NSC loses last seat in parliament as MEP Dirk Gotink quits party

NSC, the political party founded by former CDA MP Pieter Omtzigt three years ago, has lost its last representative in the European Parliament as MEP Dirk Gotink resigned. Gotink, 45, cited a disagreement over potential collaboration with Mona Keijzer’s Project 2029, a right-wing conservative movement that views the European Union as a federal superstate.

Gotink warned that seeking closer ties with Keijzer, another former CDA MP, was "incomprehensible," stating that his party views the EU as essential for freedom and prosperity. The party's board invited Keijzer as a guest speaker for an upcoming conference in Breda, but Gotink perceived this as a "clear choice of political direction."

Gotink had been the sole NSC member in any parliament since the general election in October of the previous year, when the party lost all its 20 seats in the Dutch parliament. Omtzigt, the party's founder, had resigned as leader and MP last year due to health issues, with the party falling apart after entering a coalition with the far-right PVV.

Omtzigt's efforts to address government accountability and improve people's living standards ultimately led to the downfall of Mark Rutte's third coalition government in 2021.