The elections to the House of Representatives are approaching. In March 2021 we can go to the polls again. Although the campaigns have yet to start, many parties are already making their positions known. Today we highlight the agricultural themes from the party program of the BoerBurgerBeweging. Their aim: connection between farmer and citizen.
The time seems ripe for a rural party and with that the Boerburger movement has the wind in the wind. It does not sound unrealistic that they are counting on 2 seats in the House of Representatives. A large proportion of the names on the electoral roll come from rural regions in the south and east of the country. Enough recognizable faces in the areas where the most votes can be won. For example the number 2 on the list: Femke Wiersma. She became nationally known for her participation in a Farmer seeks Woman and has the potential to attract voters.
Moreover, you can now win elections with a sophisticated social media strategy, especially in this time of the corona crisis, which means that the world is digitizing at an accelerated pace. Party leader Caroline van de Plas is experienced in journalism and managed to conquer Twitter with Boerburgertweet, an account with almost 14.000 followers. The PR system has also been professionally arranged by the contribution of the agricultural communication agency Remarkable, whose owner Wim Groot Koerkamp and marketer Henk Vermeer are list pushers.
Loud burping sound
The call for a strong peasant voice in politics is not new. Annie Schreijer-Pierik, MEP for the CDA and farmer's wife, received no fewer than 2014 preferential votes in the European elections in 113.123. This is usually good for 2 seats in The Hague. So there are plenty of voters to be found in the countryside in the east of the Netherlands.
This already happened before the time of the massive peasant protests. The enthusiasm and willingness to vote in the countryside has certainly not diminished. Despite all the frenzy about calf fraud, phosphate rights and nitrogen approach, CDA members Jaco Geurts and Maurits von Martels (also elected with preferential votes) did not choose to become a dissident. They voted with the governing coalition.
Even now that the government's long-term nitrogen approach has been enshrined in law and election time is approaching, there are no signs that they are throwing the ball around with their voting behaviour. The current farmer support of the CDA is therefore a big question mark.
Lack of lenders
The BoerBurgerBeweging lacks only wealthy moneylenders, which competitor Forum for Democracy does have. Speaking of competition: the BoerBurgerBeweging is not the only party that thinks it can win seats with disappointed CDA and VVD voters. A rural party is a 'one issue party', they say. But Caroline van der Plas rightly dismisses that argument by pointing to parties that have had success in the House of Representatives in recent decades. Think of the PvdD, the 50+ party and the PVV. Now there is also a party for the countryside, with, if it is up to the BoerBurgerBeweging, soon also a minister for the countryside and a ministry that is at least 100 kilometers away from The Hague.
Forum for Democracy
Farmer foreman Jan Cees Vogelaar, who increasingly presents himself as the spokesperson of Forum for Democracy (FvD) when it comes to the agricultural sector, hopes that the disappointed CDA and VVD voters will ride along with the success of Thierry Baudet and Theo Hiddema. . The FvD has previously shown itself strongly in favor of the Netherlands leaving the European Union (Nexit), although the party seems to be weakening this position somewhat.
The Boerburger movement clearly distances itself from the Nexit sentiment, although it certainly does not want to be known as a supporter of the European Union. By emphasizing connection (between farmer and citizen) instead of further polarization, the BoerBurgerBeweging distinguishes itself from the Forum for Democracy and the agricultural spokesperson Jan Cees Vogelaar, who regularly provokes on Twitter.
Election Themes
Pro SME views and deregulation are common themes. And the theme of nature, climate and energy policy is only indirectly mentioned in the election program of the Boerburger movement. The credo is the health of plants, animals, people, the economy and society. This leaves a lot of room for discussion as you enter the political arena with it. Consider, for example, the crop protection dossier.
Regulations that increase the cost price for farmers are taboo for the Boerburger movement. Only if there is a fund with which the supermarkets directly compensate the cost increase of regulations, extra-statutory measures are possible for the rural party.
Government responsibility
The newcomer also has to deal with voter behavior on his way to the House of Representatives. In the polls, seats may come into the picture in the coming months, but in the voting booth people often opt for the familiar. The CDA and VVD will also emphasize the importance of government responsibility and political stability in the coming months. And who knows, they might present new candidates on the electoral list, who will make an impression in the agricultural sector.
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