Interest of the Netherlands
Belang van Nederland
AbbreviationBVNL
LeaderWybren van Haga[1]
ChairpersonWybren van Haga[1]
Leader in the House
of Representatives		Wybren van Haga
Founders
Founded7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)
Split fromForum for Democracy
HeadquartersPalletweg 32, Haarlem
Membership (2023)Increase 6,305[2]
IdeologyRight-wing populism[3]
Conservative liberalism[1]
Classical liberalism[4][5]
Direct democracy
Euroscepticism[6]
Political positionRight-wing[7] to far right[8][9]
Colours  Navy blue
Senate
0 / 75
House of Representatives
0 / 150
Provincial councils
5 / 570
Website
www.bvnl.nl

Belang van Nederland (Dutch pronunciation: [bəˈlɑŋ vɑn ˈneː.dərˌlɑnt]; BVNL, lit. 'Interest of the Netherlands') is a political party in the Netherlands, led by Wybren van Haga. Between 2021 and 2023, it was active in the House of Representatives as the independent Van Haga Group (Dutch: Groep Van Haga). Its three MPs split from Forum for Democracy in August 2021.[1]

History

BVNL was founded by Wybren van Haga, who had previously been an MP for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) before defecting to Forum for Democracy (FvD). In May 2021, Van Haga announced that he split from FvD in response to a poster it had released which compared the COVID-19 lockdown to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. He was joined by two former FvD MPs Hans Smolders and Olaf Ephraim.[10][11][12] The group subsequently founded the independent group Groep Van Haga. In August 2021, Van Haga announced his intention to start a new political party.[13][14][1]

The party participated in the 2023 general election, but was unable to win a seat.[15] Notable individuals on the party's candidate list were former 50PLUS politician Henk Krol and MMA fighter Alistair Overeem.[16] The latter functioned as lijstduwer.[17]

Ideology

Van Haga claimed that BVNL will be a classical liberal party and "culturally conservative, but classically liberal when it comes to the role of government".[1][18] BVNL also claims that individual liberty, freedom and the protection of Dutch history, cultural identity, and interests as the main cornerstones of its policies. The party also states that it supports technological advancement, a reformed criminal justice system, more controls on immigration and removal of immigrants with criminal records, and simplified tax codes. BVNL also calls for an end to handing over Dutch sovereignty and political power to the European Union, for referendums on Dutch membership of key EU treaties, and for a vote on Nexit (Dutch withdrawal from the European Union) if polls indicate public support for one. The party also states that the Dutch constitution and laws must come ahead of international law and policies created by supranational bodies.[19] BVNL also calls for a more critical examination of big tech companies, for freedom of speech to be protected and "academic freedom" within universities.[6][citation needed] The party is also opposed to some of the COVID-19 lockdown measures taken by the Dutch government, arguing that social and economic collateral damage was not taken into proper consideration.[20] Van Haga has described BVNL as less socially conservative on LGBT and gender issues than the FvD and JA21, which also split off from the FvD, and more focused on economic liberalism.[21]

Electoral results

House of Representatives

Election Lijsttrekker Votes % Seats +/– Government
2023 Wybren van Haga 52,913 0.51 (#16)
0 / 150
 New Extra-parliamentary

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Belang van Nederland (BVNL) | Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen (DNPP)" (in Dutch). Dnpp.nl. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Belang van Nederland (BVNL)". Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (in Dutch). 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Ook populistische partijen BBB, JA21, BVNL en PVV voeden steeds de haat tegen journalisten" [Populist parties BBB, JA21, BVNL and PVV also feed the hatred against journalists]. BNNVARA (in Dutch). 27 October 2022. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Van Haga lanceert zijn nieuwe partij: BVNL" [Van Haga launches its new party: BVNL]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Nieuwe partij Van Haga gaat Belang van Nederland heten (BVNL)" [Van Haga's new party will be called Belang van Nederland (BVNL)]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Standpunten | BVNL | Belang van Nederland". BVNL. 3 July 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Niederlande: Mitte-Links Wahlbündnis von Timmermans liegt in Umfragen vorne" [Netherlands: Timmermans' centre-left electoral alliance is ahead in polls]. Euractiv (in German). 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  8. ^ "What's all the fuss about the far right in the Netherlands?". Dutch News. 20 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. ^ Markus, Niels (13 October 2023). "Rechts van de VVD vormt zich een kluitje partijen die steeds meer op elkaar lijken" [To the right of the VVD, a cluster of parties is forming that are increasingly similar]. Trouw. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Van Haga neemt afstand van 5 mei-poster van Forum voor Democratie" [Van Haga distances himself from the 5 May poster of Forum for Democracy]. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. ^ Peek, Simone (13 May 2021). "Van Haga en twee Kamerleden breken met Forum voor Democratie" [Van Haga and two MPs break with Forum for Democracy]. NRC. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Scheuring in Forum: Kamerlid Van Haga splitst zich af met twee anderen" [Split in Forum: MP Van Haga splits with two others]. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Van Haga begint eigen partij: BV NL" [Van Haga starts own party: BV NL]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  14. ^ Van Eerten, Jurriaan (7 August 2021). "Van Haga lanceert eigen partij BV NL" [Van Haga launches own party BV NL]. NRC. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Uitslagen Tweede Kamer 2023" [Results House of Representatives 2023]. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Henk Krol wil namens Belang van Nederland weer de Kamer in" [Henk Krol wants to return to Parliament on behalf of the Belang van Nederland]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 31 July 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Kickbockser Alistair Overeem als lijstduwer op kandidatenlijst BVNL voor verkiezingen" [Kickboxer Alistair Overeem as a lijstduwer on the BVNL candidate list for elections]. AD (in Dutch). 5 September 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Nieuwe partij Smolders heet Belang van Nederland" [New party Smolders is called Interest of the Netherlands]. Omroep Brabant (in Dutch). 3 July 2021 [2 July 2021]. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Standpunten | BVNL | Belang van Nederland". Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Wybren van Haga | Tweede Kamerlid | Belang van Nederland". BVNL. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Wybren van Haga lanceert nieuwe partij; 'Ondernemer moet op voetstuk staan'" [Wybren van Haga launches new party; 'Entrepreneur must be on a pedestal']. BNR. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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