Christian democracy in the Netherlands
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This article gives an overview of christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessional politics, including political catholicism and Protestantism. It is limited to Christian democratic parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme.

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Overview

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Christian Democracy is the second oldest political ideology in the Netherlands, although before 1977 it was called "confessionele politiek" (politics based on the Christian confession).

Christian Democracy in the Netherlands is separated by roughly two kinds of cleavages: religious cleavages and political cleavages, which sometimes coincide.

The strongest religious cleavage is between Catholicism and Protestantism. Before the 1920s Catholics were treated as second class citizens and they were strongly dispised by Protestants, who combined their Dutch nationalism with fierce anti-papism. There also are strong cleavages within Protestantism, most notably between the Dutch Reformed Church (hervormd) and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (gereformeerd). There are also cleavages within the Reformed Churches. The religious cleavages were reinforced by pillarization, self-imposed religious segregation.

Christian Democratic parties were also divided on political matters. The left-right cleavage split leftwing, centrist and rightwing strands of Christian democracy each other.

Before the 1880s the dominant political division in the Netherlands was between liberalism and conservatism. Orthodox strands of Protestantism were allied with the conservatives, while political catholicism was allied with liberalism.

In 1880 the Anti Revolutionary Party was founded. It was part of the formation of a separate orthodox Protestant pillar, social group, which involved a separate church, the gereformeerde Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and a separate system of Protestant schools, including the Free University. This separate organization was based on a particular interpretation of the separation between church and state, namely sphere sovereignty. The ARP had one practical political goal: equalization of payment between public and religious schools. It had one political strategy: the anti-thesis between religious and non-religious parties, which meant that he sought to break the cooperation between liberals and Catholics and to create an alliance between Catholics and Protestants. It also advocated the extension of suffrage to all fathers of households.

The Catholics lacked a political organization, but had a solid electoral base in the predominantly Catholic south and an organization in the Catholic Church. They lacked a shared political position, but tended to favour the extension of suffrage and equal finance for Catholic schools.

In the 1880s the ARP's strategy became successful, both electoral, it became an important political actor, as political, it was able to form an alliance, the coalition with the Catholics. In 1888 this resulted in the first coalition cabinet led by Aeneas baron Mackay.

In the 1890s tensions within the Protestants begin to rise, which resulted in the formation of the Christian Historical Union in 1908. Four issues divided a group led by Abraham Kuyper from a group led by Alexander de Savorin Lohmann:

  1. A large group of Anti-Revolutionary MPs, supporters and voters were still hervormd. They would split from the ARP
  2. They also opposed the extension of suffrage, because they favoured divine sovereignty over popular sovereignty.
  3. Many Anti-Revolutionaries were still anti-papist and opposed the alliance with the Catholics.
  4. The leadership style of Abraham Kuyper, and especially the issue of party discipline was also a source of conflict.

The internal conflict weakens the support for the ARP and their alliance with the Catholics, who support a conservative government between 1894 and 1897

In the 1900s the ARP and Catholics, now organized in the federal General League return to government. In 1901 they form a cabinet led by Kuyper, which is backed by the CHU. In 1913 a liberal cabinet is formed which seeks to address all the major political issues of the time in the constitutional change of 1918, which involves the extension of suffrage, the implementation of proportional representation and equalization of school finance. Although in opposition the Catholics and Protestants participate in the reform talks.

The extension of suffrage proves especially favourable for the religious parties. Since the 1918 election they always get a majority. Between 1918 and 1939 the Catholics, CHU and ARP have always formed the governing coalition, some times joined by liberals. The policy of these cabinets was characterized by conservatism: in the social sense, by strengthening pillarization and enforcing public morality; in the economic sense, by keeping income and expenditure on the same level, which proved detrimental in the Great Depression; and in international sense, by keeping to armed neutrality and colonialism. These cabinets are led in turn by the Catholic Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, the Anti-Revolutionary Hendrikus Colijn and the CHU-member Dirk Jan de Geer.

The extension of suffrage also gives smaller Christian Democratic parties a chance to enter parliament, a pair of leftwing Protestant parties enters parliament, the Christian Democratic Party and Christian Social Party and the and a pair of anti-papist orthodox religious parties, the Political Reformed Party, which still is in parliament and the Reformed Reformed State Party. In both pairs the first is the gereformeerd and the second is the hervormd variant. A Smaller leftwing catholic party also gains representation, the Roman Catholic People's Party. In response the Catholics reform their party to the more centralized Roman Catholic State Party.

Between 1940 and 1945 the Netherlands is occupied by Nazi Germany. Prominent catholic and Protestant politicians are involved in resistance work, while their political leaders are in London. There a national cabinet is formed including the liberals and the socialists.

In 1945 the first cabinet is formed after the Second World War. The Queen appoints an explicitly progressive cabinet composed out of the KVP and the Labour Party, a new party formed by the SDAP, the VDB, the leftwing Protestant CDU and several prominent Catholics. This starts a series of Roman-Red cabinets formed by the KVP and PvdA, most of which are led by social-democrat Willem Drees. The two main coalition partners, which gained around 30% of the vote are joined by smaller parties, including the CHU and the ARP, which gain only 10% of the vote. The cabinets are progressive implementing a broad range of reforms, including the formation of a welfare state, a mixed economy, decolonization of the Dutch Indies and the abandonment of neutrality in favour of NATO and the European Economic Community. Decolonization proves a vital issue as the ARP and prominent KVP-members oppose it. This leads to a split within the KVP and the formation of the short-lived Catholic National Party in 1948. In 1948 a religious conflict within the Dutch Reformed Church also leads to a split between the ARP and the Reformed Political Alliance.

In the 1960s the position of the religious parties weakens. In 1957 they have swapped the PvdA for the conservative-liberal VVD. This leads to internal dissent. More importantly however because of the decline of pillarization. since the mid-1960s the Christian-Democrats have lost their natural majority and need to rely on the VVD for a majority. In 1968 a group of leftwing, Labour-oriented Catholics break away from the KVP to form the Political Party of Radicals, in 1971 they are joined by prominent Protestants. It joins an alliance with the Labour Party and the progressive liberal D'66. This alliance is unsuccessful at gaining a majority however in the 1971 and 1972 elections and they are forced to form a tenuous coalition with the KVP and ARP.

Meanwhile, under pressure of their declining vote, the KVP, ARP and CHU form a federation (in 1973), a common electoral list (in 1977) and a new party, the Christian Democratic Appeal (in 1981). The formation of this centre-right broad Christian democratic party leads to splits: on the right flank by anti-papist orthodox reformed (the Reformed Political Party) and on the left by radical evangelicals (the Evangelical People's Party). Between 1977 and 1994 the CDA form the main party of government coalition, between 1977 and 1981 and 1982 and 1989 with the conservative liberals, between 1981 and 1982 and 1989 and 1994 with the social-democrats. Their prime minister, Ruud Lubbers, personifies their no-non sense policies of welfare state reform and privatization. In 1989 the two leftwing Christian parties merge with the Pacifist Socialist Party and the Communist Party of the Netherlands to form the GreenLeft, a Green party without a strict Christian-democratic profile.

In 1994 the CDA suffers a decisive electoral defeat. The party looses half its vote and is confined to opposition for the following eight years. It takes this period to renew its political program. Meanwhile the orthodox Protestant RPF and the GPV merge to form the social-Christian ChristianUnion. In the 2002 elections, which were characterized by considerable insecurity, the CDA performs particularly well. Since then it has led a series of cabinets, a rightwing cabinet with the populist LPF and the conservative liberal VVD, a centre-right cabinet with the VVD and the progressive liberal D'66 and since 2007 a centre-left cabinet with the Labour Party and the ChristianUnion.

Timeline

ARP

  • 1879 The Anti Revolutionary Party is founded by Abraham Kuyper.
  • 1894 The group around Alexander de Savorin Lohman left the ARP.
  • 1905 The ⇒CDP split from the ARP.
  • 1918 The ⇒ SGP split from the ARP.
  • 1926 The ⇒ CDU is formed by several groups, including former members of the ARP.
  • 1942 The ARP is forbidden by the German occupying force. Prominent members join the Dutch Resistance.
  • 1948 The GPV splits from the ARP.
  • 1971 Several prominent Anti Revolutionaries left the ARP for the ⇒PPR.
  • 1972 The Evangelical Progressive People's Party split from the ARP, in 1981 it would form the ⇒EVP.
  • 1974 The ARP joins the CDA federation together with the CHU and the KVP
  • 1975 The⇒ RPF splits from the ARP.
  • 1977 ARP candidates on a common list of the CDA in the 1977 elections.
  • 1981 The ARP merged into the ⇒CDA.

CHK

VAR

Frisian League

CHP

General League

  • 1904 The General League is formed by Catholic MPs.
  • 1922 The RKVP splits from the General League.
  • 1926 The General League is reformed and renamed to ⇒RKSP.

CDP

BCS

CSP

CHU

  • 1908 The Christian Historical Union is formed by the ⇒Frisian League and the ⇒CHP.
  • 1921 The ⇒HGS splits from the CHU.
  • 1942 The CHU is forbidden by the German occupying force.
  • 1946 The Labour Party is founded several prominent CHU-members join the newly founded party.
  • 1974 The CHU joins the CDA federation together with the ARP and the KVP
  • 1977 CHU candidates on a common list of the CDA in the 1977 elections.
  • 1981 The CHU merged into the ⇒CDA.

SGP

  • 1918 The Political Reformed Party split from the ⇒ARP
  • 1942 The SGP is forbidden by the German occupying force.
  • 1945 The SGP is refounded after the Second World War.

HGS

RKVP

CDU

RKSP

  • 1926 The ⇒General League is reformed and renamed to Roman Catholic State Party.
  • 1937 The Katholic Democratic Party merges into the RKSP.
  • 1942 The RKSP is forbidden by the German occupying force.
  • 1945 The RKSP is reformed and renamed to ⇒KVP.

GPV

RPF

EVP

KVP

  • 1945 The ⇒RKSP is reformed and renamed to Catholic People's Party.
  • 1948 The ⇒KNP splits from the KVP.
  • 1955 The KNP merges into the KVP.
  • 1968 The ⇒PPR splits from the KVP.
  • 1974 The KVP joins the CDA federation together with the CHU and the ARP
  • 1977 KVP candidates on a common list of the CDA in the 1977 elections.
  • 1981 The KVP merged into the ⇒CDA.

KNP

PPR

RKPN

CDA


Christian democratic leaders

See also

v • d • e
Christian political parties in the Netherlands
Catholic
Algemene Bond · RKVP · RKSP · KVP · KNP · RKPN
Gereformeerd
ARP · BCS · CSP · CDP · SGP · CDU · GPV · RPF · EVP · ChristianUnion
Hervormd and others
VAR · CHKB · Friese Bond · CHP · CHU · HGS
Non-denominational
PPR · CDA
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