Thierry Baudet has won the controversial referendum on his position within his right-wing populist party. Three quarters of the members of Forum for Democracy who have voted indicate that they want him as party leader, the Dutch party reports on Twitter.
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The opposition party states that more than 80 percent of the members have voted, of which 76 percent of the voters want to keep Baudet as party leader. However, the referendum went anything but smoothly and several FVD politicians spoke out against it.
Baudet therefore remains party leader, but the top of the party is divided to the bone. A large group of prominent members decided to leave the party after it was revealed that members of the youth branch JFVD had been anti-Semitic. The culprits were not expelled from the youth ward, but instead were assigned important positions. This would have damaged Baudet’s image more.
Some party members go to court because of the referendum. According to them, it is not valid, because it is not in the party rules. In addition, potential rival candidates did not have time to register.
After the referendum, the board wants a members meeting about the composition of the board. The board, of which Baudet was also a part, is also divided over the future of the party and this while the referendum had to put an end to the disagreement.
European group breaks with party
The MEPs of the FVD break with their party now that Baudet remains as FVD party leader. The three-person FVD delegation in the European Parliament will continue independently, she says.
The Brussels foreman Derk Jan Eppink had already announced that the outcome would close the door for him and his colleagues. “Then we declare ourselves independent,” said Eppink. They blame Baudet not only for doing too little to counter anti-Semitism in the party’s youth movement, but also for transforming FVD into ‘a sectarian movement’ under ‘a kind of messiah’. In addition to Eppink, Rob Roos and Rob Rooken also sit for FVD in the European Parliament.
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