The ('''VVD''') (
Liberal Political Party . The VVD is the most vociferous supporter of private enterprise in the Netherlands — although supportive of the
Welfare State 1 — and is often perceived as a
Centre-right ,
Conservative Liberal , or market liberal party,Andeweg R.B. and G.A. Irwin ''Government & Politics in the Netherlands'' 2002 Palgrave p. 48 in contrast to the social-liberal
D66 . The VVD is the second largest opposition party in parliament, after the
Fourth Balkenende Cabinet was formed.
The VVD was founded in 1948 as a continuation of the
Freedom Party , which was a continuation of the
Liberal State Party , a pre-
World War II conservative liberal party. They were joined by liberals from the social-democratic
Partij Van De Arbeid (PvdA, Labour Party), led by
Pieter Oud . The liberals from the PvdA were members of the pre-war social liberal
Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond (VDB), who had joined the PvdA in the post-war
Doorbraak -movement. They were unhappy with the social-democratic orientation of the PvdA.
Between 1948 and 1952 the VVD took part in the broad cabinets led by the social-democrat
Willem Drees . The party was a junior partner with only eight seats to the
Catholic People's Party (KVP) and social-democratic PvdA, which both had around thirty seats. The party's leadership was in the hands of the respected former PvdA member Oud. The Drees cabinet laid the foundation for the
Welfare State and decolonization of the
Dutch Indies . In the
1952 Elections the VVD gained one seat, but did not join government. They were rewarded for their opposition in the
1956 Elections , receiving thirteen seats. But they were still kept out of government until the
1959 Elections , which were held early because of cabinet crisis. They earned nineteen seats and the party entered government together with the Protestant
Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP) and
Christian Historical Union (CHU) and the Catholic KVP.
In 1963 Oud left politics, and he was succeeded by the minister of Home Affairs
Edzo Toxopeus . Toxopeus lost three seats in the
1963 elections, but the VVD remained in government. Meanwhile internal debate developed. In
1962 some progressive VVD members founded the Liberal Democratic Centre (Liberaal Democratisch Centrum; LDC) which was supposed to moved the VVD in a more progressive direction. In 1966 many of the LDC-members left the VVD and joined the newly founded social-liberal party
Democrats 66 (D66). In 1966 there was a conflict between the VVD-ministers and their Christian-democratic counterparts. The cabinet fell and without elections it was replaced by the social-democratic/Christian-democratic cabinet-
Cals , which fell after a few months. In the following
1967 Elections the VVD remained relatively stable and entered the Cabinet-
De Jong .
During this period the VVD had weak ties with other liberal organization and together they formed the neutral
Pillar . This included the liberal papers
Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and the
Algemeen Handelsblad , the broadcaster
AVRO and the
Employers' Organization VNO .
In the and middle class voters, who because of individualization and
Depillarization were more easy to attract.
The course was very profitable: in the heavily polarized
Elections Of 1972 the VVD won six seats. The VVD was kept out of government by the social-democratic/Christian-democratic-
Den Uyl . Although the ties between the VVD and other neutral pillarized organizations weakened, the number of neutral organizations, friendly to the VVD, expanded. The
TROS and later
Veronica , new broadcasters which entered the
Public Broadcasting System were friendly to the VVD. In 1977 the VVD again won six seats bringing its total to twenty-eight seats. When lengthy formation talks between the social-democrats and Christian-democrats finally led to final break the VVD formed a government with the
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), with only a majority of two seats.
In the
1981 Elections the VVD lost two seats and its partner the CDA lost even more. The cabinet was without a majority and a CDA/PvdA/D66 cabinet was formed, which fell after a few months. In 1982 Hans Wiegel left politics to become
Queen's Commissioner in
Friesland , he was succeeded by
Ed Nijpels . In the
1982 Elections Nijpels' VVD won ten seats, bringing its total up to 36. In entered government with the CDA again under CDA-leader
Ruud Lubbers . The cabinet began a program of radical reform of the welfare state, which is still implemented today. The VVD lost nine seats in the
1986 Elections but the cabinet nonetheless retained its majority. This was blamed on the person of Nijpels, who stood down as leader of the VVD. He was succeeded by
Joris Voorhoeve . In 1989 the CDA/VVD cabinet fell over a minor point. In the
Subsequent Elections the VVD lost five seats, leaving only twenty-two. The VVD was kept out of government. Voorhoeve was replaced by the charismatic intellectual
Frits Bolkestein .
Bolkestein's VVD was one of the winners of the and the social-liberal
D66 . The so-called "
Purple Cabinet " led by
Wim Kok , the first Dutch government without any confessional parties. Like many of his predecessors the VVD-leader Bolkestein remained in parliament, his political style was characterized by some as "opposition to one's own government". This style was very successful and the VVD won seven seats in the
1998 Elections becoming the second party in parliament with thirty-eight seats. The VVD formed a
Second Purple Cabinet with the PvdA and D66. Bolkestein left Dutch politics in 1999 to become
European Commission er. He was replaced by the more technocratic and socially liberal
Hans Dijkstal .
In the heavily polarized
2002 Elections , dominated by the rise of
Pim Fortuyn , the VVD lost fourteen seats, leaving only twenty-four. The VVD nonetheless entered a cabinet with the CDA and the populist
Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF). Dijkstal stood down, and was replaced by the popular former minister of finance
Gerrit Zalm . After a few months Zalm "pulled the plug" out of the VVD/CDA/LPF-cabinet, after the infighting of LPF ministers
Bomhoff and
Heinsbroek .
In the
2003 Elections the VVD won only four seats, making a total of twenty-eight. The party expected to do much better, having adopted most of Fortuyn's proposals on immigration and integration. The VVD unwillingly entered the VVD/CDA/D66-cabinet with Zalm returning to the ministry of Finance. He was replaced as partyleader by
Jozias Van Aartsen , former foreign minister. On
September 2 ,
2004 , VVD MP
Geert Wilders left the party after a dispute with parliamentary chairman Van Aartsen. He has chosen to continue as an independent or
Een-mansfractie in the
Tweede Kamer .
In 2006 the party lost a considerable number of seats in the
Municipal Elections , prompting parliamentary leader
Jozias Van Aartsen to step down.
Willibrord Van Beek was subsequently appointed parliamentary leader ad interim. In the subsequent party leadership
Run-off Mark Rutte was elected as the leader, beating
Rita Verdonk and
Jelleke Veenendaal .
NRC Handelsblad 31 May 2006 Link Dutch language
The
2006 Election Campaign did not start of well, top candidate Mark Rutte was criticized by his own
Parliamentary Party for being invisible in the campaign, and unable to break the attention away from the duel between current christian-democratic prime-minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos of the Labour Party. However, the VVD's campaign started relatively late.
2 The
Election Polls show a loss for the VVD; old VVD deputy prime-minster
Hans Wiegel blamed a poorly ran VVD campaign for this, caused by the heavily contested VVD leadership run-off between Mark Rutte and Rita Verdonk earlier in the year. Verdonk has her eyes on the deputy-minister post, while cabinet posts are normally decided upon by the political leader of the VVD, Mark Rutte.
3 On election day, the party received a vote total enough for twenty-two seats, a loss of six seats. When the official election results were announced on Monday 27 November, 2006, preferential votes became known as well, showing that second candidate on the list Rita Verdonk obtained more votes than the VVD's
Top Candidate , Mark Rutte. Rutte received 553,200 votes, Verdonk 620,555.
4 This lead Verdonk to call for a party commission that would investigate the party leadership position, as consequence of the situation of her obtaining more votes in the general election than Rutte, creating a shortly-lived crisis in the party.
5
A crisis was averted when Rutte called for an ultimatum on his leadership, which Verdonk had reconcile to, by rejecting her proposal for a party commission.
6
During 2007, signs of VVD infighting continued to play in the media. In June 2007, former VVD minister Dekker presented a report on the previous elections, showing that the VVD lacked clear leadership roles, however the report also not singled out someone in particular for the party's losses.
7
The VVD was originally a merger of the Party of Freedom and Freethinking Democratic dissenters within the PvdA. In this name, both tendencies,
Classical Liberalism ("Freedom") and
Social Liberalism ("People's Party"; "Democracy") are represented. Although a liberal party, the VVD did not openly call itself "liberal", mainly because of the still lingering "negative" connotations of liberalism developed during the
Great Depression and
Second World War .
The most common English translation of the name is the literal translation (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy),
the party itself provides the translation "Party for Freedom and Democracy".[http://www.vvd.nl/index.aspx?ChapterID=1304 The reason for this is unknown, but it may be because the term "
People's Party " had some connotations with
Communism in the past.
The VVD is a party founded on liberal philosophy,VVD website statement
Link English language traditionally being the most ardent supporter of '
Free Market s' of all Dutch political parties, promoting
Fiscal responsibility, economic freedom,
Democracy and international cooperation, and in general committed to the idea of the
Welfare State . After 1971 the party became more
Populist , although
Liberal elements remain strong within the party.Andeweg R.B. and G.A. Irwin ''Government & Politics in the Netherlands'' 2002 Palgrave p. 48 From this period on the VVD became more sceptical towards the current welfare state, advocating reform of the welfare state and lower taxes in order to increase economic growth. As such it supported
Neo-liberal reforms to the welfare state. Often political commentators and political scientists refer to the VVD as a conservative liberal party, in contrast to D66, which is perceived to be a more progressive liberal party. The
Recent Leadership Election was interpreted by many as a conflict between the liberal and conservative wings of the party, with Rutte, the 'liberal' candidate, winning from Verdonk, the 'conservative' or 'populist' candidate."Een Liberale VVD" in ''De Volkskrant''
June 1 ,
2006 accessible
here The election was rather close, with 52% voting Rutte and 46% Verdonk.
Official election results This enforced the image of the VVD as a conservative-oriented liberal party.
The most important principle for the VVD has always been individual
Freedom .
The principles of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) are outlined in the ''Liberal Manifesto'' ("Liberaal Manifest") and the election programs. The ''Liberal Manifesto'' details the principles and foundations of the party, and is a general outlook on the direction of the party. The election programs are more oriented to practical politics.
The last ''Liberal Manifesto'' of the VVD was published in September 2005. It develops a broad outline around the themes of
Democracy ,
Security ,
Freedom and
Citizenship , along with a vision of the future of party's internal structure. Below some of the points from the Manifesto are presented:
- A common policy on defense and security in the European Union is called for.
- The principle of non-discrimination should be given more importance than the exercise of religion.
- 'Social rights' are to be continued. These are not simple 'rights', but they also create an 'obligation'.
- Euthanasia is part of a person's 'right' to self-determination.
- Commitment to an open economy, with a 'regulated Free-market ', including Patent s.
- Support for the freedom of contract. No nationally binding Collective Bargaining agreements.
- Minimize the option of Dual Citizenship .
- Social security should only be fully open for Dutch nationals. Migrants will have to integrate in order to become citizens.
The most recent
Parliamentary elections in the
Netherlands were the
2006 Elections . The VVD had setup a program commission chaired by
BT executive
Ben Verwaayen . The concept program was released on
August 28 ,
2006 . The members of the VVD had a final vote on the program on
September 30 ,
2006 . Some points from the program are:
# Keeping the
Social Security age at 65.
# An across-the-board income tax reduction of 3%.
# Mortgage interest payments remain deductible.
# "Free" daycare for working people.
# 50% reduction of the
Inheritance Tax .
In this table the election results of the VVD in Tweede Kamer, Eerste Kamer, Provincial 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 VVD was part of the governing coalition, the "highest ranking" minister is listed. The membership of the VVD and the party chair are also included.
After the 2006 elections the party has 22 representatives in the
Lower House Of Parliament (shown in the order on the election list):
After the 2003 Upper House elections the party has 15 representatives in the
Upper House :
- Uri Rosenthal, Fractievoorzitter
- Fred de Graaf, vice-fractievoorzitter
- Heleen Dupuis, fractiesecretaris
- Marbeth Bierman-Beukema toe Water
- Ger Biermans
- Nicole van den Broek-Laman Trip
- Ankie Broekers-Knol
- Dick Dees
- Jan van Heukelum
- Willem Hoekzema
- Elsabe Kalsbeek-Schimmelpenninck van der Oije
- Niek Ketting
- Paul Luijten
- Cees van den Oosten
- Paula Swenker
After the 2004 European Parliament elections the party has four representatives in the
European Parliament :
VVD MEPs are part of the
European Liberal, Democrat And Reform Party .
Provincial government
The VVD provides three of twelve Queen's Commissioners, former party-leader Ed Nijpels is Queen's Commissioner in Friesland. The VVD is part of every college of Gedeputeerde Staten (provincial executive) except for Groningen
In the following figure one can see the election results of the provincial election of 2003 and 2007 per province. It shows the areas where the VVD is strong, namely the Randstad urban area that consists out of the provinces North and South Holland, Utrecht and (parts of) Flevoland. The party is weak in peripheral provinces like Friesland, Overijssel, Zeeland and Limburg.
Municipal government
109 of the 414 Dutch Mayors are member of the VVD. Furthermore the party has about 250 Aldermen and 1100 members of Municipal Councils .
Historically the VVD electorate consisted mainly of voters.
Organizational structure
The highest organ of the VVD is the General Assembly, in which all members present have a single vote. It convenes usually twice every year. It appoints the party board and decides on the party program.
The order of the First Chamber, Second Chamber, European Parliament candidates list is decided by a Referendum under all members voting by internet, phone or mail. If contested, the Lijsttrekker of a candidates lists is appointed in a separate referendum in advance. Since 2002 the General Assembly can call for a referendum on other subjects too. The present chairman of the board was elected this way.
About 90 members elected by the members in meetings of the regional branches form the Party Council, which advises the Party Board in the months that the General Assembly does not convene. This is important forum within the party. The party board handles the daily affairs of the party, its current chair is Jan Van Zanen .
Linked organisations
The youth-organization of the VVD is the Youth Organisation Freedom And Democracy (Jongeren Organisatie voor Vrijheid en Democratie; JOVD), which as a member of the Liberal Youth Movement Of The European Union and the International Federation Of Liberal And Radical Youth .
The education institute of the VVD is the ''Haya van Someren Foundation''. The Scientific institute ''Prof.mr. B.M. Telders Foundation'' publishes the magazine ''Liberaal Reveil'' every two months. The party published the magazine ''Liber'' bi-monthly.
International organisations
The VVD is a member of the European Liberal, Democrat And Reform Party (ELDR), the party of Liberals and Democrats in the European Union, which is a component of Alliance Of Liberals And Democrats For Europe . Internationally it is a member of the Liberal International .
Relationships to other parties
The VVD has always been a very independent party. The VVD cooperates on the European and the international level with the social-liberal D66 . It has a long history of coalitions with the CDA and its Christian-democratic predecessors, but was in government with the social democratic PvdA from 1994 to 2002.
The VVD is more of an Economically Liberal party, committed to the free market, and is comparable to the German Free Democratic Party Of Germany . In its economic policies the VVD is closer to the British Conservatives than to the Liberal Democrats . In the United States it could be compared to centrist and liberal Republican s, like Lincoln Chafee and Rudy Giuliani , though its policy goals more closely resemble those articulated by the Libertarians . While the VVD's support for the Free Market and National Security resembles that of the Republicans, its support for freedom in personal matters resembles that of the Democrats .
