The Netherlands’ system of proportional representation and its low electoral
threshold for entering parliament makes the Tweede Kamer (House of
Representatives) home to many parties of different political stripes. A look
at the parties competing in the 2010 national election.
CDA, Christian Democrats
Now holds 41 seats out of 150 in parliament
Current leader: Jan Peter Balkenende
Formed in 1980 by a merger of three religious parties, the CDA has since been
the dominant force in Dutch politics. Since the party's founding, all but
one of the Netherlands’ prime ministers have hailed from this party’s ranks.
Jan Peter Balkenende has held the highest office since 2002. CDA is a
Christian party and draws on the Bible “for inspiration and foundation”, but
it includes members from other religions and has fielded a number of openly
homosexual politicians. The CDA occupies the centre-right on most economic
issues and tends to be conservative on social matters.
Labour party PvdA
Now holds 33 seats out of 150
Current leader: Job Cohen
Founded in 1948, the PvdA is the traditional social democratic force in Dutch
politics. Like Labour parties elsewhere, it is generally considered an ally
of the trade unions and supports redistribution of wealth. Labour led two
recent government coalitions, between 1994 and 2002, which were defined by a
progressive take on social issues and 'third-way' style economic governance
with some liberal tenets. In February, PvdA ministers walked out of
Balkenende’s fourth coalition cabinet over the possible extension of the
Dutch armed forces’ deployment in Afghanistan, hence creating the need for
the early elections set for June 9.
SP, Socialist Party
Now holds 25 seats out of 150
Current leader: Emile Roemer
Born out of a Maoist splinter group in the 1970s, this party – referred to by
its detractors as populist left – tends to the left of Labour on
social-economic issues. The party is a staunch defender of state benefits
such as pensions and disability pay, but also supports a more proactive
leftist agenda, including the re-nationalisation of privatised utility
companies. The party’s roots lies in the southern Dutch town of Oss, from
where it has steadily expanded across the country. On the national level, it
led a marginal existence until the election of 2006, when it burst into the
mainstream by garnering a sixth of the vote. After its poor performance in
March’s local elections, however, and the resignation of party leader Agnes
Kant, it has not been doing well in the polls.
VVD, right-wing liberal party
Now holds 21 seats out of 150
Current leader: Mark Rutte
Under the European definition of liberal, the party is a right-wing entity
within the Dutch political spectrum. It is a strong advocate of smaller
government and a defender of individual freedoms. It tends to be relatively
progressive on the social front, believing in a firm separation of church
and state for instance, but it is also a party of law and order, and has
supported tough immigration legislation. The VVD used to pretty much cover
the rightmost spectrum of the Dutch political landscape on its own until
some of its more radical elements split from the party. Two parliamentarians
who defected, Rita Verdonk in 2007 and Geert Wilders in 2004, have started
their own parties and are drawing voters away from the VVD.
Populist Party for Freedom (PVV)
Now holds 9 seats out of 150
Current leader: Geert Wilders
Scorned by some, worshipped by others, even the terminology used to describe
the PVV is wrought with controversy. Its detractors refer to the party as
‘extreme right’, based on its xenophobe ideas and anti-establishment
attitude, but, unsurprisingly, the PVV doesn't like the label one bit. The
party opposes Islam, and what it calls ‘Moroccan street terrorists’ and has
proposed radical solutions to both problems in the past; imposing a tax on
headscarves and shooting them in the knees respectively. It is, however,
rather leftist in its social policies and has made keeping the pension age
at 65 paramount. In a way, the PVV is heir to the LPF party of Pim Fortuyn,
the Dutch politician assassinated by a rogue environmental activist in 2002.
Since Fortuyn’s rise, part of the Dutch electorate fed up with the current
ruling class and the results of mass immigration has been adrift. Part of
the former LPF electorate seems to have found a new political home with the
PVV.
Green party GroenLinks
Now holds 7 seats out of 150
Current leader: Femke Halsema
GroenLinks was formed in 1990 out of a hodgepodge of leftist political parties
including pacifists, communists and evangelicals. In recent years, the party
has come to describe itself as ‘liberal left’. It is on the progressive end
of the spectrum on social issues, including euthanasia and the further
decriminalisation of drug use and has a more positive attitude towards
immigration than many other parties do. On most economic issues, the party
tends to come out on Labour’s left. As the name implies, the party also
focuses on environmental sustainability and animal rights.
Orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie
Now holds 6 seats out of 150
Current leader: André Rouvoet
Formed out of a merger of devoutly Protestant parties in 2001, the
ChristenUnie represents the Christian voters who are pro-life, pro-God and
often uncomfortable with homosexuality. It tends to the left on certain
economic issues, being a strong supporter of foreign aid to developing
nations, for instance. Though it has only a small following nationally, the
ChristenUnie is a dominant political force in the Dutch ‘bible belt’, a
string of small towns with large orthodox Protestant populations. After
obtaining six seats in the 2006 election, it helped the Christian democrats
and Labour form the coalition that fell apart in February.
Left-wing liberals D66
Now holds 3 seats out of 150
Current leader: Alexander Pechtold
Founded by a group of intellectuals in 1966, this party has since known
extreme ups and downs. D66’s former slogan was ‘the reasonable alternative’,
and it often fares well in elections as a second choice for some parts of
the electorate that are, for whatever reason, disenchanted with
establishment parties. Because it has such an unstable electoral base, it
has varied in size from 24 to its current 3 seats, a record low. Under
Pechtold, D66 looks set to regain a lot of lost ground in the upcoming
elections. D66 is defined by its progressive, liberal social agenda. It
considers governmental reform one of its top priorities, arguing for a
directly elected prime minister, for instance. On economic issues it leans
to the left only slightly.
Fundamentalist Christian SGP
Now holds 2 seats out of 150
Current leader: Kees van der Staaij
Founded in 1918, the SGP is the oldest party seated in the Dutch parliament.
Representing the most fundamentalist of the country's Reformed Christians,
the party opted not to join its fellow small Christian parties when they
merged into the ChristenUnie in 2001. Unsurprisingly, the party has a very
conservative position on a number of issues, its most controversial one
regarding women, who are not allowed to hold political office on the party's
behalf. The Dutch high court recently found this policy unconstitutional,
but the party has yet to put forward a female candidate.
Animal right party Partij voor de Dieren
Now holds 2 seats out of 150
Current leader: Marianne Thieme
The Netherlands is the only country in the world where a party solely
dedicated to the welfare of animals holds seats in national parliament. The
party was established in 2002 and obtained two seats in 2006.
Nationalist party Trots op Nederland
Now holds 1 seat out of 150
Current leader: Rita Verdonk
Once huge in the polls, Rita Verdonk now looks to have trouble holding on to
her sole seat in parliament. Like Geert Wilders, she is a right-wing VVD
defector who seems to draw on a similar slice of the electorate.
