A young party promising to give voice to the revolt of farmers challenges the Dutch government and its plans for the environment on Wednesday, in crucial local elections used to appoint representatives to the Senate.
The Citizen Farmer Movement (BBB) is riding a wave of protests from the agricultural sector against government plans to cut nitrogen emissions, including a reduction in herds.
Farmers are even reaping support from populists across borders, including former US President Donald Trump.
According to polls, the BBB, which was only founded in 2019 and has only one MP, could be one of the big winners of these elections at the expense of the ruling coalition of Mark Rutte, the party of the centre-right VVD, in office since 2010.
A good performance by the BBB would mean that it could join forces with other parties in the Senate to oppose, in particular, any reduction in livestock or possible expropriation of farmers.
The latter say they are unfairly targeted by the government, compared to other sectors such as industry and transport.
"We don't really feel heard, sometimes we don't even feel welcome in our own country anymore," BBB national chairman and pig farmer Erik Stegink told AFP last week.
The first results are expected after the closing of the polls at 9:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT).
To make themselves heard, farmers blocked highways with tractors and manure, and protested outside the homes of politicians.
In the Netherlands, the world's second largest exporter of food products behind the United States, farmers are supported by part of the population. Upside-down Dutch flags, symbols of their rebellion, have flourished across the small country of nearly 18 million people.
They were still thousands to demonstrate on Saturday in The Hague, where the government sits. On Tuesday, they blocked the exit of a televised debate between party leaders in Den Bosch (south) with tractors.
Tessel van der Veeken, a 21-year-old student voting in The Hague, told AFP she was "not worried but curious" about the possibility of a BBB victory.
Voter Michael van Heck, 69, for his part said he expected a "great victory for the BBB", a "populist party" according to him, and hoped for an "at least stable" result for the VVD.
The government wants to reduce nitrogen emissions, a greenhouse gas emitted in particular by fertilizers and livestock effluents, by 50% by 2030.
The Hague wants to release 25 billion euros by 2035 to help the agricultural sector reduce its nitrogen emissions, in particular through a reduction in livestock but possibly also through expropriations near protected natural areas.
The far right has taken up the issue, alleging that farmers are victims of a "globalist" plot to deprive them of their land.
However, the polls predict a crushing setback for the populist Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, the big winner of the last provincial elections in 2019.
03/15/2023 15:41:20 - The Hague (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
