New Right (Netherlands)

Michiel Smit (2003)

New Right Nieuw Rechts
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
Official colours	Red, White & Blue
Website
http://www.nieuwrechts.nl (defunct)
Politics of the Netherlands Political parties Elections

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.^{[citation needed]} Sørensen earlier forbade Smit from visiting the Belgian Vlaams Blok as representative of Leefbaar Rotterdam.^{[citation needed]}

The "boxing lion", which was 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.

Smit tried to set up local branches all over the Netherlands, but this has failed, except in Rotterdam.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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]

External links

• (Dutch) Site of Nieuw Rechts^1., Internet Archive (Mar. 2003 - Jun. 2008)
• (Dutch) Site of Nieuw Rechts^1., European Archive (Apr. 2005 - Jan. 2006)
• (Dutch) Site of Nieuw Rechts^2., Internet Archive (Jun. 2006 - Feb. 2008)

References

1. ^ (Dutch) "Kamp: Zet criminele allochtonen het land uit". Elsevier. Februari 11, 2008. http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/157665/Kamp-Zet-criminele-allochtonen-het-land-uit.htm. Retrieved May 12, 2011. 
2. ^ (Dutch) "En tóch heeft de Poldermoskee de toekomst". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. November 13, 2010. http://www.rnw.nl/nederlands/article/en-toch-heeft-de-poldermoskee-de-toekomst. Retrieved May 12, 2011.