The Dutch Farmer-Citizen Party, the BBB, faces losing its place in government. Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right PVV party, pulled his party from the four-way coalition formed 11 months ago, after failing to get support for his hardline policy on immigration. An election has now been called for October.

The BBB had a meteoric rise in 2023, when they topped the polls in local elections all across the Netherlands, gaining 20% of the vote and twice as many seats as any other party.

This also propelled them to being the largest party in the Senate, the Dutch parliament’s upper house (similar to Ireland’s Seanad), as local politicians elect Senators. It was an astonishing success considering they had been at only 1% of the polls a year previously, with their leader, Caroline van der Plas their only member of parliament.

Issues such as a planned cow cull, fertiliser usage and rural planning raised their profile.

However, with the BBB now languishing at 1% in recent polls, they face an uphill battle to stay relevant. They are remaining on in a three-party caretaker government.

Fifteen parties are currently represented in parliament, so the election campaign seems sure to be fractious and chaotic.