Dutch Farmers' Party Shocks in Provincial Elections
The Farmers Citizen Movement (BBB) won its first provincial elections in the Netherlands, securing 15 seats in the 75-seat upper house of the Dutch national parliament. The victory is seen as a rebuke to Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling four-party coalition, which lost eight seats in the Senate. The vote comes amid widespread dissatisfaction with Rutte's government and anger among farmers at plans to rein in nitrate pollution. The anti-immigration Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders is expected to bounce back in the next elections.