NEE Party Attempts to Blow Belgian Election
Mysterious Mouthpiece Mocks Parliament With Sexy Ads
There are campaign promises, there are dirty campaign promises and then there is Belgium's NEE party, which is offering voters something well beyond the bounds of decency, politics and, by some estimations, human capability. According to their Web site, Tania Derveaux, the "leading NEE party senate candidate in Belgium," is promising oral sex to 40,000 men in order to get voters to write the word "nee" ("no") on their ballots June 10th.
The genesis of the 40k fellatio comes in response to ads by several of Belgium's more traditional parties promising "new job opportunities in ridiculous amounts." NEE, a self-proclaimed "impartial protest movement," responded with a parody campaign in which "candidate Tania" posed naked and promised voters "400,000 new jobs." As you might imagine, such provocative advertising "resulted in international media attention," and NEE was soon besieged by e-mail requests for the kind of "jobs" that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. Sensing that they could get people to think twice about who to believe by making "absolutely ridiculous promises," Ms. Derveaux announced plans to perform oral sex on the first 40,000 people who wrote in.
Though NEE's goal had been to take a "general stab at the evolution of politics in campaigns and media," the response has been so huge, with hundreds of thousands of hopefuls submitting their names, that perhaps people didn't realize it was a joke. One independent report used Alexa tracking in the days following the announcement and found that NEE's site received twice as many page views as The White House's Web site and 10 times as many as Britain's Labor Party URL. But, as with most parody, there is a serious message behind the mockery. In this case it is that "real" voting options no longer exist in Belgium since the 10+ parties are often forced to form coalitions under which "nothing fundamental will change."
According to a statement from Tania, NEE was "founded almost two years ago with the intention and hopes of improving our democratic system by offering the people the option to vote 'no' against the current political situation if they felt the need to cast a protest vote." In Belgium voting is mandatory, and empty ballots are simply divided among the elected parties. NEE's goal is to "stimulate political awareness and to offer the people the means to protest officially." According to the site, if elected, NEE would not fill their "seats in parliament, resulting in a loss of income and power among the other parties," thus giving voters "the power to sanction politicians if needed." This, of course, means that Ms. Derveaux is not actually running for office, which is probably a good thing since it will take her an estimated 500 days to fulfill her "campaign promise," at a rate of 80 encounters per day.
Whether NEE is a joke, grassroots activism or something in between, the people of Belgium have taken notice, with major politicians "from all parties" expressing admiration and "awe" toward their efforts. Moreover, it's safe to say that not since Monty Brewster's fictional "None of the Above" campaign has there been such a creative attempt to encourage abstention. And if NEE does manage to take down a few seats in June, it will not only prove the obvious -- that sex sells -- but also that an absurd joke can at times be a more logical choice than the government's status quo.
By Emil Steiner | May 22, 2007; 10:18 AM ET | Category: OFF/beat Politics
Posted by: Dribble Bob | May 22, 2007 10:34 AM
uh, is that even legal? Last I checked its considered bribery to offer voters anything, money, cookies and even bl*wjobs to get their vote. Why aren't the other parties having NEE shut down?
Posted by: | May 22, 2007 11:51 AM
This is great. In Georgia you can get 10 years in jail for a BJ and in Belgium it can get you elected to the Senate. God Bless America!
Posted by: Ralphy | May 22, 2007 12:14 PM
Say wat you will bout parliamentary coalitions theyre still better than our lousy 2-party system
Posted by: Rick D | May 22, 2007 1:23 PM
To Rick D, I hardly think replacing our government no matter how flawed, with oral sex addicts is the answer to America's problems. I mean that in reference to a parliamentary coalition and not the NEE party.
In case you hadn't noticed, the whole campaign was meant as a farce but now it has turned into a we're holier than thou idiocracy. People this was a joke. SHE IS NOT GIVING ANY BJs!
Posted by: Ben | May 22, 2007 3:04 PM
This either bribery or false advertising... either way its a pretty cool idea
Posted by: Til | May 22, 2007 5:00 PM
I always admire a country that has the courage to laugh at its own idiocracy. There's a lesson here america. BJs over bombs!
Posted by: Gemma | May 22, 2007 5:04 PM
Have you seen her the instructions for the BJ?
2. Description of Services
The Services consist of Tania performing fellatio on selected individuals who have requested the Services through this form. Travel and other expenses will be covered by NEE. Any sort of recording (video, audio or photographs) of the performance is strictly prohibited without written permission. We adhere to high standards of service but due to time limitations each performance can last no longer than 5 minutes, no exceptions will be made under any circumstance.
3. General Requirements and Rules of Conduct
Services will only be provided to those who meet the following requirements:
* applicants must be 18yrs old or above
* condoms must be used and provided and paid for by the user
* the user shall not engage in any other form of physical contact
* any attempt to influence the depth of insertion by the user will
result in immediate end of service
* Tania may deny service for hygiene reasons
Posted by: | May 22, 2007 8:20 PM
How bout iit
Posted by: | May 23, 2007 10:02 AM
I wish she would run in a Province somewhere in China! Imagine how many people would vote?
Posted by: SomeGuy | May 24, 2007 10:37 AM
Damn good idea.
Posted by: Alheira de Mirandela | May 25, 2007 7:22 AM
she's got my vote.
I want sex with you.oooooooooooooo
Posted by: ali | May 27, 2007 12:03 PM
the cyprus movement for the preservation of fulfilled stomatic intercorce also hinx its an exellent idea...
Sindesmos Prostasias Olokliromenou Stomatikou Erota
the president of spose
Posted by: spose | June 5, 2007 5:15 AM
NEE is a legal party like any other. And Belgian politics is going downwards. By creating gouvernments where everyone rules (except for separatism), Belgium destroys itself from the inside.
NEE offers a new way of gouverning: giving you the option to tell politics who's the bad guy too, not only who's the good one. NEE is the only party that doesn't tell people nót vote on a particular party, giving a better atmosphere in Belgium.
Tania can promise oral sex because she's a politician. Belgian politicians may lie. Tania is a Belgian politician, so Tania may lie ;)
Posted by: Belgian guy | June 11, 2007 9:12 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
She's got my vote, I can tell you that. Protest or no protest she's HOT