Forum for Democracy (Netherlands)

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Forum for Democracy

Forum voor Democratie
AbbreviationFvD
Leader Thierry Baudet
ChairmanThierry Baudet
Vice Chairman Theo Hiddema
SecretaryRob Rooken
TreasurerHenk Otten
Leader in the House of Representatives Thierry Baudet
FounderThierry Baudet
Founded22 September 2016
HeadquartersHerengracht 74
Amsterdam
Youth wing Jongerenorganisatie Forum voor Democratie (JFvD)
ThinktankRenaissance Instituut
Membership (2019)Increase2.svg 30,674 [1]
Ideology Dutch nationalism [2]
Conservatism [3] [4]
National conservatism [5]
Conservative liberalism [6]
Euroscepticism [3] [4]
Climate change denial [7] [8]
Direct democracy [4] [9] [10] [11]
Right-wing populism [12] [13] [14]
E-democracy [15]
Souverainism [11]
Political position Right-wing [11] [16] [17] to far-right [18] [19] [20]
International affiliationNone
Colours     Maroon
Seats in the Senate
0 / 75
Seats in the House of Representatives
2 / 150
Provincial seats
86 / 570
Seats in the European Parliament
0 / 26
King's Commissioners
0 / 12
Website
forumvoordemocratie.nl (in Dutch)

Forum for Democracy (Dutch : Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a conservative, Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands, founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet who has been the party's leader since its founding in late 2016.

Dutch language West Germanic language

Dutch(Nederlands ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 23 million people as a first language and 5 million people as a second language, constituting the majority of people in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives English and German.

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, hierarchy, authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as monarchy, religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity. The more extreme elements—reactionaries—oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were".

Euroscepticism body of criticism of the European Union

Euroscepticism means criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership outright and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism.

Contents

The party first participated in elections in the 2017 general election, winning two seats in the House of Representatives, then became the first political force in the 2019 provincial elections.

House of Representatives (Netherlands) lower house of the Netherlands

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats which are filled through elections using a party-list proportional representation. It sits in the Binnenhof in The Hague.

2019 Dutch provincial elections Dutch provincial elections held in 2019

Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 20 March 2019. Eligible voters elected the members of the Provincial States in the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. The elections were held on the same day as the water board elections and, in the Caribbean Netherlands, island council elections.

It is seeking membership of the European Conservatives and Reformists, a political grouping in the European Parliament.

European Conservatives and Reformists political group in the European Parliament

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a Eurosceptic and anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) European political party, but also includes MEPs from four other European parties and thirteen MEPs without European party affiliation. The group focuses on reforming the European Union (EU) on the basis of Eurorealism as opposed to total rejection of the EU (anti-EU-ism).

European Parliament directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union

The European Parliament (EP) is the only parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU) that is directly elected by EU citizens aged 18 or older. Together with the Council of the European Union, which should not be confused with the European Council and the Council of Europe, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is composed of 751 members (MEPs), that will become 705 starting from the 2019–2024 legislature, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world.

History

Thierry Baudet, founder and leader of the party Thierry Baudet (2018).jpg
Thierry Baudet, founder and leader of the party

Forum for Democracy was established as a think tank; its main feat was campaigning in the 2016 Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum. [21] In September 2016, it converted itself into a political party and announced its intention to take part in the 2017 Dutch general election.

In the 2017 general election, the FvD ended up with 1.8% of the vote and 2 seats, entering parliament for the first time.

In January 2019 the FvD had approximately 30,000 members[ citation needed ].. The bulk of the Forum's parliamental candidates did not have prior active experience in other political parties. [22] [23] In February 2018 the party suffered from internal issues with a number of prominent members leaving the party, because they felt the party had a lack of internal democracy. [24]

In the 2018 municipal elections, the FvD won 3 seats at the Amsterdam city council.

During the 2019 provincial elections, Forum for Democracy won 86 seats spread across the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. In South Holland, North Holland and Flevoland, FvD became the largest party, winning 11, 9 and 8 seats respectively. In all other provinces, the party captured either the second or third spot in terms of the popular vote.

Ideology

Economy

The party is a proponent of the introduction of high tax free bracket for everyone, the abolition of taxes on gifts and inheritance and a radical simplification of tax brackets. [25] [26] [27] [28] The party is a proponent of drastic changes in elementary and secondary education, focusing on performance evaluations for teachers. [29] They want to expand the armed forces, expanding the National Reserve Corps and reverting defence budget cuts. [30] In addition, the party has promoted plans to privatise the Dutch public broadcasting organisation, the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep. [31]

Electoral reform

Theo Hiddema, speaking to the press Theo Hiddema (2018).jpg
Theo Hiddema, speaking to the press

One of the major issues the party campaigns against is the perceived existence of a "party cartel", in which the main ruling parties of the country divide power among themselves and conspire towards the same goals, despite claiming to be competitors. [21] The party promises direct democracy through binding referenda, [22] as well as directly elected mayors and a directly elected Prime Minister. [32] [33] The party is also in favour of the government consisting of apolitical experts, and top civil servants having to reapply for their positions when a new cabinet is formed. [34]

Immigration and EU

The party opposes the European Union and campaigns for a referendum on Dutch EU withdrawal. It also adopts a nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected; [2] the party is in favor of reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration. [35] [36] It campaigns against unchecked immigration, and says it would introduce a "Dutch Values Protection Act" and wants to ban Islamic face veils and other face coverings. [37]

Election results

Lower House

ElectionVotes%RankSeats+/–Government
2017 187,1621.8#13
2 / 150
Newin opposition

Upper House

Election# Votes% Percentage# Seats+/–
2019 27 May27 MayNew

Provincial

ElectionOver all 12 provinces Provincial-
Executives
Votes%RankSeats+/-
2019 [38] TBA 25 MarchTBA 25 March#1
86 / 570
NewTBA

Municipal

ElectionMunicipalityVotes%RankSeats+/-
2018 Amsterdam 20,0155.77#8
3 / 45
New

Party membership

YearMembership [39] [40]
20171,863
201822,884
201930,674

Organisation

Leadership

Party Board

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References

  1. ↑ "Forum voor Democratie vierde ledenpartij, middenpartijen verliezen juist veel leden". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 Leonid Bershidsky (22 February 2017). "The Dutch Election Is About More Than Nationalism".
  3. 1 2 "The Dutch Election Is About More Than Nationalism". Bloomberg. 22 February 2017. The Forum for Democracy (FvD) has a curious history. Baudet, a well-regarded legal scholar and political philosopher, set it up in 2015 as a conservative, euroskeptic think tank
  4. 1 2 3 "Wat is Forum voor Democratie?". NPO Focus. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Dutch Local Election Candidate: 'Current EU is a Monster, It's Undemocratic'". Sputnik. 20 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Tussen de Tocqueville en Spengler: het Forum voor Democratie op de tweesprong". Montesqieu Institute . 30 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Mebius, Frank Dion; Hendrickx, Frank (22 March 2019). "Hoe de zegetocht van Thierry Baudet tot stand kwam". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  8. ↑ Baudet moet de Wilders worden die wél levert. AD, 6 maart 2019.
  9. ↑ "Anti-EU boy wonder breezes in as Dutch election kingmaker". The Times. 29 January 2017. But just as emblematic of what is stirring in Holland is the growing excitement around Mr Baudet and his campaign for more direct democracy.
  10. ↑ "Dutch anti-Ukraine vote spawns 'app democracy' party". euobserver. 6 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "Forum voor Democratie (FvD) — Europe Politique".
  12. ↑ "De nieuwe politieke kaart van Nederland: versnippering in beeld". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  13. ↑ Korteweg, Ariejan (22 March 2019). "Weghonen van populistisch rechts is geen optie meer". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "The Dutch defeat 'the wrong kind of populism'". Heinrich Böll Foundation . 22 March 2017.
  15. ↑ (in Dutch) "Standpunten". Forum voor Democratie. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  16. ↑ "Dutch election: How do you choose between 28 parties?". Sky News. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  17. ↑ Splintering of Dutch politics makes election hard to predict. Financial Times. Published 16 February 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Fallon, Katy (25 March 2019). "Forum voor Democratie: Why has the Dutch far right surged?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  19. ↑ Boztas, Senay (23 March 2019). "Surprise electoral win leaves far-Right populists scrambling to fill seats". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  20. ↑ Schaart, Eline (20 March 2019). "Far-right populists score stunning win in Dutch provincial vote". Politico. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  21. 1 2 Joshua Chaffin (14 March 2017). "Populists seize the moment as Dutch fall out of love with EU". Financial Times.
  22. 1 2 Douglas Murray (28 January 2017). "Geert Wilders doesn't threaten Dutch liberalism: he's defending it".
  23. ↑ "Forum voor Democratie". Forumvoordemocratie.nl. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  24. ↑ https://www.parool.nl/binnenland/uittocht-bij-forum-voor-democratie-houdt-aan~a4567887/
  25. ↑ "Economie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "Belastingen". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  27. ↑ "Internet". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  28. ↑ "Privacy". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "Onderwijs". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Defensie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Sanering Publieke Omroep". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  32. ↑ "Directe Democratie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  33. ↑ "Kartelbestrijding". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  34. ↑ "Gekozen minister-president". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  35. ↑ "Wet Bescherming Nederlandse Waarden". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  36. ↑ "Immigratie & Remigratie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  37. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/forum-for-democracy-netherlands-eu-referendum-pvv-fvd-mark-rutte-a8217956.html
  38. ↑ "Provinciale Staten 20 maart 2021".
  39. ↑ "Ledentallen Nederlandse politieke partijen per 1 januari 2016, 2017 en 2018" (PDF). Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  40. ↑ "Forum voor Democratie vierde ledenpartij, middenpartijen verliezen juist veel leden". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 February 2019.
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