Political parties of the Netherlands

Parties with representation in the Eerste Kamer[?] or Tweede Kamer, as of February 2003:

• Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA) - Christian Democratic Appeal
• ChristenUnie - Christian Union
• Democraten 66 (D'66) - Democrats 66
• GroenLinks - Green Left
• Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) - List Pim Fortuyn
• Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie[?] - Independent Senate Faction
• Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) - Labour Party
• Socialistische Partij[?] (SP) - Socialist Party
• Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) - Politically Reformed Party
• Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) - People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

Other parties that took part in the January 2003 Tweede Kamer elections:

• Alliantie voor Vernieuwing en Democratie[?] - Alliance for Renewal and Democracy
• de Conservatieven.nl[?] - the Conservatives.nl
• Duurzaam Nederland[?] - Durable Netherlands
• Leefbaar Nederland (LN) - Liveable Netherlands
• Lijst Veldhoen[?] - List Veldhoen
• LijstRatelband.nl[?] - ListRatelband.nl
• Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland[?] - New Communist Party Netherlands
• Partij van de Toekomst[?] - Party of the Future
• Partij voor de Dieren[?] - Party for the Animals
• Vooruitstrevende Integratie Partij[?] - Progressive Integration Party

Other active parties:

• De Groenen[?] - The Greens, taking part in municipal and provincial politics.
• Fryske Nasjonale Partij[?] - Frisian National Party, active in Friesland
• Nederland Mobiel[?] - Mobile Netherlands
• O O Den Haag[?] - O O The Hague, was initially registered for 2003 elections but withdrew.
• Vrije Indische Partij[?] (VIP) - Free Indonesian Party

Parties that no longer exist:

• Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) - Anti-Revolutionary Party (merged into Christen-Democratisch Appèl)
• Boerenpartij[?] (BP) - Farmers' Party (disbanded)
• Bond van Vrije Liberalen[?] - Association of Free Liberals (merged into Liberale Staatspartij)
• Christelijk-Democratische Unie[?] (CDU) - Christian-Democratic Union (merged into Partij van de Arbeid)
• Christelijk-Historische Unie[?] (CHU) - Christian-Historical Union (merged into Christen-Democratisch Appèl)
• Communistische Partij Nederland[?] (CPN) - Communist Party Netherlands (merged into GroenLinks)
• Evangelische Volkspartij[?] (EVP) - Envangelical Peoples Party (merged into GroenLinks)
• Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond[?] (GPV) - Reformed Political Union (merged into ChristenUnie)
• Katholieke Volkspartij[?] (KVP) - Catholic Peoples Party (merged into Christen-Democratisch Appèl)
• Liberale Staatspartij[?] (LSP) - Liberal State Party (merged into Partij van de Vrijheid)
• Liberale Unie[?] - Liberal Union (merged into Liberale Staatspartij)
• Pacifistisch-Socialistische Partij[?] (PSP) - Pacifist-Socialist Party (merged into GroenLinks)
• Partij van de Vrijheid[?] (PvdV) - Freedom Party (became Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)
• Politieke Partij Radicalen[?] (PPR) - Political Party Radicals (merged into GroenLinks)
• Reformatorische Politieke Federatie[?] (RPF) - Reforming Political Federation (merged into ChristenUnie)
• Sociaal Democratische Arbeiders Partij[?] (SDAP) - Social Democratic Workers Party (merged into Partij van de Arbeid)
• Solidair '93[?] - Appears not to have contested elections after 1998.
• Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond[?] (VDB) - Free Thinking Democratic Union (merged into Partij van de Arbeid)

Parties with uncertain status:

• Algemeen Ouderen Verbond[?] (AOV)/[[Unie 55+]] - General Senior Union/Union 55+
• Centrumdemocraten[?] (CD) - Central Democrats
• Centrumpartij[?] (CP) - Centrum Party (later Centrumpartij '86)
• Democratisch Socialisten '70[?] (DS'70) - Democratic Socialists '70
• Nieuwe Midden Partij[?] (NMP) - New Middle Party
• Senioren 2000[?] - Seniors 2000
• Socialistische Arbeiders Partij[?] (SAP) - Socialist Workers' Party
• Verenigde Senioren Partij[?] (VSP) - United Senior Party

Descriptions of some of the parties follow.

The Partij van de Arbeid (Labour Party), a European social democratic party, is left of center. Its programe is based on greater social, political, and economic equality for all citizens, although in recent years the party has begun to debate the role of central government in that process. Although called the Labor Party, it has no formal links to the trade unions.

The Christen-Democratisch Appèl 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 Liberals and the "statism" of the Labor Party.

The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) is "liberal" in the European, rather than American, sense of the word. It thus attaches great importance to private enterprise and the freedom of the individual in political, social, and economic affairs. The VVD is generally seen as the most conservative of the major parties.

Democraten 66 (D'66) has had widely fluctuating electoral fortunes since the party's founding in 1966. It is a center-left party, generally portrayed as between the CDA and PvdA, with its strongest support among young, urban, professional voters. It professes a pro-European platform of ethnic and religious toleration.

GroenLinks combines, as the name (which translates to GreenLeft) says, a Green (ecologist) with a Left-wing stance. It operates to the left of the PvdA. The party was erected in 1989 as a fusion of a left-radical, a pacifist, a communist and a left wing Christian party.

The Socialistische Partij[?] (SP) is the most radical left-wing party. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was a China-supported Maoist party, but later it chose a more independent and less radical communist course.

The Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) is a right-wing populist party. It was erected by the popular politician Pim Fortuyn for the 2002 elections, but Fortuyn himself was murdered 11 days before the elections. After that, it had a difficult year with much internal struggles, which led to CDA and VVD ending the government coalition which they had formed with the LPF.

The ChristenUnie is a Christian party, which mostly concentrates on ethical points such as a resistance against abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. In other subjects it often is closer to the left-wing parties.

The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) is a very conservative Christian party, with even stronger ethical points of view than the ChristenUnie. Although a very small party on a national level, it is an important political power in some conservative-christian municipalities.