List of political parties in the Netherlands

This article lists political parties in the Netherlands, which has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which any one party has little chance of gaining power alone, and parties often work with each other to form coalition governments.

Members of four Dutch political parties (PvdA, D66, CDA and VVD) in Ulft, shortly before the municipal elections of 2010

The lower house of the legislature, the House of Representatives, is elected by a national party-list system of proportional representation. There is no threshold for getting a seat, making it possible for a party to get a seat with only two-thirds percent of the vote—roughly one seat for every 67,000 votes.

No party has won a majority of seats since the election of 1894[1], and no party has even approached the seats needed for a majority since the current proportional representation system was implemented in 1918. All Dutch governments since then have been coalitions between two or more parties. However, there is a broad consensus on the basic principles of the political system, and all parties must adjust their goals to some extent in order to have a realistic chance at being part of the government.

General overview
Netherlands
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Netherlands
  • The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is a conservative-liberal party.[2] As a centre-right movement, it attaches great importance to private enterprise, economic liberalism[3] and the freedom of the individual in political, social, and economic affairs. The party is generally supportive of European economic integration, but is less supportive of political integration. The party's leader is Mark Rutte. VVD is a member of the Liberal International and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
  • The Labour Party (PvdA), a social democratic party, and centre-left in orientation.[2] Its program is based on more social, political, and economic equality for all citizens. Former PvdA-prime minister Joop den Uyl has called it an "equal distribution of knowledge, income and power." In recent years the PvdA has espoused a centrist Third Way programme. The PvdA is generally supportive of European integration. Although called the Labour Party, it has no formal links to the trade unions. In practice, however, strong links exist, with PvdA politicians often beginning their careers in the FNV trade union. The party is led by Lodewijk Asscher. The PvdA was a member of the Socialist International until it delisted in 2014.[4]
  • The Party for Freedom (PVV) is a right-wing populist[2] and national-liberal[5] party. It was founded by Geert Wilders, who split from the VVD in 2004. The PVV seeks to lower taxation. It is Eurosceptical and seeks to limit immigration, especially from Islamic and non-Western countries.
  • The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian democratic party on the centre to centre-right.[2] It supports free enterprise and holds to the principle that government activity should supplement but not supplant communal action by citizens. On the political spectrum, the CDA sees its philosophy as standing between the "individualism" of the VVD and the "statism" of the Labour Party. The CDA favours European economic, cultural, and political integration. The party is led by Sybrand van Haersma Buma. The CDA is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.
  • The Socialist Party (SP) is a left-wing populist party.[6] In the 1970s and 1980s, it was a Maoist party supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC). But in 1991 the SP dropped its Communist course, and chose a more independent and less radical democratic socialist[2] course, having long since denounced Maoism and the PRC. The party itself has called it a move "from socialism to a social-ism." The party opposes what it sees as the European Superstate. The SP operates as an independent party within the European United Left–Nordic Green Left in the European Parliament. Lilian Marijnissen is the leader of the SP.
  • GreenLeft combines green politics[2] with left-wing ideals. The party was founded in 1989 as a merger of the Radical, Pacifist, Communist, and Evangelical Left parties. It is led by Jesse Klaver. GreenLeft is a member of the Global Greens.
  • The Christian Union (CU) is a socially conservative[2] Christian democratic party, which mostly concentrates on ethical issues, such as a resistance against abortion, euthanasia, and gay marriage. In other areas (e.g. immigration and the environment), the party often is closer to the left-wing parties. It is sceptical about European integration. The CU operates within the European Conservatives and Reformists group within the European Parliament and is a founding member of the European Christian Political Movement. Gert-Jan Segers leads the party.
  • Democrats 66 (D66) has had widely fluctuating electoral fortunes since the party's founding in 1966. It is a centrist social liberal[2][3] party, professing a pro-European platform of ethnic and religious tolerance. Rob Jetten leads the party. D66 is a member of the Liberal International.
  • Party for the Animals (PvdD) is an animal rights party, which can be labeled as a one issue-party, though it claims not to be. The focus of the party is on animal welfare, protecting the environment and conservation. The party also has distinctive points of view about education, privacy, health care and the economy. Its founder is Marianne Thieme. Its current leader is Esther Ouwehand.
  • The Reformed Political Party (SGP) is a party of the Christian right,[2] with stronger ethical points of view than the ChristianUnion. Although a small party on a national level, it is an important political power in some orthodox reformed municipalities. The party sees governments (local, regional, national and international) as unconditional servants of God. The party bases all of its views directly on the Bible. The party opposes European integration and operates within the European Conservatives and Reformists group and is a member of the European Christian Political Movement. Kees van der Staaij leads the SGP.
  • 50Plus (50+) is a Pensioners' Party. It was led by Henk Krol who left the party in May 2020 due to internal quarrel. He then started the Party for the Future.[7]
  • Denk, a small political party mainly focusing on and promoting multiculturalism and social integration. The party also supports environmentalism and international justice. Tunahan Kuzu founded the party after splitting from the PvdA in 2014.
  • Forum for Democracy, a right-wing, national conservative party. In favour of lower taxes, military investment and expansion, electoral reform, offering a referendum on European Union membership, reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration. The party was founded and is led by Thierry Baudet.
  • The Independent Senate Group (OSF) is a parliamentary party in the Dutch Senate with one senator, representing several provincial parties.

Parliamentary parties
Political parties represented in the States General of the Netherlands
Political party Ideology Political
position		 European Union
position		 European
affiliation		 EP group International
affiliation		 Leader Senate House EP
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
(Volkspartij voor
Vrijheid en Democratie)		 VVD Conservative liberalism
[8]
Economic liberalism
[9][10][11]		 Centre-right
[12][13]		 Pro-Europeanism
[14][15][16]		 ALDE Party Renew Europe LI Mark Rutte 12 32 4
Party for Freedom
(Partij voor de Vrijheid)		 PVV Nationalism
Right-wing populism
[17][18]		 Radical right [19][20][21] Hard Euroscepticism
[22]		 ID Party
(Associate Member)
[23][24]		 IFA Geert Wilders 5 20
Christian Democratic Appeal
(Christen-Democratisch Appèl)		 CDA Christian democracy
[25][26][27][28][29]		 Centre[30][31] to centre-right
[32][33]		 Pro-Europeanism
[34]		 EPP Party EPP Group CDI Sybrand Buma 9 19 4
Democrats 66
(Democraten 66)		 D66 Social liberalism
Republicanism
[8]		 Centre
[12]		 Pro-Europeanism
[35][36]		 ALDE Party Renew Europe LI Rob Jetten[37] 7 19 2
GreenLeft
(GroenLinks)		 GL Green politics
[38]
Social democracy
[39][40]		 Centre-left to
left-wing
[41][42][43]		 Pro-Europeanism EGP Greens-EFA GG Jesse Klaver 8 14 3
Socialist Party
(Socialistische Partij)		 SP Democratic socialism
Social democracy
Left-wing populism
[44][45][46][47]		 Left-wing
[48]		 Soft Euroscepticism
[49]		 Lilian Marijnissen 4 14
Labour Party
(Partij van de Arbeid)		 PvdA Social democracy
[2]		 Centre-left
[42][43]		 Pro-Europeanism PES S&D PA Lodewijk Asscher 6 9 6
Christian Union
(ChristenUnie)		 CU Christian democracy
[2]
Social Christianity
[42][43]		 Centre to
centre-right
[50][51][50]		 Soft Euroscepticism
[52]		 ECPM EPP Group Gert-Jan Segers 4 5 1
Party for the Animals
(Partij voor de Dieren)		 PvdD Animal rights
Animal welfare
Environmentalism
[38][53]		 Soft Euroscepticism APEU GUE-NGL ANP Esther Ouwehand 3 4 1
50PLUS
(50Plus)		 50+ Pensioners' interests
Identity politics
Populism
[53][8][2]		 Centre
[12]		 Soft Euroscepticism EPP Group Vacant [Note] 2 3 1
Reformed Political Party
(Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij)		 SGP Christian right
[2]
Social conservatism
[42][43]		 Right-wing
[54][55]		 Soft Euroscepticism
[56]		 ECPM ECR Kees van der Staaij 2 3 1
Denk
(Denk)		 DENK Identity politics
Minority rights
Left-wing populism
[57][58][59][60]		 Centre-left[61] Farid Azarkan 3
Forum for Democracy
(Forum voor Democratie)		 FvD National conservatism
Fiscal conservatism
Direct democracy
E-democracy
Right-wing populism
[62]		 Radical right[63][64] Hard Euroscepticism
[65]		 ECR Party ECR Group Thierry Baudet 10 2 3
Political party represented in the Senate only
Independent Senate
Group
(Onafhankelijke
Senaatsfractie)		 OSF Regionalism Centre EFA Gerben Gerbrandy 1

Other national parties
Political party Ideology Political position European Union position European affiliation EP group International affiliation Leader
 BIJ1
(BIJ1)		 B1 Anticapitalism
[66]
Multiculturalism
Identity politics		 Far left
[67]		 Sylvana Simons
Libertarian Party
(Libertarische Partij)		 LP Libertarianism
[68]		 Euroscepticism EPIL LI Robert Valentine
Liberal Democratic Party
(Liberaal Democratische Partij)		 LibDem Social liberalism Centre Pro-Europeanism Sammy van Tuyll
van Serooskerken
GeenPeil
(GeenPeil)		 GP Direct democracy
E-democracy
Right-wing populism
[69]		 Right-wing Hard Euroscepticism Vacant
Pirate Party
(Piratenpartij)		 PPNL Pirate politics
[70]
Direct democracy
E-democracy
[71][72]		 Centre
[73]		 PPEU PPI Vacant
Party for Human and Spirit
(Partij voor Mens en Spirit)		 MenS Spiritual left
[74]		 Centre-left Vacant
Nieuwe Wegen
(Nieuwe Wegen)		 NW Social democracy
[75]
Left-wing populism
[76]		 Centre-left Vacant
Jesus Lives

(Jezus Leeft)

 Evangelism

Social conservatism

Anti-abortionism

Euroscepticism

Environmentalism

 Right-wing Florens van der Spek
Dutch Peoples-Union NVU Right-wing nationalism
Greater Netherlands		 Far-right Hard Euroscepticism Constant Kusters
Volt Europa
(Volt Nederland)		 Volt Social liberalism
European federalism[77]		 Centre Pro-Europeanism Volt Europa Greens-EFA Reinier Van Lanschot

Regional parties
Party Abbreviation Active in Number of provincial seats Number of municipal seats
Frisian National Party FNP Friesland 4 58
Groninger Belang GB Groningen 3 -
Party for the North PvhN Groningen 1 3
Party for Zeeland PVZ Zeeland 1 1

Locally represented parties
Party Abbreviation Year of creation Number of municipal seats
The Greens DG 1983 1
Islam Democrats ID 2006 2
New Communist Party of the Netherlands NCPN 1992 3
Forza! Netherlands Forza! 2003 8
Proud of the Netherlands TROTS 2007 6
United Communist Party VCP 1999 5
United Senior Party VSP 2001 13

Defunct parties
History and evolution of all Dutch political parties to ever have had seats in the House of Representatives.

See also

References
  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1412 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Wolfram Nordsieck. "Parties and Elections in Europe". Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. Almeida, Dimitri. "Liberal Parties and European Integration" (PDF).
  5. Moreau, Patrick. The Victorious Parties - Unity in Diversity?. The Extreme Right in Europe: Current Trends and Perspectives. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 106.
  6. Andeweg, R. B.; Galen A. Irwin (2002). Governance and politics of the Netherlands. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 51. ISBN 0333961579.
  7. https://www.ad.nl/politiek/henk-krol-verlaat-50plus-start-met-partij-voor-de-toekomst~a02a5a35
  8. Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin Politics and Governance in the Netherlands, Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49
  9. T. Banchoff (28 June 1999). Legitimacy and the European Union. Taylor & Francis. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-415-18188-4. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  10. Andeweg R.B. and G.A. Irwin Government & Politics in the Netherlands 2002 Palgrave p. 48
  11. "Vvd.nl Website Information". Who.is. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  12. Hans Keman (2008), "The Low Countries: Confrontation and Coalition in Segmented Societies", Comparative European Politics, Taylor & Francis, p. 221
  13. Sean Lusk; Nick Birks (2014). Rethinking Public Strategy. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-137-37758-6.
  14. "VVD Standpunten". VVD.
  15. Barbara Wejnert (26 July 2010). Democratic Paths and Trends. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-85724-091-0. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  16. Thomas Poguntke; Paul Webb (21 June 2007). The Presidentialization of Politics: A Comparative Study of Modern Democracies. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-921849-3. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  17. Pauwels, Teun (2014). Populism in Western Europe: Comparing Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. Routledge. pp. 117–118. ISBN 9781317653912.
  18. Merijn Oudenampsen (2013). "Explaining the Swing to the Right: The Dutch Debate on the Rise of Right-Wing Populism". In Ruth Wodak, Majid KhosraviNik, Brigitte Mral. Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. A&C Black. p. 191.
  19. Tjitske Akkerman (2015). Gender and the radical right in Western Europe: a comparative analysis of policy agendas.
  20. Jan Rovny (2013). Where do radical right parties stand? Position blurring in multidimensional competition. Cambridge University.
  21. Are Dutch voters really turning to populist Geert Wilders?
    'Dutch voters choose a new government in March 2017 and if the polls are right, the right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) of populist leader Geert Wilders is surging ahead of his rivals and is set to win 35 seats'.
    BBC NEWS. Author - Anna Holligan.
    Published 9 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  22. Thompson, Wayne C. (2014). Western Europe 2014. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 185. ISBN 9781475812305.
  23. "Colloquium Vrijheid". Colloquiumvrijheid.eu. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  24. "Europe's right-wing parties meet near Vienna, urge Brexit". DW.COM. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  25. "CDA: partij van samenleving en van waarden" (in Dutch). Reformatorisch Dagblad. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  26. http://tradebridgeconsultants.com/country-index/netherlands/political-parties/christian-democratic-appeal/
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. http://nos.nl/artikel/332339-cda-kiest-voor-radicale-midden.html
  29. http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2012/01/21/cda-moet-kiezer-weer-raken-met-keuze-voor-radicale-midden
  30. "Netherlands". Freedom House. 2003. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  31. Bremmer, Ian (13 September 2012). "Going Dutch: The Netherlands' election results roll in". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  32. Syuzanna Vasilyan (2009). "The integration crisis in the Netherlands: the causes and the new policy measures". In Ditta Dolejšiová; Miguel Angel García López (eds.). European Citizenship in the Process of Construction: Challenges for Citizenship, Citizenship Education and Democratic Practice in Europe. Council of Europe. p. 73. ISBN 978-92-871-6478-0.
  33. Hans Vollaard; Gerrit Voerman; Nelleke van de Walle (2015). "The Netherlands". In Donatella M. Viola (ed.). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7.
  34. Kees Van Kerbergen; André Krouwel (2013). "A double-edged sword! The Dutch centre-right and the 'foreigners issue'". In Tim Bale (ed.). Immigration and Integration Policy in Europe: Why Politics – and the Centre-Right – Matter. Routledge. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-1-317-96827-6.
  35. Vít Hloušek; Lubomír Kopeček (2010). Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7546-9661-2. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  36. Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Routledge. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-415-69374-5.
  37. https://nos.nl/artikel/2254034-rob-jetten-nieuwe-fractievoorzitter-d66.html
  38. "parties-and-elections.de".
  39. "Van poppodia naar de bedrijfskantine - Klaver wil van GroenLinks brede volkspartij maken".
  40. "De ideologische herprofilering van GroenLinks: na 28 jaar de gehoopte doorbraak?".
  41. http://www.demsoc.org/2014/05/11/greenleft-gl/
  42. Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 221f. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  43. Score 4.0/10 in 2003 Chapel Hill expert survey, see Hooghe et al. (2003) Chapel Hill Survey
  44. José Magone (3 July 2013). Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge. p. 533. ISBN 978-1-136-93397-4.
  45. http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/netherlands.html
  46. "European Social Survey 2012 - Appendix 3 (in English)" (PDF). European Science Foundation. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  47. Watkins, Susan (May–June 2005). "Continental tremors". New Left Review. New Left Review. II (33).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  48. "Contemporary Far Left Parties in Europe", published November 2008, retrieved November 18, 2016: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/ipa/05818.pdf
  49. Introducing the Dutch Socialist Party. Socialist Party (Netherlands). Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  50. Rudy B. Andeweg; Galen A. Irwin (2014). Governance and Politics of the Netherlands (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. p. 74.
  51. Jort Statema; Paul Aarts. Timo Behr; Teija Tiilikainen (eds.). The Netherlands: Follow Washington, Be a Good European. Northern Europe and the Making of the EU's Mediterranean and Middle East Policies. note on p. 237.
  52. (in Dutch) CU is niet meer 'christelijk-sociaal' Trouw
  53. "Parties and Elections in Europe". Parties-and-elections.eu.
  54. "Far-right MEPs form group in European Parliament". EurActiv. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  55. Score 8.0/10 in 2003 Chapel Hill expert survey, see Hooghe et al. (2003) Chapel Hill Survey
  56. Benjamin LeRuth; Yordan Kutiyski; André Krouwel; Nicholas J Startin (2017). "Does the Information Source Matter? Newspaper Readership, Political Preferences and Attitudes Toward the EU in the UK, France and the Netherlands". In Manuela Caiani; Simona Guerra (eds.). Euroscepticism, Democracy and the Media: Communicating Europe, Contesting Europe. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-137-59643-7.
  57. Andreas KouwenhovenHugo Logtenberg 10 februari 2017. "Nep-aanhang is online actief voor politieke partij Denk - NRC". Nrc.nl. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  58. "A Pro-Immigrant Party Rises in the Netherlands". The New York Times. 29 July 2016.
  59. "Dutch party wants to outlaw mosques, Islamic schools, Koran". Politico.
  60. "Ethnic minorities desert Labour, turn to Denk ahead of March vote". Dutch News. 6 February 2017.
  61. https://www.bewegingdenk.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Verkiezingsprogramma_DENK_2017-2021.pdf
  62. "Standpunten" (in Dutch). Forum voor Democratie. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  63. "Forum voor Democratie: Why has the Dutch far right surged?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  64. "Forum voor Democratie: why has the Dutch far right surged?". Tilburg University. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  65. Joshua Chaffin (14 March 2017). "Populists seize the moment as Dutch fall out of love with EU". Financial Times.
  66. "'We zijn de luis in de pels, houden iedereen scherp'" (PDF) (in Dutch). De Kanttekening. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  67. https://www.oneworld.nl/lezen/politiek/democratie/de-linkse-waakhond-van-amsterdam/. Retrieved 9 May 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  68. "Verkiezingsprogramma 2017 – 2021" (in Dutch). Libertarische Partij. 10 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  69. "Standpunten (FAQ)". GeenPeil (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  70. Piratenpartij (13 April 2010). "Structuur" [Structure] (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  71. Piratenpartij (13 April 2010). "Kernpunten" [Key Positions] (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  72. NU.nl (12 April 2010). "Piratenpartij wil naar vrije informatiesamenleving" [Pirateparty wants a free information society] (in Dutch). Novum. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  73. "Principles 3.2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  74. "Doelstellingen" (in Dutch). Partij voor Mens en Spirit. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  75. "Monasch: Ik ben sociaal-democraat en dat blijf ik". Trouw (in Dutch). 8 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  76. "Uitgangspunten" (in Dutch). Nieuwe Wegen. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  77. "Vision". Volt Europa. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
Leadership and Lijsttrekker (top candidate) pending on possible leadership election
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.