BBB faction in Overijssel falling apart; Provincial coalition loses its majority
The BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) in Overijssel is falling apart. Six of the 15 members of the Provincial Council have left the faction due to a “recent irreconcilable difference,” taking the coalition’s majority with them, RTV Oost reported.
The BBB won a massive 17 seats in Overijssel in 2023’s Provincial Council elections, making it the largest party in the province. The party made a coalition agreement with the VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, and SGP, together holding 30 of the 47 seats.
Two other BBB members split off from the party last year, continuing as Overijssel Vooruit. Now, another six have left - Annette Nijhuis, Dario Prinsen, Edith du Bois, Luuk Buunk, Sanne Winkels, and Aart van den Brink. They will continue as a new party under the name Provincie Belang Overijssel.
The BBB now only has nine of its 17 seats left and the coalition has lost its majority.
Provincie Belang Overijssel said it was willing to continue participating in the coalition. “But then the other five parties must want that,” Van den Brink wrote in an explanation. “We want to maintain the focus on topics that concern our province. We will continue to work on a resilient local democracy in which we still strive for a political climate in which we are there for all residents of Overijssel and the general interest takes precedence over individual interests.”
According to Van den Brink, there have been tensions within the Overijssel BBB for months about how to deal with individual and general interests. Things came to a head when the BBB voted in favor of a proposal to build 90 new wind turbines in the province in the coming years despite fierce resistance from locals. Van den Brink denies that the wind turbine plans are the reason for this split, but did call the policy “difficult for us,” according to the broadcaster. “As a member of the Provincial States, you have to be able to switch off your own preferences and emotions and we as splitters have a different view of that than the rest of the BBB.”
Carla Evers, chair of the BBB faction in Overijssel, is disappointed by the break. “The remaining people in the faction continue to work for farmers, citizens, and companies in Overijssel, she told the broadcaster.
The national BBB also regrets the departure. “It is a great pity that it could come to this, said BBB association chair Erik Stegink.
On Monday, the national BBB also lost a parliamentarian. MP Lilian Helder suddenly resigned over “irreconcilable differences” with BBB party leader Caroline van der Plas.
