Throughout the twentieth century, the Christian Democrats in the Netherlands were the ruling or one of the defining political forces, and these years were the period of economic development and the construction of the welfare state.
Christian political forces have played a significant role in the struggle for state stability and civil rights in the Netherlands since the nineteenth century. As early as the 1840s, a group of conservative MPs acted in the country’s parliament, opposing the liberal majority from a Christian standpoint.
Significant changes in the Christian political movement occurred with the beginning of the activities of the Calvinist pastor Abraham Kuyper. In 1872, Kuyper founded the conservative Christian newspaper The Standard, which became the mouthpiece of the Anti-Revolutionary Party. Christian politicians saw that in many countries revolutions led only to violence, not to positive social change. Therefore, they relied on improving the lives of citizens through legitimate political methods, considering Holland a country where this could be achieved without bloody carnage.
The newspaper began to participate in civic mobilization campaigns, including ensuring public funding for public schools. It was thanks to Kooper that a unique feature of Dutch political culture was formed – the existence of the so-called pillar system. In an attempt to spread the influence of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, Kooper initiated the creation of a number of public and social institutions: schools, hospitals, trade unions, religious and niche publications. He even created his own Free University. The pillar system dominated Dutch society until the 1960s. Certain manifestations of the pillar system persist in the Netherlands to this day.
A distinctive feature of the political culture of the Netherlands was the emergence of a significant number of influential Christian parties before 1945. Gradually, the Anti-Revolutionary Party became one of the most influential forces in the country. In the elections of 1888 and 1901, the Anti-Revolutionary Party gained the largest number of votes. In these elections, the ARP gained 31.4% and 27.4% respectively. The party, with its Catholic coalition partners, forms the government. Kuiper served as Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior from 1901 to 1905.
But Koyper’s willingness to enter into a governmental alliance with Catholics caused a number of splits in the party. The Free Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Voters’ League, the Christian Historical Party, emerged. Most of these parties gained electoral support and formed governments in coalition alliances.
The liberation of the Netherlands from the Nazis in 1945 revived political life in the country. In the postwar period, all Christian parties in the Netherlands switched to the ideological position of a social market economy. The most powerful Christian parties of the postwar era were:
- Catholic People’s Party (established in 1946, but formally the successor to the Roman Catholic State Party);
- Christian Historical Union (emerged as a conservative offshoot of the ARP in 1894);
- Anti-revolutionary party.
Due to the high level of support, representatives of the Catholic People’s Party were in all postwar governments. In the years 1940-1960, Christian democratic parties garnered between 30 and 50% of the vote, but due to disagreements, they entered into government coalitions with socialists or liberals.
In the 1972 elections, the combined total of all three Christian parties dropped to 30.9%. The leaders of the Christian Democratic parties realized that without unification the trend would lead to the gradual marginalization of all three political forces.
In the 1977 elections, three parties formed the Christian Democratic Appeal bloc. The joint list gained 31.89%. And in 1980, the three parties merged into one – the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Demokratisch Appèl (CDA).
From 1977 to 2021, the Christian Democratic Appeal was a member of the ruling coalition, with minor interruptions. As of today, the Christian Democratic Appeal positions itself as a non-denominational and non-religious party. The appeal to Christianity is rather an appeal to the values embodied by the religion. The party controlled the government coalition for a long time, had its own prime ministers, and carried out a number of reforms, including reform of old-age and disability pensions and liberalization of public services. From 2002 to 2010, CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende headed the government.
In the last parliamentary elections, the party won 21 seats out of 75 in the first chamber and 21 seats out of 150 in the second chamber of the General States. In addition, the Christian Democrats have 5 seats out of 25 allocated to the Netherlands in the European Parliament, where the party is a member of the European People’s Party faction.
In addition to the Christian Democratic Appeal, there are several other parties in the Netherlands that appeal to Christian democratic values and have been part of government coalitions. In particular, the Christian Union (CU) is a Christian democratic party founded in 2000. The party belongs to the parliamentary parties and has 4 seats out of 75 in the first chamber and 5 seats out of 150 in the second chamber of the General States. It also holds 1 seat out of 25 assigned to the Netherlands in the European Parliament and is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists faction. The party’s ideology combines conservatism in ethical and foreign policy issues and left-wing centrism in social issues. The general positioning of the Christian Union is social Christianity.
The active work of the Dutch Christian Democratic parties has contributed to the positive social situation and economic development of the country. The Netherlands is a small country with a population of just under 17 million, but in terms of economic size, it is the fifth largest country in the EU. The Netherlands is the second largest exporting country in the EU, second only to Germany.
Exports of goods and services account for 30% of national GDP. The main export items are not tulips, but technical equipment and its components and spare parts. This export item brings tens of billions of euros to the country annually.
Much of the economic prosperity, social stability, and progress of the Netherlands is due to the Christian Democratic forces that have been working on the country’s development for many decades.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk
