('''D66''', , official name: ''Politieke Partij Democraten 66'') is a
Dutch Progressive ,
Social-liberal and
Radical Democratic Political Party . It is currently in opposition against the
Fourth Cabinet Balkenende .
D66 was founded on
October 14 1966 by 44 people. Its founders are described as "
Homines Novi ", only 25 of the 44 had previously been members of a political party. The initiators were
Hans Van Mierlo , a journalist for the Algemeen Handelsblad and
Hans Gruijters , a
Municipal Councillor in Amsterdam. Van Mierlo became the party's political leader and Gruijters the
Party's Chair . The foundation of the party was preceded by the Appeal 1966 on October 10, in which the founders appealed to the people of the Netherlands to re-take their democratic institutions. The party renounced the 19th century political ideologies which dominated the political system and wanted to end
Pillarization . It called for radical democratization of the Dutch society and its political system and it called for
Pragmatic and
Scientific policy-making.
The party entered in the joined by progressive members of the Christian-democratic
ARP and the
KVP . The cabinet was led by the social-democrat
Joop Den Uyl . After the formation talks Van Mierlo left politics, feeling that his political position within the parliamentary party was untenable. The other party-founder Hans Gruijters became Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning. Van Mierlo was replaced by
Jan Terlouw . He became the
Chair Of The Parliamentary Party .
In the period 1972-1974 the party lost a dramatic number of members (from 6000 to 300) and polled very poorly in the provincial elections of 1974. The party also lost half of its senators in the 1974 indirect election of the
Eerste Kamer . On one of the party congresses a motion was put forth to abolish the party. A majority of the members voted in favour, but the two-thirds majority was not reached. In reaction Terlouw started a campaign to revitalize the party, involving a membership drive and a
Petition under the electorate. He emphasized issues other than democratic reform, and gave the party a more liberal orientation. The party doubled its membership in 1975 and in the
1977 Election the party even won two additional seats, although that same year D66 lost all its seats in the First Chamber. In the
Election Of 1981 D66 more than doubled its seats, to seventeen. They entered government with the Christian-democratic
CDA and the PvdA. Terlouw became Minister of the Economy. The cabinet was riddled by the personal and ideological conflicts between the Christian-democratic Prime Minister
Van Agt and the Social-democrat minister of Social Affairs Den Uyl. The cabinet fell nine months after it was formed, when the social-democrats left the cabinet. D66 and the CDA continued to govern in a
Care Taker Government . In the subsequent
Elections Of 1982 D66 lost two-thirds of its support, and was left with only six seats. After the elections Terlouw left politics, and he was replaced by
Maarten Engwirda . The party was confined to opposition.
In 1986 Van Mierlo returned to politics. He emphasized democratic reform as the core issue of the party and wanted to abolish the polarization of PvdA and VVD, in order to form a government without the Christian-Democrats (CDA). He led the party in the
Elections Of That Year and gained three seats. In the
1989 Election the party won another three seats, making a total of twelve, and it was asked to join the formation talks of a CDA/PvdA/D66 cabinet. Although the social-democrats preferred a government with D66, the Christian-democrats did not. In the end D66 was numerically not necessary for the coalition, and they were kept out. Although in opposition, D66 adopted a constructive approach towards the government.
They were rewarded for this in the
1994 Elections in which the party doubled its seats to twenty-four. D66 was able to form its 'dream coalition'. The
Purple Coalition which combined the social-democratic PvdA, and the conservative-liberal
VVD . The
Cabinet initiated legislation which the D66 has always advocated, such as the referendum,
Same-sex Marriage and the legalisation of
Euthanasia . The centrist economic policies of the cabinet were also seen as a great success. Van Mierlo became minister of foreign affairs. Before the
Elections Of 1998 Van Mierlo stepped back and
Els Borst , the minister of health became the top-candidate. D66 lost ten seats in the election, but its coalition partners won considerable ground (at the cost of D66). The
Cabinet continued. Although D66 was numerically not necessary, it was seen as the glue that kept these two opposites together. Borst stepped down as party leader and became vice-prime minister and minister of health.
Thom De Graaf led the parliamentary party. Within the party, a group of age twenty-somethings, called Opschudding (Upheaval) began to call for a more explicit progressive liberal course. In 1999 a constitutional reform, which would allow referendums was rejected by the First Chamber. A group of dissidents around the prominent VVD member
Hans Wiegel had voted against. D66 stepped out of the cabinet. In the subsequent formation talks D66 returned to cabinet, in return for another important issue for D66, the directly elected mayor, and a temporary referendum law.
In
2002 the tide had turned against the purple coalition, the
Party of
Pim Fortuyn won considerable ground. The three purple parties lost an unprecedented 43 seats. D66 was left with only seven seats. The
CDA/LPF/VVD Cabinet that was formed lasted only three months. In the
2003 Election D66 lost another seat, leaving only six. De Graaf stood down, in favour of
Boris Dittrich . After long formation talks between CDA and PvdA, a
CDA/VVD/D66 Cabinet was formed. In return for investments in environment and education, and a special minister of democratization, a post taken by De Graaf, who also became vice-prime minister, D66 supported the centre-right reform cabinet and some of its more controversial legislation. In May 2005 the first chamber rejected a constitutional reform that would allow a directly elected mayor. The legislation was introduced in the second purple cabinet, but it was unable to get a two-thirds majority because the social-democrats, whose minister
De Vries had initiated the reform, rejected the legislation, because they were opposed the model of election proposed by De Graaf. De Graaf stepped down, but the rest of the ministers stayed on, after D66 was promised more investment in education and the environment, and a plan for electoral reform. A special party congress was called to ratify this so-called Easter Accord. 2,600 members (20 percent of total membership) were present and the congress broadcasted live on
Dutch Public Television . The congress agreed to remain in cabinet by a large majority.
Alexander Pechtold replaced De Graaf as minister of government reform.
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst , the minister of the economy became vice-prime minister.
In January 2006 Dittrich stepped down as chair of the parliamentary party, because of the way he handled a debate on sending
Troops to
Afghanistan .
Lousewies Van Der Laan replaced him. In May 2006 the party polled particularly bad in the
Municipal Election . D66 began to lose a considerable number of members, some of who founded
DeZES , another radical democratic, progressive liberal party. On a special party congress on May 13 a motion was put forth, demanding the withdrawal of D66 from the cabinet - it was rejected. In June 2006 an
Internal Election was held in order to choose the top candidate for the 2007 election. Both Van der Laan and Pechtold entered. Pechtold won the elections, making him political leader of the party. During the special plenary parliamentary debate of
July 28 ,
2006 , on the
Naturalization Process of
Ayaan Hirsi Ali , D66 supported a motion of no confidence against minister
Rita Verdonk . As D66 was a junior coalition partner, this caused a crisis in the
Second Balkenende Cabinet . The cabinet refused to remove Verdonk from her position.
Lousewies Van Der Laan , parliamentary leader of D66, did not feel that the D66 faction could support the cabinet any longer, and that the cabinet had to resign. Later on June 29, the two D66 ministers
Alexander Pechtold and
Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst resigned, causing the downfall of the Balkenende cabinet. New elections were called for
November 2006 and the
Cabinet continued to govern, as a minority caretaker government.
In October 2006, just before the D66 party congress and its 40th anniversary as party, D66 founder
Hans Van Mierlo asked the question whether D66 has still political legitimacy. He believes that many errors were made in recent history, and that only the acceptance of these errors can provide for any credibility to D66. Van Mierlo has put his support behind party leader Pechtold, who in his view can provide for such credibility.
1
At its foundation the party was called Democraten 1966 (Democrats 1966; D'66). "Democrats" was reference to both the goal of the party (radical democratization) and the
U.S. Democratic Party , with which the party identified. The year (1966) was a reference to the year of foundation, and was supposed to convey a modern image. In 1981 the name was changed to Democraten 66 (Democrats 66; D66), the name had become a successful political brand, but the year no longer conveyed a modern image.
The ideology of D66 is a highly contested subject within the party. The question is tied to the reason for its existence. There are two currents within the party: the
Radical Democrats and the progressive liberals. These two currents although some times antagonistic currently complement each other, as both emphasize the self-realization of the individual. The
Radical League and the
Freethinking Democratic League , two early twentieth century parties are historic exponents of these two traditions.
The first party congress emphasized radical democratization of Dutch society and the political system. Its ideal was a
Two-party System . To obtain this it wanted to
Reform The Electoral System after the American
First Past The Post model. The electoral reform was gradually moderated, now the party favour a
German System which combines both proportional and majoritarian electoral systems. This radical democratization was combined with pragmatic and anti-dogmatic attitude towards politics.
Hans Van Mierlo , the party's leader between 1966 and 1972 and between 1986 and 1998 and the party's figurehead, is an important exponent of this tendency within the party.
D66 progressive liberal current has historically been much weaker than its radical democratic current. Progressive liberals seek to adopt a more substantive course for the party, breaking with its pragmatism. Under
Jan Terlouw , between 1972 and 1982, D66 began to emphasize new issues like the
Environment ,
Education and
Innovation . He called D66 a fourth current, next to social-democracy, Christian-democracy and the conservative liberalism of the VVD. In 1998 the group "Opschudding" called for progressive liberal course for the party. In the party's manifesto, adopted in 2000, the party explicitly adopted a progressive liberal image. National political reasons explain the usage of the label social liberal, since the more right-wing
VVD labels itself as the liberal party.
Some of the parties most important policies:
- D66 is in favour of a Mixed Economy combining the best features of market economics and government intervention. It was one of the architects of recent reforms in social security and healthcare, which included discouraging early retirement schemes, reforming the Disability Benefit system and introducing market forces into the Health Care sector. D66 is a proponent of further flexibilisation of the labour market and tax-cuts for the lower and the middle class.
- D66 wants to increase government spending on Education and Innovation , e.g. in order to increase teacher salaries to prevent a shortage of teachers in the future. Also, D66 wants the education sector to be deregulated and government to take a step back in favour of diversity and competition.
- D66 is a green party and focuses greatly on the Environment . D66 favours more investments in Sustainable Sources Of Energy , preferably on the European level. D66 takes a pragmatic approach to Nuclear Power , taking into account the contribution nuclear energy makes in cutting Greenhouse Gas emmissions.
- D66 is a Socially Liberal party. The party introduced many liberal reforms in the past, namely in areas such as Euthanasia , Gay Marriage , Abortion and Prostitution . In defending civil liberties D66 opposed several anti-terrorism measures proposed by the government.
- D66 is a proponent of democratic reform. It favours electoral reforms such as a binding Referendum , abolition of the First Chamber Of Parliament and direct election of prime minister and Mayor .
- D66 is the most pro- European party in the Netherlands, as the party is in favour of a Federal Europe . D66 favours more European cooperation on issues such as the environment, immigration policy and foreign policy.
In this table the election results of the D66 in Tweede Kamer, Eerste Kamer and European elections is represented, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader. It also possible that the party leader is member of cabinet, if the D66 was part of the governing coalition, the "highest ranking" minister is listed. The membership and party chair of D66 is also represented.
The 2006 general elections resulted in three seats for D66 in the
Second Chamber Of Parliament , the Dutch
Lower House :
After the 2007 Upper House elections the party has two representatives in the
First Chamber Of Parliament , the Dutch
Upper House :
After the
2004 European Parliament Election s the party has one representative in the
European Parliament :
Two of the twelve
Queen's Commissioner s (of
Flevoland and
Utrecht ) are members of D66. The party cooperates in one
Provincial Executive (
North Holland ). It has nine members of
Provincial Legislatives .
In the figure below one can see the election results of the provincial elections of March 2007 per province. It shows the areas where D66 is strong, namely the urbanised provinces such as Utrecht and North Holland. The party is weaker in rural provinces like Friesland and Zeeland.
26 of the 414
Mayors of the Netherlands are member of D66. The party cooperates in several
Local Executives and has 30
Aldermen . It cooperates in the
Leiden local executive. It has 144 members of
Local Legislatives and 16 members of
Burough Legislatives . Fourteen of the burough councillors were elected in Amsterdam, and only two in Rotterdam.
The electorate of D66 have a relatively weak commitment towards the party. It ranges from sixteen percent of vote to two. D66 tends to attract unbound, 'floating' voters. D66 voters are relatively young, tend to be female, highly-educated and have strong
Post-materialistic Values . The party's electorate is concentrated in the larger cities. D66 lacks
Pillarized Organizations around it.
D66 has long history of strong internal democracy. The highest organ of the D66 is the General Assembly, it is formed by delegates in which every member can participate. It convenes multiple times per year. It appoints the party board and has the last say over the party program. The
Party List , including the party's
Top Candidate , for the First Chamber, Second Chamber, European Parliament candidates are elected per referendum. The party has between 250 and 300 branches all over the Netherlands.
The party's scientific institute is called "Foundation Scientific Bureau D66". It publishes the "Idea" (Dutch: Idee). The party's magazine is the "Democrat". The education institute is called Education Centre D66. D66 has an organization for cooperation with Eastern-European liberal parties called "Foundation International Democratic Initiative D66".
The youth organization of D66 is called the . The JD publishes the Demo. It is a member of the European Liberal Youth
LYMEC and the International Liberal Youth Federation
IFLRY .
D66 is a member of the
Liberal International and of the
European Liberal Democrat And Reform Party (ELDR).
D66 is at the centre of the Dutch political spectrum, therefore it has cooperated well with nearly all parties.
Historically D66 has cooperated very well with the social-democratic without D66; and 2003 when D66 joined a
Cabinet of CDA/VVD/D66.
Ideologically the left-liberal D66 is linked to the more conservative liberal
VVD . This resulted in three coalition governments (Kok I, Kok II and Balkenende II). Both D66 and the VVD are member of the
ELDR and their members in the European Parliament joined the
ALDE group; they have campaigned with the same ELDR program in European Parliament elections; they have formed
Electoral Alliances .
The relations with CDA have been less cooperative. Historically, the CDA is
Ethically Conservative , while D66 is
Ethically Liberal . They both espouse the same
Centrist economic policies however. This has led to the formation of the CDA/D66 caretaker government
Van Agt III but also the cooperation of D66 in the third Balkenende cabinet.
Both D66 and the ,
Pro-european ,
Multiculturalist ,
Environmentalist political agenda. This has not yet resulted in any substantial cooperation.
D66 is part of a large global family of
Social-liberal parties and parties oriented at
Democratic Reform . Examples are the British
Liberal Democrats , the
Australian Democrats , the Danish
Social-Liberal Party , the Belgian
Spirit , the French
Radical Party Of The Left and the
Italian Radicals . Progressive members of the
U.S. Democratic Party often take comparable stances.
