New Right (Netherlands)

Michiel Smit (2003)
New Right
Chairman Michiel Smit
Founded 2003
Dissolved 2007
Split from Leefbaar Rotterdam
Headquarters Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Newspaper Nieuws uit Rotterdam
(News from Rotterdam)
Youth wing Jong Rechts
(Young Right)
Ideology Dutch nationalism, Fortuynism
Political position Far-right
European affiliation Vlaams Belang, Euronat
Colours Red, White & Blue
Website
http://www.nieuwrechts.nl
http://www.nieuwrechts.eu
(defunct)

New Right (Dutch: Nieuw Rechts, abbr. NR) was a nationalist Dutch political party, founded by Michiel Smit in February 2003 and dissolved in December 2007.

History

Michiel Smit was secretary of Pim Fortuyn's local Leefbaar Rotterdam party. He was elected into the Rotterdam city council in March 2002. After the assassination of Fortuyn, May 6, 2002, the Leefbaar Rotterdam leadership was handed over to Ronald Sørensen. Michiel Smit was forced out of the Leefbaar Rotterdam party though in February 2003, after it became public that Smit participated on various rightwing radical internet fora, one of which was the American-based Stormfront.org and operating the site www.arabischeuropeseliga.nl. Sørensen earlier forbade Smit from visiting the Belgian Vlaams Blok as representative of Leefbaar Rotterdam.

The party's original logo in the years 2003-2004

However, Smit held on to his seat in the Rotterdam city council, forming a one-person party called Nieuw Rechts. From this position Smit started to build up the Nieuw Rechts party. New Right worked with the nationalist NNP party (whose chairman Florens van der Kooi worked for a time at the New Right party office) to form the Actiecomité Stop MARTIJN in 2003, which campaigned against the pedophiles of the Vereniging MARTIJN.

In the first electoral campaign, in 2004 European Elections the party attracted 0.3% of the votes, and no seats. In the Dutch municipal elections of 2006 New Right fielded candidates in Rotterdam, Ridderkerk, Almelo and Eindhoven, obtaining 0.06% of the total vote and one seat in the council of Ridderkerk.

Ideology

New Right's ideology was based on conservatism, liberalism and nationalism.

The most important issue for the New Right was immigration and integration of Muslims. Smit held then controversial views like forced repatriation of criminal foreigners and mandatory Dutch services in mosques. These views have since become mainstream in Dutch politics.[1][2]

References

  1. "Kamp: Zet criminele allochtonen het land uit" (in Dutch). Elsevier. February 11, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  2. "En tóch heeft de Poldermoskee de toekomst" (in Dutch). Radio Netherlands Worldwide. November 13, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nieuw Rechts.
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