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Populist Farmer Citizen Movement wins big in Dutch election
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Posters of political parties for the provincial elections, with one of the Farmer Citizen Movement BBB, left, are seen at a farm in Okkenbroek, eastern Netherlands, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Local elections with national consequences opened Wednesday in the Netherlands as voters cast their ballots for the country's 12 provincial legislatures, which in turn elect the national parliament's upper house. - photo by AP Photo/Peter Dejong
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new powerhouse of Dutch right-wing populism took political center stage Thursday after winning its first provincial elections, a victory that was seen as a resounding rebuke to Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling four-party coalition. With counting of ballots from Wednesday's vote wrapping up, the Farmer Citizen Movement — known by its Dutch acronym BBB — was predicted to win 15 seats in the 75-seat upper house of the Dutch national parliament, level with the bloc formed by left-of center Labor and Green parties. The provincial lawmakers elected in Wednesday's vote choose national senators at the end of May.