bio! https://t.co/2rJcow3WOi pic.twitter.com/oLD77UwFlk
— BBB BoerBurgerBeweging 🍀🍀🍀 (@BoerBurgerB) June 27, 2023
