The Tegenpartij (''Counterparty'', but also ''opponent'') was a Dutch

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

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 ...

, founded in 1979 by the Dutch comedic duo Van Kooten en De Bie. They played the characters Jacobse and Van Es, two ''vrije jongens'' (''free guys'', literally), played by respectively

Kees van Kooten Cornelis Reinier "Kees" van Kooten () (born 10 August 1941) is a Dutch comedian, television actor, and writer. He formed the duo Van Kooten & De Bie with Wim de Bie from 1972 to 1998. Biography Cornelis Reinier van Kooten was born on 10 Augus ...

and

Wim de Bie Willem Philippe "Wim" de Bie (; born 17 May 1939) is a Dutch comedian, writer and singer. He formed the comedy duo Van Kooten en De Bie with Kees van Kooten. G.J. van Bork,Bie, Wim de, ''Schrijvers en dichters'', 2002. Retrieved on 17 December ...

. Jacobse and Van Es were originally two scoundrels, who eventually founded their own political party: The Tegenpartij. They described it as ''the party for all Dutchmen who can no longer stand the Netherlands''. Van Kooten and De Bie were trying to fight the populist tendencies of some of the other parties with their parody, but things turned out a bit differently: the Tegenpartij became so popular that it might well have gained several seats in parliament if it had actually taken part in elections. The party was finally 'disbanded' on May 10, 1981, just before the elections. In a final sketch, characters Jacobse and Van Es were shot and killed while single-handedly attempting a coup at the

Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; en, Inner Court) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver lake. It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministr ...

, the center of Dutch

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

Quotes

;From the

party platform A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...

* ''Stemp de Tegenpartij!'' (''Vote Counterparty!'') The word "stemp" is an Urban Haguenese pronunciation of "stem", meaning "vote" * ''Samen voor ons eigen'' (''Together for ourselves'') * ''Geen gezeik, iedereen rijk'' (''No whining, riches for all'') ;Jacobse en Van Es * ''Mogen wij éven overgeven?'' (''May we please vomit now?'')

References

* {{cite web, url=http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/artikelen/43210541/, title=De Tegenpartij, publisher=Geschiedenis 24, date=12 March 2010, accessdate=3 May 2010 Political parties in the Netherlands Fictional political parties Political controversies in television Television controversies in the Netherlands Television characters introduced in 1979 Joke political parties in the Netherlands