Belang van Nederland (BVNL, ) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, led by

Wybren van Haga Wybren Ridley van Haga (born 31 January 1967) is a Dutch politician and engineer who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2017. He was initially elected as a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), but wa ...

. It is currently active in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

as the independent Van Haga Group (). Its three MPs split from

Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy ( nl, Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a right-wing populist Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands that was founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2016. The party first participated in elections i ...

in August 2021.

History

BVNL was founded by

, who had previously been an MP for the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD) before defecting to

(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 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

to the

Nazi occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

. He was joined by two former FvD MPs Hans Smolders and

Olaf Ephraim Olaf René Ephraim (born 30 September 1965) is a Dutch investment banker and politician. He worked for the banks MeesPierson and Fortis before joining the conservative and right-wing populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD). Ephraim served as th ...

. The group subsequently founded the independent group ''Groep Van Haga''. In August 2021, Van Haga announced his intention to start a new political party.

Ideology

Van Haga claimed that BVNL will be a

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...

party and "

culturally conservative Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...

, but classically liberal when it comes to the role of government". BVNL also claims that

individual liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

, 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 Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

, 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 The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, 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 Supranational or supra-national may refer to: * Supranational union, a type of multinational political union * Supranational law, a form of international law * Supranational legislature, a form of international legislature * Supranational curre ...

bodies. BVNL also calls for a more critical examination of big tech companies, for freedom of speech to be protected and "academic freedom" within universities. The party is also opposed to some of the

measures taken by the Dutch government, arguing that social and economic collateral damage was not taken into proper consideration. Van Haga has described BVNL as less

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

on LGBT and gender issues than the FvD and

JA21 JA21 (, backronym for Juiste Antwoord 2021, or 'Right Answer 2021') is a political party in the Netherlands, currently active in the Senate as the Nanninga Group (). It was founded in December 2020 by Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga after le ...

, which also split off from the FvD, and more focused on

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

Notes

: The members of parliament in the House of Representatives are active under the name Groep van Haga.

References

{{Reflist Political parties in the Netherlands 2021 establishments in the Netherlands Classical liberal parties Conservative parties in the Netherlands Eurosceptic parties in the Netherlands Liberal parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 2021 Belang van Nederland

History

Ideology

See also

Notes

References