BBB no longer Senate’s sole largest party as senator switches to D66

BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) is no longer the largest single party in the Dutch Senate after Senator Robert Croll quit the faction and joined center-left party D66. His departure, the second in just two weeks, further weakens the position of the right-wing coalition in the Eerste Kamer, RTL reports.

Croll, a former judge and former board member of the Red Cross, cited the BBB’s position on Gaza as the primary reason for his defection. According to allegedly well-informed sources who spoke to RTL, the senator could no longer accept the party’s direction on international issues.

“I was initially drawn to the BBB for its focus on representing disappointed voters,” Croll reportedly told confidants. “But I find the party’s position on Gaza unacceptable. There needs to be more attention for the rule of law and international politics.”

Croll, who was active for many years in the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), joined the D66 Senate faction immediately upon leaving the BBB.

The move comes just two weeks after another senator, Eric Kemperman, left BBB to continue in the Eerste Kamer as an independent. His decision also reduced BBB’s Senate strength, though he retained his seat.

Croll’s switch to D66 marks a significant loss for the BBB, which now holds just 14 seats in the 75-member chamber. The right-wing bloc of BBB, PVV, and VVD now has only 28 seats combined — far short of the 38 required for a majority.

“This is unprecedented,” said RTL political correspondent Fons Lambie. “Two senators leaving in two weeks is highly unusual. This is a blow not just to the BBB, but to the governing coalition. The right-wing parties now face an even greater challenge in securing a Senate majority.”

Lambie noted that until recently, the government could still reach a majority by negotiating with smaller right-wing parties such as JA21, FvD, SGP, and 50Plus. “But now that the BBB has dropped to 14 seats, that path no longer leads to a majority,” he told RTL.

BBB party leader Caroline van der Plas called the defection “disappointing” and criticized the fact that Croll did not return his Senate seat.

“We are disappointed in this move,” Van der Plas said. “The BBB’s direction has not changed. That D66 — a party that makes life difficult for farmers and advocates for halving the livestock population — is now strengthened with our seat is, to us, incomprehensible and undesirable.”

Ilona Lagas, BBB’s Senate faction leader, also expressed frustration, stressing that the seat belongs to the voters. “Mr. Croll’s seat is part of a mandate that BBB received from the electorate,” Lagas said. “A switch to a party with a completely different ideological course should logically have come with returning that seat. A personal political turn is a personal choice — not one made by the voters.”

D66 has not publicly commented on the new addition to its Senate faction.