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This article is about the Dutch political party. For the Albanian political party, see Forum for Democracy (Albania).
Forum for Democracy
Forum voor Democratie
AbbreviationFvD
LeaderThierry Baudet[1]
ChairpersonThierry Baudet[2]
Leader in the House
of Representatives		Thierry Baudet
Leader in the SenatePaul Frentrop
FoundersThierry Baudet
Henk Otten
Founded22 September 2016
HeadquartersHerengracht 74,
Amsterdam
Think tankRenaissance Institute
Membership (2020)Increase 42,794[3]
IdeologyConservatism[4][5]
National conservatism[6][7]
Social conservatism[8]
Conservative liberalism[9]
Dutch nationalism[10]
Economic liberalism[11]
Euroscepticism[4][5]
Climate change denial[12][13]
Direct democracy[5][14][15][16]
Right-wing populism[17][18][19]
E-democracy[20]
Souverainism[16]
Political positionRight-wing[16][21][22][23] to
far-right[24][25][26][27][28]
European affiliationEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Party[29]
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists[30]
Colors  Maroon
House of Representatives
2 / 150
Senate
2 / 75
States-Provincial
33 / 570
European Parliament
0 / 29
King's Commissioners
0 / 12
Website
www.fvd.nl
Part of a series on
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Forum for Democracy (Dutch: Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a conservative and right-wing populist[31] Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands that was initially founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet. The party first participated in elections in the 2017 general election, winning two seats in the House of Representatives. In the 2019 provincial elections, it won the most seats.

History

The FvD was established as a think tank whose main feat was campaigning in the 2016 Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum against the EU in general.[32]

In September 2016, it converted itself into a political party and announced its intention to take part in the 2017 general election, where the FvD ended up with 1.8% of the vote and 2 seats, entering parliament for the first time. In February 2019, the FvD had nearly 31,000 members.[33] As populists, the bulk of the Forum's nominated parliamental candidates did not have prior active experience in other political parties.[34][35]

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.[36]

In the 2018 municipal elections, the FvD won three seats on the Amsterdam city council.[citation needed]

During the 2019 provincial elections, Forum for Democracy won 86 seats, spread across the twelve 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 came either second or third in terms of numbers of votes.

On 30 April 2020, Forum for Democracy formed a coalition with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) in the North Brabant province, the first time the party had formally entered into the administration of a regional authority.[37] In 2020, former VVD MP Wybren van Haga defected to the party.

Since it became active in politics, FvD has consistently sparked controversy,[38][39] especially regarding allegations of racism against important FvD politicians,[40] the FvD "left-wing indoctrination in education" hotline[41] and whether or not the FvD is a far-right party.[23] Many of these controversies surround party leader Baudet.[42]

2020 split

In April 2020, HP/De Tijd revealed instances of antisemitism, homophobia and glorification of Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant in groups associated with FvD's youth wing.[43] FvD later investigated these instances and discharged three members from the political party. Three additional members were also suspended.[44] After more similar messages were revealed in November, Baudet resigned as lijsttrekker.[45] The day after Baudet resigned as leader, vice-leader Theo Hiddema vacated his seat in the Tweede Kamer for "personal reasons," although some media outlets opined that it was due to controversies within the party. [46] The following day, Senator Paul Cliteur also resigned from the party. On 26 November 2020, FvD Senator Nicki Pouw-Verweij released a letter regarding multiple incidents during a dinner on 20 November including Baudet making antisemitic statements claiming that the COVID-19 lockdowns were concocted by George Soros and lashing out at colleague Joost Eerdmans.[47]

In December 2020, Baudet reversed his actions and announced the party would hold a leadership contest. The FvD's board announced an internal referendum on whether to expel Baudet from the party and replace him with a new leader. This took place on 3 December 2020, with 76% of FvD members voting in favour of Baudet remaining in the party.[48] In protest at the outcome, the FvD's three MEPs and seven Senators resigned to sit as independents before joining the JA21 party founded by former FvD members.

In December 2020, it was announced that Baudet had returned as party leader and would lead the FvD into the 2021 Dutch general election.[49]

Political positions

Economy

FvD is a conservative liberal party and as such supports economic liberalism.[9] 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.[50][51][52][53] The party is a proponent of drastic changes in elementary and secondary education, focusing on performance evaluations for teachers.[54] It wants to expand the armed forces, expanding the National Reserve Corps and reverting defense budget cuts.[55] In addition, the party has promoted plans to defund and privatize the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, a Dutch public broadcasting organization.[56]

Electoral reform

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 work towards the same goals despite claiming to be competitors.[32] The party promises direct democracy through binding referenda[34] as well as directly elected mayors and a directly elected Prime Minister.[57][58] The party is also in favor of the government consisting of apolitical experts in their respective fields ("technocracy"), and top civil servants having to reapply for their positions whenever a new cabinet is formed.[59]

Immigration and European Union

The party states that it supports protecting European civilization and wants free trade between European nations but is opposed to the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone. It calls for abolition of the Eurozone and for a referendum on Dutch membership of the EU.[60] The FvD also adopts a nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected.[10] For instance, the party is in favor of reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration.[61][62] It also campaigns against unchecked immigration, says it would introduce a Dutch Values Protection Act. The party supports freedom of religion and calls for equal treatment of all citizens regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, but is also against any further influence of Islamic culture on Dutch society, supports a crackdown on forced or child marriages and wants to ban Islamic face veils and other face coverings. The FvD also opposes foreign funding of religious schools and institutions.[63][64]

Criminal justice

The party calls for a reform of the Dutch justice system, increased funding for the Dutch police force, tougher penalties against those convicted of violent crimes and where possible for non-naturalized immigrants found guilty of serious crimes to be deported and tried in their country of origin.[65]

Environmental and social policies

FvD calls for a gradual legalization of soft drugs but also supports reducing the number of cannabis coffee shops within the vicinity of schools.[66] The party also calls for a reduction in the use of plastic, more support for the agricultural economy, sustainable farming and tougher laws against animal cruelty.[67] In the spring of 2019, the party, endorsing a climate sceptic platform, intensively campaigned against large state investments in renewable energy, leading to a victory in the provincial elections. Later that year, it also supported protests by Dutch farmers against enforcing legislation on nitrogen emissions.

Election results

Parliament

Election year House of Representatives Government
Votes % Seats +/–
2017 187,162 1.8 (#13)
2 / 150
 New in opposition
Election year Senate Government
Votes % Seats +/–
2019 27,473 15.87 (#1)
2 / 75
[a] 		New in opposition

Municipal

Election Municipality Votes Percentage Rank Seats +/-
2018 Amsterdam 20,015 5.77 8th
1 / 45
[b] 		New

Provincial

Election Over all 12 provinces Involved in
Executives
Votes Percentage Rank Seats +/-
2019[68] 1,057,029 14.53 1st
86 / 570
 New
1 / 12
Province Elected seats Current seats
Zeeland
5 / 39
2 / 39
Gelderland
8 / 55
5 / 55
Overijssel
6 / 47
1 / 47
South Holland
11 / 55
2 / 55
Flevoland
8 / 41
1 / 41
Utrecht
6 / 49
0 / 49
North Brabant
9 / 55
6 / 55
Friesland
6 / 43
5 / 43
Drenthe
6 / 41
2 / 41
Groningen
5 / 43
3 / 43
Limburg
7 / 47
3 / 47
North Holland
9 / 55
3 / 55

European Parliament

Election year List Votes % Seats +/– Notes
2019 List 602,507 10.96 (#4)
3 / 26
 3 Increase [69][70][71]

Party membership

Year Membership[3][72]
2017 1,863
2018 22,884
2019 30,674
2020 42,794

Organization

Leadership

Thierry Baudet, founder and leader of the party

Notes

  1. ^ Twelve elected
  2. ^ Three elected

References

  1. ^ "Thierry Baudet door als partijleider FvD, 76 procent leden is voor". NOS (in Dutch).
  2. ^ "Partij Forum voor Democratie". FvD (in Dutch).
  3. ^ a b "Forum voor Democratie qua ledental de grootste partij van Nederland" (PDF). Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "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
  5. ^ a b c "Wat is Forum voor Democratie?". NPO Focus. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Netherlands". Europe Elects. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. ^ Staab, Steffen (2018). Social Informatics. Springer. p. 102.
  8. ^ "Thierry Baudet: not your typical populist". Spiked. 25 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b Lucardie, Paul (30 April 2018). "Tussen de Tocqueville en Spengler: het Forum voor Democratie op de tweesprong". De Hofvijver (in Dutch). No. 85. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b Leonid Bershidsky (22 February 2017). "The Dutch Election Is About More Than Nationalism".
  11. ^ Lucardie, Paul (30 April 2018). "Tussen de Tocqueville en Spengler: het Forum voor Democratie op de tweesprong". De Hofvijver (in Dutch). No. 85. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
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  13. ^ den Hartog, Tobias (6 March 2019). "Baudet moet de Wilders worden die wél levert". AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 April 2019.
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  16. ^ a b c de Boissieu, Laurent. "Forum voor Democratie (FvD)". Europe Politique (in French). Retrieved 23 March 2019.
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  34. ^ a b Douglas Murray (28 January 2017). "Geert Wilders doesn't threaten Dutch liberalism: he's defending it".
  35. ^ "Forum voor Democratie". Forumvoordemocratie.nl. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
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  37. ^ CDA members in Brabant say ‘yes’ to alliance with far-right FvD, dutchnews.nl, April 30, 2020, accessed 7 December 2020
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  39. ^ "D66 en VVD woest op FvD'er Ramautarsing: 'homofobie'". Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
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  41. ^ "Tweede Kamer spreekt zich uit tegen FvD-meldpunt linkse leraren". Joop (in Dutch). 9 April 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
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  46. ^ "Hiddema (FvD) verlaat per direct de Tweede Kamer". nos.nl (in Dutch).
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  48. ^ Template:Citeer nieuws
  49. ^ https://nltimes.nl/2020/12/27/fvd-presents-candidate-list-election-program-party-wants-netherlands-leave-eu
  50. ^ "Economie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  51. ^ "Belastingen". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  52. ^ "Internet". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  53. ^ "Privacy". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  54. ^ "Onderwijs". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  55. ^ "Defensie". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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  66. ^ "Drugs". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  67. ^ "Dierenwelzijn & milieu". Forum voor Democratie. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  68. ^ "Provinciale Staten 20 maart 2021".
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