Belang van Nederland

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. It is currently 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]

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]
Colours  Navy blue
Senate
0 / 75
House of Representatives
2 / 150
A
Provincial councils
5 / 570
Website
www.bvnl.nl

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.[8][9][10] The group subsequently founded the independent group Groep Van Haga. In August 2021, Van Haga announced his intention to start a new political party.[11][12][1]

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][13] 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.[14] 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] 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.[15] 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.[16]

See also

Notes
^A The party is active in the House of Representatives as the independent Van Haga Group.

References
  1. "Belang van Nederland (BVNL) | Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen (DNPP)" (in Dutch). Dnpp.nl. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  2. "Belang van Nederland (BVNL)". Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. "Van Haga lanceert zijn nieuwe partij: BVNL" [Populist parties BBB, JA21, BVNL and PVV also feed the hatred against journalists]. BNNVARA (in Dutch). 27 October 2022. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  4. "Van Haga lanceert zijn nieuwe partij: BVNL" [Van Haga starts his own party: BV NLVan Haga launches its new party: BVNL]. ad.nl (in Dutch). 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  5. "Nieuwe partij Van Haga gaat Belang van Nederland heten (BVNL)". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 2021-07-02. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. "Standpunten | BVNL | Belang van Nederland". Bvnl.nl. 2021-07-03. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  7. "Niederlande: Mitte-Links Wahlbündnis von Timmermans liegt in Umfragen vorne". Euractiv. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  8. "Van Haga neemt afstand van 5 mei-poster van Forum voor Democratie". NOS. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  9. Peek, Simone (13 May 2021). "Van Haga en twee Kamerleden breken met Forum voor Democratie". NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  10. "Scheuring in Forum: Kamerlid Van Haga splitst zich af met twee anderen". nos.nl. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  11. "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 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  12. "Van Haga lanceert eigen partij BV NL – NRC". Nrc.nl. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  13. "Nieuwe partij Smolders heet Belang van Nederland" [New party Smolders is called Interest of the Netherlands]. www.omroepbrabant.nl (in Dutch). 3 July 2021 [2 July 2021]. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  14. "Standpunten | BVNL | Belang van Nederland".
  15. "Wybren van Haga | Tweede Kamerlid | Belang van Nederland". Bvnl.nl. 2021-11-12. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  16. "WYBREN VAN HAGA LANCEERT NIEUWE PARTIJ; 'ONDERNEMER MOET OP VOETSTUK STAAN'". BNR. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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