At least three municipalities boycotting FvD over candidates from far-right groups

In at least three municipalities, a majority of political parties have pledged to boycott the local faction of far-right party Forum voor Democratie (FvD) due to candidates on its municipal elections lists who are active in far-right and right-wing extremist organizations, or have made racist, anti-Semitic, or extremist statements. The majority of parties in The Hague, Rotterdam, and Nijmegen will not work with the FvD after the municipal elections on March 18, the Volkskrant reports.

In The Hague, Timon Busscher is in spot 3 of the FvD’s candidate list. He is one of the far-right party’s youth members whose WhatsApp messages leaked from a closed group in 2020. In those messages, Busscher praised mass murderers in Norway and Christchurch, New Zealand, glorified far-right terrorism, and repeatedly made antisemitic and racist remarks.

The other parties in The Hague published a joint statement refusing political cooperation with the FvD as long as the party “does not at least explicitly distance itself” from this ideology that undermines the democratic rule of law and threatens the safety of the city and its residents, “and take the necessary measures.” All parties in The Hague, except for the local PVV faction and Hart voor Den Haag, signed the statement. “As far as we’re concerned, FvD is disqualified,” the CDA in The Hague told the Volkskrant.

In Nijmegen, the FvD’s number 2 candidate, Daan Meershoek, is active in the far-right organization Geuzenbond. A prominent member of this group, Thomas D., is currently on trial after the police found an arsenal of weapons and ammunition, along with far-right propaganda in his home in Erp. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes he was planning a terrorist attack, but eventually had to drop the terrorism charge due to insufficient evidence.

The GroenLinks faction in Nijmegen confirmed the boycott to NOS. “For us, the most important foundation is that you respect the human rights of others and the rule of law. The far-right does not do that, so a democracy cannot function,” said faction leader Quirrijn Lokker. He said that at least four other parties have also refused any cooperation with the FvD, and another three parties consider cooperation with the far-right party unlikely.

In Rotterdam, there are two Geuzenbond members on the FvD’s candidate list: Tim van Setten (number 6) and Vos Leijnse (number 10). D66, VVD, CDA, GroenLinks-PvdA, DENK, and ChristenUnie told Volkskrant that they will not work with the party. “We do not collaborate with extremists,” said Tim Versnel, leader of the local VVD.

In Nieuwegein, there is unrest about FvD’s second candidate, Frank Folkerts, who was previously a member of the neo-Nazi party NVU. The VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, CDA, and ChristenUnie in Nieuwegein published a joint statement saying that the municipality holds no room for “extremist ideology.” They demand that FvD “unambiguously” distances itself from extremism and take “appropriate measures.”

The FvD is participating in 104 municipalities for the elections on March 18, double the number of the previous municipal elections in 2022.