Large posters of the Christian Association Oldebroek (CVO) and the SGP are displayed in Oldebroek in Gelderland the day after the municipal elections. “Christian conviction, clear course,” reads the text of SGP. “Stand up for what is right,” says the poster of the Christian Union (CU).
For about twenty years, the CU was the largest party in the municipality of Oldebroek (almost 25,000 inhabitants). Until last Wednesday. Then the party shrank from six to four seats, losing its leading position to the relatively young CVO, a breakaway from the SGP led by the young, former Ongehoord Nieuws presenter Tom de Nooijer. CVO grew from three to seven seats. The SGP also won a seat and went from two to three.
The CU advocates rapid integration of asylum seekers, the SGP advocates a strict admission policy
The loss of the CU in Oldebroek is not an isolated event. In at least nine out of ten municipalities where the party participated in the municipal elections, it lost votes compared to 2022. The CU lost 91 council seats throughout the country. At the same time, the SGP won votes in seven out of ten municipalities where the party participated and gained a total of 28 seats.
The CU has also lost ground nationally in recent years. While the party still had five seats in the House of Representatives in 2021, that number has shrunk to three since 2023. Is the strict Christian voter moving more and more to the right?
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Right-wing
In a certain sense, there is a rightward movement of Christianity in politics, says professor of European culture and Christianity Matthias Smalbrugge. According to him, this is the result “of Christianity’s resistance to modernity since the nineteenth century and the birth of fundamentalism.” And this “is in line with modern movements that also turn against pluralism [de opvatting dat verschillende overtuigingen gelijkwaardig zijn]”, says Smalbrugge. It is also one of the reasons why Forum for Democracy grew during the municipal elections.
The development is reflected in the emphasis on ‘us-them thinking’, says Smalbrugge. Parties such as the SGP and FVD regard Christianity as an identity and use it to distinguish people within the ‘Judeo-Christian culture’ from those outside it, thereby seeking confrontation with Islam. In contrast, at CU, Christianity as a personal belief is central, the professor explains. “For example, that movement believes that abortion is not possible, but does not say that people who think differently do not belong to the Netherlands.”
The difference between these views is expressed concretely in the discussion surrounding the reception of asylum seekers. Smalbrugge: “The Christian Union advocates rapid integration of asylum seekers, the SGP advocates a strict admission policy, because it believes that Dutch culture must be protected.”
Asylum shelter
This discussion is also taking place in Oldebroek. In 2023 it was announced that the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers wanted to open an asylum seekers’ center in the Gelderland municipality. This led to unrest among residents and in the council, with the political resistance led by the CVO. Ultimately, the arrival of the asylum center in mid-2024 turned out to be impossible due to nitrogen and nature requirements. The intended location borders the Veluwe protected nature reserve.
“But the commotion was already there,” says Geerco André, party leader of the Oldebroekse Christian Union. According to André, both the possible arrival of asylum reception and the fuss were blamed on the Christian Union, because it was the largest party at the time. “While we have never really taken a position on that asylum seekers’ center.”
That the arrival of an asylum seekers’ center does not cause an increase in insecurity: dear Christian Union, where on earth do you get that from?
According to a new one estimate Minister Bart van den Brink (Asylum and Migration, CDA) requires the municipality of Oldebroek to offer space to 129 asylum-seeking people by mid-2027. A location is still being sought. Residents of Oldebroek could make suggestions, which will be tested by the municipality. As soon as possible locations are announced, local residents will be invited for an interview, the municipality writes site.
For the CVO, local asylum policy was a spearhead in the campaign. The party does not want “a large-scale asylum seekers’ center and asylum push,” the election manifesto states. The CU, on the other hand, believes “that we must implement the dispersal law, with attention to the participation of residents and their safety,” says Geerco André.
In a debate prior to the elections, the party leaders clashed over the subject. “The nuisance is not as severe as the stories would have you believe,” André said. De Nooijer then responded: “That the arrival of an asylum seekers’ center does not cause an increase in insecurity: dear Mr. André, dear Christian Union, where on earth do you get that from?”
College formation
The question is what the major substantive differences mean for the formation of councils in Oldebroek. Election winner De Nooijer has appointed Richard de Mos, party leader of Hart voor Den Haag and winner of the municipal elections in The Hague, as formateur for a new council. Numerically, there are two logical options: CVO, as the largest party, can form a majority with the CU or with the SGP.
The SGP is “open to a conversation with everyone,” says local party leader Erik Doornwaard, despite the fact that De Nooijer left the SGP at the end of 2021 amid a fight and caused a rift in the party. If CVO and the SGP indeed form a college, the Christian Union would find itself in opposition after decades of governance in Oldebroek.
CU leader André is “relaxed”, but also thinks that working with CVO will be difficult. “I think the bridge between the CVO and the SGP is easier to build than the bridge to us.”
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