The rise of Volt, an anti-populist, pro-Europe party made up of students and young professionals who snatched three seats in the Dutch parliament – the first national success in his election five years of existence.
Volt was not the only outsider group to win a seat or two in the election. One politician arrived at parliament with management a tractor with flashing lights to claim her newly accustomed seat for a peasant party. Sylvana Simons, a former TV presenter, has a seat for “Bij1”, an anti-capitalist party. A new far-right party against immigrants has won four seats.
For the past two decades, however, it has been populists and far-right parties that have played the rebellious role in Dutch politics, and the promotion of anti-immigrants, anti-establishment and anti-European policies. Although it was never a serious threat to seize power, representatives of these parties started a referendum in the Netherlands in 2016 and won over an EU trade treaty with Ukraine, which temporarily halted the agreement.
This makes the victory of the newcomer Volt this week all the more remarkable. The party is stubbornly pro-Europe, something most traditional parties thought was a complete blow to voters.
“Most people of my generation grew up in euros and never had to think about crossing borders,” said Laurens Dassen, 35, the party’s Dutch leader. “For us, Europe is a fact of life.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose center-right Party for Freedom and Democracy comfortably won the largest number of seats has had a strained relationship with Europe for the fourth time since 2010. Last year, for example, he upset southern European countries when he refused to discuss financial support during the pandemic and brought a biography of Chopin to the meetings because he did not intend to speak anyway.
All the more so is Volt’s success in the Netherlands because it is not even a Dutch party, but an offshoot of a European movement, with 9,000 members spread across Europe and a few more in Switzerland and Albania. The main party was founded in 2016 by Andrea Venzon (29), an Italian living in London, and is present in each of the 27 member states of the European Union.
Mr. Dassen, who grew up in Knegsel, a town near Eindhoven, played in the local youth orchestra and, after studying business management, went to work at ABN Amro Banking Processes for money laundering.
But he was concerned about the rise of populism and far-right parties, he said, and ‘in 2018 I read an article about Volt, decided to join and gave up my job a few months later to really lead the party let’s start. ‘
In the Dutch election, Volt drew heavy votes in a number of Dutch student cities such as Delft and Leiden, partly driven by a campaign on social media and a broad network of volunteers.
Another pro-European party, the D66, won four extra seats this week, making it the second largest party in parliament. Its leader, Sigrid Kaag, is a former United Nations Special Envoy for Syria and the outgoing Minister of Trade and Development.
Because no party in the Dutch parliament commands a majority, analysts said that the peculiarities of the coalition building Volt together with Mr. Rutte and me. Kaag can bring in the government bloc.
Regardless of the outcome of the horse trade, analysts believe that Volt’s future in the Netherlands is bright.
“They can be big here and double their seats if they manage to go even stronger in the climate,” said Felix Rotterberg, a campaign strategist who has long been associated with the social democratic party PvdA. “Volt has the youth, and there will only be more of them in the future.”
The party is in a winning streak in other parts of Europe, although nothing is as prominent as its victories in the Netherlands. Volt now has more than 30 elected representatives in Europe, mainly in municipalities in Germany and Italy. But it also won its first seat in the European Parliament, in the person of Damian Boeselager (33).
In the coming months, Volt will elect candidates for national elections in Bulgaria and Germany, during a local vote in Spain and local elections in Italy. After Brexit this year, its British members are launching a European campaign again.
Its leaders emphasize Volt’s pan-European character, which they say distinguishes them from any other party in Europe.
“Each of our members has direct voting rights at European level, they can elect our board and directly influence our policies,” said Valerie Sternberg, 30, Germany’s co-president. ‘No matter where you live in Europe, even in Britain. ”
The party does not have a youth organization. “Most of us are young ourselves,” she said.
Me. Sternberg said she cried ‘tears of joy’ when she learned of the success of Volt’s Dutch chapter, saying the party is now focusing on Germany, which is holding national elections in the autumn.
“Our weak point is in rural areas in Europe, we need to get our message there, now populists are winning there,” she said. “We hope Covid shows people that isolation makes us weak and cooperation makes us stronger.”