The name of the party refers to its year of foundation, 1966. Initially, its main objective had been to democratise the Dutch political system, but it developed a broader social liberal ideology over time. In the 1967 general election, the party won 7 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives. No new party had ever gained that many seats before. The party was in government from 1973 to 1977, 1981 to 1982, 1994 to 2002, 2003 to 2006 and 2017 to 2024. It currently holds nine seats in the House of Representatives, five seats in the Senate and three seats in the European Parliament.
D66 is especially popular among people who hold a university degree, and its voters are mostly concentrated in larger cities and in municipalities with an above-average number of wealthy residents. The party supplies a relatively large proportion of mayors, who are appointed rather than elected.
Democrats 66 was founded on 14 October 1966 by a group of 44 people. Its founders were described as homines novi, although 25 of the 44 had previously been members of another political party. The initiators were Hans van Mierlo, a journalist for the Algemeen Handelsblad, and Hans Gruijters, a municipal councillor in Amsterdam for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Van Mierlo became the party's political leader. The foundation of the party was preceded by the "Appeal 1966" on October 10, in which the founders appealed to the people of the Netherlands to re-take their democratic institutions. The party renounced the 19th-century political ideologies, which dominated the political system and sought to end pillarisation. It called for radical democratisation of the Dutch political system, and for pragmatic and scientific policy-making.
Hans van Mierlo, co-founder and leader between 1966–1973 and 1986–1998
In the election, D66 lost nearly half its seats, leaving only six. The alliance became the largest political force in the country, but it did not gain a majority. After long cabinet formation talks, the three PAK-parties formed an extra-parliamentary cabinet joined by progressive members of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and the Catholic People's Party (KVP). The cabinet was led by Labour politician Joop den Uyl. Co-founder Hans Gruijters became Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning. After the formation talks, Van Mierlo left politics, feeling that his political position within the parliamentary party was untenable. Van Mierlo was replaced by Jan Terlouw, who became the new parliamentary leader.
In the period 1972–1974, the party lost a dramatic number of members (from 6,000 to 300) and polled very poorly in the 1974 provincial elections. The party also lost half of its senators in the 1974 Senate election. At one of the party congresses, a motion was put forth to abolish the party. A majority of the members voted in favour, but the two-thirds majority was not reached. In reaction, Terlouw started a campaign to revitalise the party, involving a membership drive and a petition to the electorate. He emphasised issues other than democratic reform and gave the party a more liberal orientation. The party doubled its membership in 1975 and won two additional seats in the 1977 general election, despite losing all its seats in the Senate in the same year.
In the 1981 general election, D66 gained 17 seats. The party formed a government with the Labour Party and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), with Terlouw as Minister of Economic Affairs. The cabinet was characterised by the personal and ideological conflicts between Prime Minister Dries van Agt (CDA) and Minister of Social Affairs Joop den Uyl (PvdA). The cabinet fell nine months after it was formed, when the Labour Party left the cabinet. D66 and the CDA continued to govern in a caretaker government. In the subsequent 1982 general election, D66 lost two-thirds of its support, and was left with only 6 seats. After the election, Terlouw left politics and was replaced by Maarten Engwirda. The party was confined to opposition.
Purple cabinets and demise (1986–2006)
In 1986, Van Mierlo returned to politics. He emphasised democratic reform as the core issue of the party and wanted to end the polarisation between the Labour Party and VVD, so that it would be possible to form a government without the CDA. He led the party in the 1986 general election and won nine seats. In the 1989 election, the party won 12 seats and was asked to join the formation talks of a CDA–PvdA–D66 coalition. While the PvdA preferred to form a government with D66, the CDA did not. Ultimately, D66 was excluded from the coalition, because it was not necessary to include them to reach a majority in parliament.
Despite being in opposition, D66 adopted a constructive approach towards the government. They were rewarded for this in the 1994 general election, in which the party doubled its number of seats to 24. D66 was able to form its preferred coalition: the "purple government", which included both the social democratic PvdA and the conservative liberal VVD. Van Mierlo was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. As advocated by D66, the first Kok cabinet initiated progressive legislation, such as the introduction of same-sex marriage and the legalisation of euthanasia. The moderately liberal economic policies of the cabinet were also seen as a great success.
Shortly before the 1998 general election, Van Mierlo stepped back and Minister of Health Els Borst became the new top candidate. D66 lost ten seats in the election, while its coalition partners gained ground at the cost of D66. The second Kok cabinet continued. Although D66 was technically not needed for a majority in parliament, it was seen as the glue that kept the PvdA and the VVD together. Borst stepped down as party leader and became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health. Thom de Graaf led the party in the House of Representatives. From within the party, there were calls for a more explicit progressive liberal course. In 1999, a constitutional reform that would allow for referendums to be held was rejected by the Senate, because a group of VVD dissidents had voted against it. In response, D66 left the cabinet. After the subsequent formation talks, D66 returned to the cabinet in return for a temporary referendum law and directly elected mayors.
In the 2002 general election, the tide had turned against the purple government, and the right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) gained considerable ground. The three purple parties lost an unprecedented 43 seats. D66 was left with only seven seats. The first Balkenende cabinet, consisting of CDA, LPF and VVD, lasted only three months. In the 2003 general election, D66 lost another seat, leaving only 6. De Graaf stepped down and was succeeded by Boris Dittrich. After long formation talks between the CDA and the PvdA failed, a second Balkenende cabinet was formed, which included the CDA, the VVD and D66.
In return for investments in environment and education, and a special Minister for Governmental Reform, D66 supported the centre-right reform cabinet and some of its more controversial legislation. In May 2005, the Senate rejected a constitutional reform that would allow a directly elected mayor. The legislation had been introduced by the second Kok cabinet, but it was unable to get a two-thirds majority because the Labour Party was opposed the electoral system proposed by Minister for Governmental Reform Thom de Graaf. De Graaf resigned, but the rest of the ministers retained their positions as D66 was promised more investment in public education and the environment. A special party congress was called to ratify this so-called "Easter Agreement" (Paasakkoord). 2,600 members (20 per cent of total membership) were present and the congress was broadcast live on television. The congress agreed to remain in cabinet by a large majority. Alexander Pechtold replaced De Graaf as Minister for Governmental Reform. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the Minister of Economic Affairs, became Deputy Prime Minister.
In February 2006, Dittrich stepped down as parliamentary leader, because he did not agree with the government's decision to send the Dutch armed forces to the southern province of Uruzgan in Afghanistan. D66 voted against the government's proposal together with the Socialist Party and GroenLinks. Dittrich stated that the mission to send troops was not a reconstruction mission (as the government and the majority of the Dutch parliament claimed), but a military operation. Lousewies van der Laan replaced Dittrich. In May 2006, D66 polled particularly badly in the 2006 municipal elections. D66 began to lose a considerable number of members, some of whom founded deZES, another radical democratic, progressive liberal party. During a special party congress on 13 May 2006, a motion was put forth demanding the withdrawal of D66 from the cabinet, but it was rejected. In June 2006, an internal election was held in order to choose the new party leader. The election was won by Alexander Pechtold.
In October 2006, just before the D66 party congress and its 40th anniversary as a party, D66 founder Hans van Mierlo asked the question whether D66 still had political legitimacy. He believed that many errors were made in recent history and that only the acceptance of these errors could provide for any credibility for D66. Van Mierlo declared his support for party leader Pechtold, who in his view could provide for such credibility.[10]
Since 2008, the party has performed quite well in the opinion polls, ranging from 10 to 26 seats, compared to only 3 seats in the House of Representatives.[11][12][13] In the 2009 European Parliament election, the party won 11% of the votes and 3 seats, two more than in the previous election. The news programme Nova attributed this increase to the leadership of Alexander Pechtold, who was considered "the leader of the opposition" at the time.[14] Under the leadership of Pechtold, the party has taken strong stances against the Party for Freedom (PVV) of Geert Wilders.[15] In the 2010 general election, D66 increased its representation to 10 seats. In the 2012 general election, the party further increased its number of seats to 12. Since 2008, the party has experienced a significant increase in party membership, from 10,000 to 25,000 in 2015.
In October 2018, Alexander Pechtold announced his retirement from politics.[16] He was replaced by Rob Jetten as parliamentary leader, but the position of party leader remained vacant.[17] In September 2020, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag was elected the new party leader and top candidate for the 2021 general election.[9] Despite the fact that the opinion polls had predicted D66 to lose seats, the party won 24 seats in the 2021 election, becoming the second largest party in the House of Representatives.[18] On 12 August 2023 Rob Jetten became the leader of the party.[19] Following the 2023 Dutch general election D66 lost more seats than any party, being reduced from 24 to 9, their worst result in 17 years.
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2023)
The ideology of D66 is a highly contested subject within the party and the question is tied to the reason for its existence. There are two currents within the party, namely the radical democrats and the progressive liberals. Although sometimes antagonistic, these two currents currently complement each other as both emphasise the self-realisation of the individual. The Radical League and the Free-thinking Democratic League, two early 20th century parties are historic exponents of these two traditions.
Factions
Radical democrats
The first party congress emphasised radical democratisation of Dutch society and the political system. Its ideal was a two-party system. To obtain this, it wanted to reform the electoral system after the American first past the post model. The electoral reform was gradually moderated as the party now favours German-style mixed member proportional representation. In this system, a national party-list election is used to make a first-past-the-post election representative to the nationwide vote. This radical democratisation was combined with a pragmatic and anti-dogmatic attitude towards politics. Hans van Mierlo, the party's leader between 1966 and 1972 and between 1986 and 1998 and the party's figurehead, was an important exponent of this tendency within the party.[citation needed]
D66 proposes to increase government spending on education and innovation, for instance increases in teachers' salaries. D66 wants the education sector to be deregulated and introduce more competition in the sector.
D66 is a proponent of democratic reform. It favours electoral reforms such as a binding referendum, abolition of the Senate and direct election of prime ministers and mayors.
D66 favours a Federal Europe and more European cooperation on issues such as the environment, immigration policy and foreign policy.
At its foundation, the party was called Democrats '66 (Dutch: Democraten '66, abbreviated D'66). The name referred to the party's goal of radical democratisation and to the year of foundation, which was supposed to convey a modern image. In 1981, the apostrophe was dropped: the name had become a successful political brand, but the year no longer conveyed a modern image.
Logos of the Democrats 66
1966–1984
1985–2001
2002–2006
2006–2008
2008–2019
2019–present
Structure
The highest organ of the D66 is the General Assembly, in which every member can participate. It convenes multiple times per year. It appoints the party board and has the last say over the party program. The party list, including the party's parliamentary leader, for the Senate, House of Representatives, European Parliament candidates are elected directly by the members. The party has between 250 and 300 branches all over the Netherlands.
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right that tries to promote private enterprise and economic liberalism.
The Labour Party is a social democratic political party in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.
The Christian Union is a Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially conservative positions on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The party describes itself as "social Christian".
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands.
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm, a former Minister of Finance, served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
Liberalism in the Netherlands started as an anti-monarchical effort spearheaded by the Dutch statesman Thorbecke, who almost single-handedly wrote the 1848 Constitution of the Netherlands that turned the country into a constitutional monarchy.
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).
Alexander Pechtold is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66.
The Political Party of Radicals was a Christian-radical and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to form GroenLinks in 1991.
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2006, following the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. The election proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest party with 41 seats, a loss of only three seats. The largest increase in seats was for the Socialist Party (SP), which went from nine to 25 seats. The main opposition party, the social democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats, while the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal Democrats 66 lost a considerable portion of their seats, six of 28 and three of six, respectively. New parties, such as the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders and the animal rights party Party for the Animals (PvdD) were also successful, with the PVV winning nine seats and the PvdD winning two, thereby becoming the first animal rights group to enter a European parliament.
The first Kok cabinet, also called the first Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 22 August 1994 until 3 August 1998. The cabinet was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 after the election of 1994. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Wim Kok serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Liberal politician Hans Dijkstal served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, while Progressive-Liberal Leader Hans van Mierlo served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The second Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 11 September 1981 until 29 May 1982. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1981. The cabinet was a Centre-left grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Christian-Democratic Leader Dries van Agt serving as Prime Minister. Former Labour Prime Minister Joop den Uyl the Labour Leader served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and was given the portfolio of Netherlands Antilles Affairs, Progressive-Liberal Leader Jan Terlouw served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs.
After the fall of the second Balkenende cabinet on 30 June 2006, a cabinet formation took place in Netherlands. On 7 July, this resulted in the third Balkenende cabinet. The minority cabinet was formed by Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). It was a rump cabinet of the third Balkenende cabinet, but without ministers from Democrats 66 (D66).
General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 15 March 2017 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives.
General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power.
The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Union (CU) after the general election of 2017.
Following the Dutch general election on 17 March 2021, a cabinet formation led to the establishment of the fourth Rutte cabinet in 2022. The coalition included the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU), the same parties from the preceding third Rutte cabinet. This formation process, lasting 299 days, was the longest formation in Dutch history.
After the Dutch Second Van Agt cabinet fell on 12 May 1982, the rump cabinet Van Agt III was formed. On 29 May, this minority cabinet of Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Democrats 66 (D'66) took office. It was a continuation of Van Agt II, but without the Labour Party (PvdA).
A process of cabinet formation took place in the Netherlands after the Second Kok cabinet offered its resignation on 19 May 1999. The reason for the dismissal was the Night of Wiegel, after which the Democrats 66 (D66) wanted to resign. After discussions led by informateur Herman Tjeenk Willink, D66 was willing to join the cabinet with People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and Labour Party (PvdA). The cabinet therefore withdrew his resignation on 8 June.
↑ Giesen, Peter (27 March 2013). "Jacht en plezier". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 July 2019. In hun plan Mooi Nederland willen PvdA, D66 en GroenLinks de 'plezierjacht' verbieden. Jagen is slechts geoorloofd als het een nuttig doel dient, zoals gewasbescherming of faunabeheer. Daarom willen ze de wildlijst van vrij bejaagbare dieren (onder meer haas, fazant en konijn) afschaffen.
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1966–1984
1985–2001
2002–2006
2006–2008
2008–2019
2019–present
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