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Dutch PM says provincial election upset not a threat to his government

BRUSSELS, March 16 (KUNA) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday the provincial election results will not jeopardise his government's chances of survival, despite the strong performance of the farmers' party called the Farmer Citizen movement (BBB0).
"I think the cabinet can remain stable in the coming years, because we have parties that want to take responsibility," he told Dutch NOS TV as the results of Wednesday's municipal election began to come in.
BBB scored a big victory in yesterday's provincial elections, which determine the composition of the Senate.
It came ahead of Mark Rutte's center-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) party in an election that is seen as a referendum on the government's performance.
Less than four years after it was founded, the BBB is set to be the largest group in the senate, with 15 of the 75 seats, based on a 19% share of the vote,DutchNews.nl portal reported.
The BBB was elected on a platform of opposing the government's plans to clamp down nitrogen emissions from farms, after a judgment by the Council of State that it was breaching European limits designed to protect conservation areas.
"The Netherlands has clearly shown that we've had enough of these policies,' BBB founder Caroline Van der Plas told NOS.
"It's not just about nitrogen, it's about citizens who are unseen and unheard, who aren't being taken seriously, whose problems aren't being tackled," she added. (end) nk.gb