Political party in Netherlands
The
Dutch People's Union
(
Dutch
:
Nederlandse Volks-Unie
,
Dutch pronunciation:
[?neːd?rl?nts?
?v?l(?)ks?yni]
,
NVU
) is a Dutch
far-right
political party
.
[4]
The party espouses
ethnic nationalism
, advocates for the preservation of "
Germanic
Christian
culture" in the Netherlands, and is a proponent of a
Greater Netherlands
.
[5]
According to the
General Intelligence and Security Service
, the NVU attracts traditional
anti-Semitic
neo-Nazis
and aims to establish a
one-party state
in the Netherlands, in imitation of the
Nazi Party
. In the 2000s, the party was said to organize almost all right-wing extremist public demonstrations in the country.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Founding years (1971?1973)
[
edit
]
The Dutch People's Union (NVU) was founded as a political party on 27 May 1971 by Guus Looy, with as key purpose to rehabilitate convicted war criminals of
World War II
in the Netherlands.
[7]
In 1973, the Belgian
Roeland Raes
, vice chairman of the
Flemish secessionist
political party
Vlaams Blok
, also became vice chairman of the NVU?reflecting the desire of both parties to unify the Dutch and Flemish political scenes.
[7]
Glimmerveen's first chairmanship (1974?1981)
[
edit
]
In 1974,
Joop Glimmerveen
, a former
Labour Party
member,
[8]
joined the NVU and the party began agitating against the growing presence of
migrant workers
and
Surinamese people in the Netherlands
.
[7]
With the backing of the party, Glimmerveen participated in the 1974 municipal council election in
The Hague
, using the slogan "The Hague must remain
white
and safe!" In the end, he was several hundred votes short of a seat. Later that year, Glimmerveen became chairman of the NVU.
[9]
According to a 1975 report from the
Domestic Security Service
, representatives of the NVU, including Glimmerveen, had been in talks with the Surinamese R.R. Nunes, who was said to be in contact with controversial Dutch military officer
Raymond Westerling
and who was alleged to have plans to form a mercenary army to seize power in
Suriname
. Glimmerveen had refused to work with the Surinamese G.A. Baker, who had also wanted to raise a mercenary army in which Glimmerveen, a veteran of the
Korean War
, had been offered to work as an instructor.
[10]
In 1976, the NVU distributed an inflammatory pamphlet during street brawls between
locals and immigrants in Schiedam
.
[7]
In 1977, the party organized a demonstration in
Soestduinen
, in which a number of
neo-fascists
and former members of the wartime
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands
participated. Afterwards, several people were convicted for the content of their speeches.
[7]
Attempts by the
Ministry of Justice
to ban the NVU culminated with a court order in 1978.
[2]
Owing to a controversial decision to forbid but not actually dissolve the party, the NVU was able to continue its activities after the ban.
[9]
Party confidence had plummeted, however, and in 1980 several members split to form the
Centre Party
?which itself would splinter again into the
Centre Democrats
(CD) and the
Centre Party '86
(CP'86)?and the NVU found itself in a competitive struggle.
[2]
After a disappointing performance in the 1981 general election, Glimmerveen stepped down as chairman. The party tried to organize partnerships and mergers with other far-right parties, but these initiatives proved unfruitful.
[7]
Glimmerveen's second chairmanship (1983?1987)
[
edit
]
In 1983, Glimmerveen returned as chairman. A large number of street actions and demonstrations were organized in cooperation with the far-right youth organization
Netherlands Youth Front
(
Dutch
:
Jongeren Front Nederland
, JFN). For example, a counter-demonstration was held at the 1983 anti-nuclear weapons demonstration in The Hague. From 1984, the NVU also increasingly associated itself with
Nazi Germany
and wartime figures like Hitler's deputy
Rudolf Hess
(incarcerated at
Spandau Prison
until his death in 1987) and Dutch Nazi collaborator
Anton Mussert
.
[7]
In 1987, Glimmerveen again stepped down as chairman and the party became inactive.
[8]
The NVU was no longer viable as it had been outcompeted by the CD and CP'86, and it lacked members and funds.
Revival and Glimmerveen's third chairmanship (1996?2001)
[
edit
]
In 1996, young neo-Nazis
Constant Kusters
and
Eite Homan
(both of whom had ties with the American
NSDAP/AO
) approached Glimmerveen with the request to revive the party. This second iteration of the NVU hosted transnational events in which neo-Nazis from Belgium and
Germany
participated
[7]
and the party competed in
The Hague
and
Arnhem
during the
1998 Dutch municipal elections
[
nl
]
, though it again failed to win representation.
During this period, the NVU mainly functioned as the political arm of Homan's
Aktiefront Nationale Socialisten
(ANS).
[7]
This was a small group of
Autonomous Nationalist
activists inspired by the former
Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists
in West Germany, and which claimed solidarity with the Palestinians in the
Israeli?Palestinian conflict
and with other groups they considered to be
anti-imperialist
.
Kusters' chairmanship (since 2001)
[
edit
]
In 2001, Constant Kusters became party chairman and set out to moderate the NVU's appearance. In the same year, Glimmerveen left the party on bad terms, followed by other prominent members such as Eite Homan and "Hitler imitator"
Stefan Wijkamp
[
nl
]
.
[11]
Glimmerveen became one of Kusters' biggest critics when he publicly aired the NVU's dirty laundry in 2003 and even threatened Kusters with legal action unless he quietly left the party. Nonetheless, the NVU was the most active far-right party in the Netherlands throughout the 2000s. During street actions it was supported by a Dutch chapter of the British neo-Nazi group
Racial Volunteer Force
(RVF).
In 2015, the NVU attracted media attention when supporters of the party appeared in various municipalities on consultation evenings about the arrival of processing facilities for
asylum seekers
in the context of the
European migrant crisis
.
[12]
The party has claimed close cooperation with the right-wing populist
Forum for Democracy
(
Forum voor Democratie
, FVD). These claims were substantiated by, among other things, screenshots of bank statements of payments by the FVD to the NVU to rent a venue for a party meeting with FVD prominents
Thierry Baudet
and
Theo Hiddema
, and logs of
Facebook
Messenger
conversations and email traffic between the FVD and NVU.
[13]
Baudet has denied this collaboration, but did expel an FVD member who was also active for the NVU.
[14]
Criticism
[
edit
]
One of the biggest critics of NVU leader Constant Kusters was Joop Glimmerveen, who had been the face and leader of the party since the early 1970s and its ideologue until the end of the 1990s. In 1996, after almost 11 years of inactivity, Glimmerveen handed the NVU over to Kusters and Eite Homan.
Glimmerveen had given up party membership in 1994 but remained in control of the editorial rights of the party newspaper
Wij Nederland
. Kusters writes and edits the current party newspaper
Wij Europa
, which Glimmerveen could not stand for both its ideological course and its "shoddy production".
In 2003, Glimmerveen published a special edition of
Wij Nederland
, subtitled
De handel en wandel van NVU-clown Kusters
(English:
The Conduct of NVU Clown Kusters
), filled with letters to Kusters, the latter's responses, and Glimmerveen's own vision for the NVU. Among other things, Glimmerveen accused Kusters of
embezzling
party funds to "supplement his meagre
unemployment
". He also threatened Kusters with court action if he did not sort out the financial management of the NVU.
Glimmerveen died on 25 December 2022, at the age of 94.
[9]
Abvakabo ban
[
edit
]
In a combined effort with the
Anne Frank Foundation
, the former trade union
Abvakabo
forbade its members from being affiliated with organizations such as the NVU, ANS, and RVF.
[15]
Other affiliations it proscribed were those of the ethnonationalist
Voorpost
and
Netherlands National Youth
(
Dutch
:
Nationale Jeugd Nederland
, NJN), the Dutch chapter of the British neo-Nazi group
Blood & Honour
, the Turkish ultranationalist
Grey Wolves
, and the NVU/CP'86 splinter group
Association for Dutch Nationalists
(
Dutch
:
Vereniging voor Nederlandse Nationalisten
, VNN).
[15]
In 2012, the
Dutch Equal Treatment Commission
ruled that barring members of the NVU and Voorpost from other memberships is prohibited discrimination on the basis of political affiliation.
[16]
Election results
[
edit
]
The Dutch People's Union participated eight times in
municipal council
elections in different cities between 1974 and 2022. In none of these elections did party members gain enough votes for a seat on the council. The NVU also participated in the
provincial council
election for
Gelderland
in 2003 and 2007, but here too did not receive enough votes for a seat on the council.
[17]
In 1977, 1981, and 1982, the party participated in the general election for the
House of Representatives
, but was unable to secure parliamentary representation.
[18]
House of Representatives
|
1977
|
1981
|
1982
|
Nederlandse Volks-Unie
(NVU)
|
0.4%
|
0.1%
|
0.0%
|
* Party was listed as
Lijst Glimmerveen
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Raad van Bestuur en Middenkader"
(in Dutch). Dutch People's Union.
Archived
from the original on 12 May 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kusters, Constant (23 July 2007).
"NVU - Geschiedenis"
(in Dutch). Dutch People's Union. Archived from
the original
on 3 September 2011
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
Tierolf, Bas; Hermens, Niels; Drost, Lisanne (December 2014).
"Derde rapportage racisme, antisemitisme, en extreemrechts geweld in Nederland: Incidenten, aangiftes, verdachten en afhandeling in 2013"
(PDF)
(in Dutch).
Verwey-Jonker Institute
[
nl
]
. p. 59.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 16 May 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
Mudde, Cas (2002).
The Ideology of the Extreme Right
.
Manchester
:
Manchester University Press
. pp. 117?122.
ISBN
9780719064463
.
- ^
"Nederlandse Volks Unie (NVU) | Politieke partijen"
(in Dutch).
University of Groningen
.
Archived
from the original on 17 February 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"NVU"
.
Inlichtingendiensten.nl
(in Dutch).
Archived
from the original on 3 June 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Nederlandse Volksunie - NVU"
(in Dutch).
Anti-fascist research group Kafka
. 1 June 2000.
Archived
from the original on 30 August 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Kusters, Constant.
"NVU - Scholingsartikelen"
(in Dutch). Dutch People's Union. Archived from
the original
on 31 January 2009
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
Pre, Raoul de (26 December 2022).
"Joop Glimmerveen (1928-2022), Hitlers grootste bewonderaar in Nederland, hield altijd heimwee naar het Derde Rijk"
.
de Volkskrant
(in Dutch).
Archived
from the original on 26 December 2022
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"BVD 9e maandoverzicht 1975"
(in Dutch).
Anti-fascist research group Kafka
.
Archived
from the original on 1 April 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
Vermaat, Adri (2 December 2013).
"De harde hand van Kusters, voorman van de Nederlandse Volksunie"
.
Trouw
(in Dutch).
Archived
from the original on 1 June 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"Achterban NVU actief op inspraakavonden vluchtelingen"
.
NOS
(in Dutch). 23 October 2015.
Archived
from the original on 18 June 2021
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
l'Ami, Dennis (25 August 2017).
"NVU-voorman: 'Wij werken samen met Forum voor Democratie'
"
.
de Kanttekening
[
nl
]
(in Dutch).
Archived
from the original on 5 September 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"Forum voor Democratie zet NVU-lid uit partij"
.
NOS
(in Dutch). 26 August 2017.
Archived
from the original on 29 November 2022
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Beschrijvingsbrief 2010"
(in Dutch).
Abvakabo
. Archived from
the original
on 21 May 2014
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"FNV Zelfstandigen maakt verboden onderscheid bij toegang tot lidmaatschap van de organisatie wegens lidmaatschap NVU en Voorpost"
(in Dutch).
Netherlands Institute for Human Rights
[
nl
]
. 18 January 2012. Archived from
the original
on 13 June 2013
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
"Gelderland"
.
Stembusuitslag.com
(in Dutch).
Archived
from the original on 31 May 2023
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
- ^
Lucardie, Paul.
"Right-Wing Extremism in the Netherlands: Why it is still a marginal phenomenon"
(PDF)
.
University of Groningen
. p. 10. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 October 2013
. Retrieved
6 September
2023
.
References
[
edit
]
|
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Groups
| Extant
| Germany
and Austria
| |
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Europe
| |
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International
| |
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|
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Defunct
| Germany
and Austria
| |
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Europe
| |
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International
| |
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|
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|
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People
| |
---|
|
|
---|
House of Representatives
| |
---|
Senate
| |
---|
European Parliament
|
- Labour Party
(
S&D
, 6)
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(
Renew
, 5)
- Christian Democratic Appeal
(
EPP
, 5)
- GroenLinks
(
Greens?EFA
, 3)
- JA21
(
ECR
, 1)
- Democrats 66
(
Renew
, 1)
- Christian Union
(
EPP
, 1)
- Reformed Political Party
(
ECR
, 1)
- Party for the Animals
(
GUE/NGL
, 1)
- Party for Freedom
(
ID
, 1)
- More Direct Democracy
(
ECR
, 1)
- Forum for Democracy
(
NI
, 1)
|
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Locally represented
| |
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Unrepresented
| |
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Provincial parties
| |
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Water boards
| |
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Foundations and
related topics
| |
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Organizations
| Europe
| |
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North America
| |
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Oceania
| |
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South Africa
| |
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|
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Media
| Music
| |
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Print media
| |
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Radio shows
| |
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Websites
| |
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|
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Opposition
| |
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|