It was formed following an internal conflict between Henk Otten, former treasurer and board member of Forum for Democracy (FvD), and its leader Thierry Baudet.

Further efforts led to a decisive victory two years later in the 2019 Dutch provincial elections, but the party was not able to form a coalition in any province.

[citation needed] On 19 April 2019, Otten stepped forward in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

[6] In Dutch news program Nieuwsuur, Otten hinted at his further political aspirations with the possibility of establishing his own party for the first time.

As Rookmaker was fourth on the Forum's candidates list for the 2019 European Parliament election, she still claimed the "Brexit seat" despite her canceled membership.

[10] On its website and initial policy platform, Group Otten declared its main beliefs to be based on a “Triple-E” philosophy which stands for "Effective, Honest and Efficient" (Effectief, Eerlijk en Efficiënt in Dutch).

It also stood for more rational politics over what it described as legislation created by "emotional debates" in the House of Representatives, and wished to prioritize the interests of Dutch citizens.