T.S.M. "Sebastiaan" Stöteler (Dutch: [səˈbɑstijaːn ˈstøːtələr]; born 18 November 1983) is a Dutch politician of the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV).
Sebastiaan Stöteler | |
|---|---|
 Stöteler in 2021 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
| Parliamentary group | Patriots for Europe |
| Constituency | Netherlands |
| Member of the Provincial Council of Overijssel | |
| In office 16 March 2022 – 15 July 2024 | |
| Member of the Almelo Municipal Council | |
| In office 21 March 2018 – 15 July 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | T.S.M. Stöteler 18 November 1983 Almelo, Netherlands |
| Political party |
|
| Alma mater | HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht |
| Occupation |
|
Born and raised in Almelo, he worked as a judicial officer and served on its municipal council starting in 2018. He became a member of the Provincial Council of Overijssel in 2022. Stöteler was elected to the European Parliament in June 2024 as the PVV's lead candidate.
Biography
editEarly life
editStöteler was born in Almelo, Overijssel in 1983 and he grew up there. He had several jobs after graduating high school with a havo diploma before studying law at the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. From 2002 to 2008 he was a bailiff and later a judicial officer for a debt collection agency starting in the mid-2010s.[1]
Political career
editStöteler first became involved with the PVV in 2016 and volunteered as a policy officer for the PVV's faction in the Provincial Council of Overijssel. Stöteler entered the Almelo Municipal Council in 2018, where he has served on its presidium and as the PVV's parliamentary leader.[1][2] Comparing him to other municipal councilors of the PVV, de Volkskrant described Stöteler as a moderate who occasionally cooperated with the governing coalition.[1] He was the party's 25th candidate in the March 2021 general election, when the PVV won 17 seats.[1][3] Stöteler became a member of the Provincial Council of Overijssel the following year next to this job and his position on the municipal council.[1]
He was selected as the PVV's lead candidate in the June 2024 European Parliament election.[4] Newspaper NRC called Stöteler invisible during the campaign, as he shied away from public appearances apart from attending two debates.[2] He announced that the PVV intended to leave the Identity and Democracy Party in favor of a new party to be established by French politician Marine Le Pen.[4] The PVV became the second-largest party in the Netherlands, winning six seats, and Stöteler was elected. Its MEPs joined the new Patriots for Europe political group that included Le Pen's National Rally and the Hungarian Fidesz party.[5] Stöteler became vice-chair of the group, and he has served on the following committees:
- Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Security and Defence
- Delegation for relations with Israel
- Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and ASEAN (substitute)[6]
Political positions
editStöteler has stated that his main political interests and strengths are in estimating how law works in practice. He has argued that Islam is not a religion but a totalitarian ideology which he likened to fascism and has spoken out against the construction of new mosques in the Netherlands. In 2021, Stöteler argued that the PVV does not want to exclude foreigners or immigrants from the Netherlands but is against what he described as "Islamization" of the country.[7] Stöteler also supports expanding nuclear energy in the Netherlands. A 2020 profile in Dutch newspaper Tubantia described Stöteler as a relatively pragmatic and moderate member of the PVV.[8][9]
Electoral history
edit| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2019 | Senate | PVV | 11 | 0 | 5 | Lost | [10] | |
| 2021 | House of Representatives | PVV | 25 | 338 | 17 | Lost | [3] | |
| 2024 | European Parliament | PVV | 1 | 546,868 | 6 | Won | [11] | |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Hendrickx, Frank (7 June 2024). "In het Europees Parlement zal Wilders' nieuwe man in Brussel als grote onbekende worden ontvangen" [Wilders's new man in Brussels will be received in the European Parliament as a major unknown]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ a b Rutten, Rik (3 June 2024). "Wilders ontziet coalitiegenoten met Europese campagne en weet wat de meeste stemmen trekt: hijzelf" [Wilders spares coalition partners in European campaign and knows what will yield the most votes: himself]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ a b "PVV wil in nieuwe Europese fractie van radicaal-rechtse partijen met Le Pen en Meloni" [PVV wants to join new European group of radical right parties with Le Pen and Meloni]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 1 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ "Nieuwe Patriottenpartij met PVV derde grootste in EU-parlement" [New Patriots' party with PVV third-largest in EU Parliament]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "10th parliamentary term | Sebastiaan STÖTELER". European Parliament. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Van Almelo naar Den Haag: Sebastiaan Stöteler, AAVisie 2021
- ^ "PVV list leader for Europe: tough in debate and indistinguishable from Wilders". Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ "PVV in Almelo can be quite constructive: 'Sometimes'". Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Kiesraad (31 May 2019). "Proces-verbaal van de verkiezingsuitslag van de Eerste Kamer" (PDF) (in Dutch). pp. 17–19. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Proces-verbaal centraal stembureau uitslag verkiezing Europees Parlement Model P22-1" [Central electoral council report of the results of the election of the European Parliament Model P22-1] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 19 June 2024. pp. 23–24, 42. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
