The Christian Union, the most “green”, center-left and “progressive Christian” party in the Netherlands, competes with the liberals for the youth vote.
There are two influential Christian democratic parties in the Netherlands that have a significant representation in the country’s parliament. One of them is the Christian Union (CU), a Christian democratic party founded in 2000 as a bloc of Christian political forces. Today, 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 has 1 seat out of 25 allocated to the Netherlands in the European Parliament and is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformers faction.
Immediately after its creation, the Christian Union won parliamentary seats, and in the 2006 elections the party doubled its result and entered the government cabinet, where Christian Union leader Andre Ravout became Minister of Family and Youth Affairs. The Dutch Christian Union calls itself a Christian social party and combines conservative views on ethical issues and foreign policy with a center-left vision of economic, social and environmental aspects of public life. The party advocates abolishing abortion and euthanasia, ending the policy of tolerance for soft drugs, combating pornography and prostitution, restricting the use of genetic engineering, allowing civil servants to refuse to register same-sex marriages, and protecting freedom of education, including the right to establish religious schools.
At the same time, the party advocates the preservation of the state system of education, health care and social security, and an increase in the openness of policy towards migrants, especially those who are persecuted for religious reasons. The party also actively initiates the development of green energy, which is why the Dutch Christian Union is called the green Christian party.
The party calls itself a “progressive Christian” party and declares a number of social initiatives inherent in social democratic programs, including equal working conditions and an effective social protection system.
Among its initiatives, the Dutch Christian Union proposes mandatory state basic insurance and a 10% increase in the minimum hourly wage, especially for young people. Standing for the protection of workers’ rights, the party advocates serious financial penalties for employers if there are no reasonable grounds for dismissing an employee. The Christian Union calls for “fire and sword” to fight all forms of discrimination in the labor market between men and women, and promotes equal pay for equal work, including between Dutch workers and migrant workers.
The Christian Union in the Netherlands declares center-right initiatives to reduce the income tax from 37% now to 35% up to an income of 70,000 euros. The maximum tax rate will be 50%. At the same time, the party is not against raising taxes for the richest on various forms of wealth that are currently not or hardly taxed, which brings its economic policy closer to elements of left-wing political platforms.
Social assistance, according to the Christian Union program, should be increased in line with the minimum wage, and individual assistance to homeless young people is needed. However, in a quite conservative vein, the party is convinced that employment is the best social security that will reduce dependence on state benefits. Instead, the Christian Union proposes to increase the retirement age in line with the increase in life expectancy.
Regarding Islam in the Netherlands, the Christian Union advocates an inclusive society in which everyone can participate on the basis of equality, regardless of whether one is Christian, Muslim or non-believer. For the party, protecting religious minorities also means protecting centuries-old religious traditions, such as ritual slaughter, although the party also advocates for guaranteed animal welfare. This left-liberal rhetoric, combined with conservative and center-right positions, is due to the fact that the party is now competing fiercely for the votes of young people and the electorate that does not regularly attend church, and is therefore trying to add more attractive electoral slogans.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk