| NEE | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Jan De Bruyn |
| Spokesperson | Bachir Boumaâza |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Eggestraat 39 2060 Antwerpen |
| Ideology | political satire, political protest, populism |
| Website | |
| www.nee-antwerpen.be (defunct) (archived link) |
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NEE (Dutch for no) is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.
The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp. The idea of the protest party was started by a group of young people, who felt that their local community had lost confidence in the Belgian politicians and their intentions. NEE first participated in the municipal elections of 2006 and ran for a second time in the 2007 Belgian general election.
The members of the NEE group went in a non-political direction after the 2007 elections, working on a movie project,[1] and a fictional suicide blog,[2] among other activities. It is unclear if a return to political activity is planned.
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NEE has the aim of offering people who disagree with the views of all present political parties the opportunity to express their disapproval in a tangible way; by voting for NEE they are deducting votes for real political parties. In the Belgian system of compulsory voting, not voting for a candidate does not have that effect, because election results do not mention blank votes. Blank votes are eventually distributed among the existing parties. Quoting NEE's original manifesto (translated from the Dutch text):
"If you vote for us, (...) you are clearly raising your middle finger to all political parties who, according to you, cheat their voters. (...) There is a chronic shortage of competent people who have the goodwill to use their expertise for the common good. Politicians would rather use their expertise for personal benefit. Every vote for NEE is a powerful signal to those politicians, a signal that says: we will not put up with your anti-social and egoistical leadership anymore."[3]
It must be noted that NEE does not campaign to encourage such electoral behavior. The party mocks the electoral promises of the mainstream political parties and provides open criticism when it feels politicians are playing tricks otherwise acting in an undesirable manner. However, their propaganda flyers and media clearly discourage voting for them if one is happy with the current state of politics or with a certain party.[4] Many people voting for NEE would be a sign that Belgian democracy was in bad condition, and NEE would rather see a healthy democracy. Although NEE aims to channel the negative feelings of the citizens, they do not feel this means they can not be a constructive movement. They hope their message will bring self-reflection and a new positive energy that encourages honesty and real motivation in the political landscape, rather than treating the elections as a popularity contest.
NEE does not have a party ideology in the classical sense, where opinions about important social, economical, ethical, ecological and policy topics are stated. That is why they want to call themselves a 'protest movement' promoting a higher level of democracy and free speech, rather than a 'party'.
Originally the party stated that elected NEE members would occupy their seat and vote against every proposition made.[3] This strategy was changed and subsequently claimed that elected members would not fill an active role, instead leaving seats empty as a 'none of the above' option to allow dissatisfied voters a chance to sanction the other parties,[5] which - in Belgium - are financially rewarded for every seat they obtain in parliament. Empty seats would also be a more realistic representation of the voter's opinion, considering that the voter did not want to support any actual politician.
The party organises its campaigns mainly through the internet. Besides an internet campaign, small scaled, sometimes satirical actions are organised in NEE's hometown, Antwerp.
NEE attracted international attention when its lead candidate for the Senate in the 2007 Belgian general election, Tania Derveaux, posed naked in an ad that promised to create 40,000 jobs. The ad was intended as a parodic attack on other parties that made claims about job creation that NEE considered ridiculous. According to the NEE website, she received back requests which were not for jobs, but for blowjobs. In response, NEE posted advertisements and a form on its website offering the opportunity to subscribe for one of the 40,000 blowjobs Tania would offer.[6]
Eventually the promised blowjobs were given out virtually, by posting a (now unavailable) video clip on Youtube. An actress, Lin Chong, entitled as Tania's blowjob assistant, made gestures in the video as if she was performing oral sex on the viewer.
In the municipal elections of 2006, the party received 1.51% of the votes for the Antwerp city council, but no candidate was elected.[7]
In the general elections of 2007, NEE scored 0.18% for the Senate, which was not enough to obtain a seat.[8]
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