Still had to vote for Caroline

I was invited to the launch of the BoerBurgerBoek in October 2019, which served as a prelude to the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB). It was a pleasant, well-organized afternoon in the pre-corona era, in an old trendy factory hall on a quay in Deventer.

One of the speakers, next to Caroline van de Plas, of course, was Özcan Akyol, who gave the afternoon his characteristic sober but positive twist. Afterwards a drink and a number of special and tasty snacks I can remember. I drove home with the idea: a great meeting, but do Caroline and the other party leaders with her stand a chance in the next parliamentary elections? No, I didn't think that chance was great, or rather the chance was zero in my eyes. Now I know better.

Cannons from De Groot
A lot happened in the years leading up to the elections. Of course, last year the corona pandemic was central and dominated the news. This somewhat silenced the sound of the cannons in the discussion about halving the livestock, especially started by Tjeerd de Groot. The voter's head towards the elections was not towards agriculture. I was still of the opinion that BBB had little chance of a seat, let alone seats in the House. There was no point in voting for it.

I have always voted for major parties, because then the chance of government participation is greatest and that was a plus for me. Small parties never got my vote anyway. History teaches us that many such parties do well in the first years, grow in terms of seats, but then disappear into the margins again due to quarrels - often out of self-interest. Recent examples are 50+, Denk and actually also FvD. BBB didn't get my vote in the last election either, despite the fact that they could count on my sympathy.

Big party doesn't help
A few weeks after the elections I started to doubt whether I made the right choice not to vote for BBB. I now realize that voting for a major party to guarantee government participation has not helped agriculture. By far the largest part of the small 18 million people in this country has little to do with agriculture in terms of economic, nature conservation and historical value.

For them, it is mainly about how to spend their free time in this rich country, by frequently catching the (polluted) plane or cruise ship. Or drive through all the paved asphalt to the luxury holiday parks that have been built out of the ground on Thursday afternoon. How easy is it then to tackle the minority (read agricultural sector) as a political party. If you want to score seats, you let your ears hang to the crowd.

Speechless
It is logical that Caroline needs to further understand the mores of the Binnenhof, but 'points' are already being made. For example, in a debate with GroenLinks MP Laura Bromet, where Caroline delicately pointed out not to talk consistently about poison, but about plant protection products. Bromet's reply did not come (read: her mouth was full of teeth).

It seems clear to me that it is not feasible for the one-man faction of BBB to dive into all the files that pass through the House. But having a voice in the House of Representatives that makes the voice of the agricultural sector heard is worth its weight in gold. The next tough task is to grow BBB in terms of seats in the next round of elections. In this sense, take the example of the Party for the Animals: focus focus and focus again and as little internally as possible about hope à la Denk and 50+. Then the much-needed refuge for agriculture can become a keeper.      

Edwin Burgers

Edwin Burgers is director of DCA Group, which focuses on market consultancy and risk management for agricultural entrepreneurs and agribusiness. He can also be seen regularly in the market update on the potato market.

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