Forum for Democracy

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Dutch. (January 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Dutch article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 981 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Dutch Wikipedia article at [[:nl:Forum voor Democratie]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|nl|Forum voor Democratie}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Forum for Democracy Forum voor Democratie
Abbreviation	FvD
Chairperson	Thierry Baudet[1]
Leader in the House of Representatives	Thierry Baudet
Leader in the Senate	Paul Frentrop
Founders	Thierry Baudet Henk Otten
Founded	1 September 2016[2][3]
Headquarters	Herengracht 74, Amsterdam
Think tank	Renaissance Institute
Membership (2020)	42,794[4] (Disputed)[5][6]
Ideology	National conservatism[7] Right-wing populism[8][9][10] Souverainism[11] Economic liberalism[12] Euroscepticism[13][14]
Political position	Right-wing[18] to far-right[24]
European affiliation	European Conservatives and Reformists Party[25]
European Parliament group	European Conservatives and Reformists[26]
Colors	Maroon
House of Representatives	5 / 150
Senate	3 / 75
States-Provincial	25 / 570
European Parliament	0 / 29
King's Commissioners	0 / 12
Website
www.fvd.nl
Politics of the Netherlands Political parties Elections

Part of a series on
Conservatism
show Variants Cultural Fiscal Green Liberal Libertarian National Paternalistic Pragmatic Progressive Populist Social Traditionalist
show Concepts Civil society Communitarianism Complementarianism Cultural heritage Familism Family values Natural law Natural order Private property Rule of law Solidarity Tradition
show Philosophers Johnson Hume Burke More Maistre Bonald Chateaubriand Coleridge Müller Carlyle Newman Tocqueville Dostoevsky Taine Strauss Oakeshott Kuehnelt-Leddihn Kirk Buckley Scruton Hitchens Peterson
show Politicians Adams Karamzin Canning Metternich Disraeli Bismarck Salisbury Baldwin Maurras Salazar Gaulle Franco Reagan Powell Thatcher Kohl
show Organizations Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Caribbean Democrat Union European People's Party International Democrat Union
show Religious conservatism Christian Catholicism Democracy Fundamentalism Right Hindu Jewish Islamic
show National variants Australia Belgium Belize Brazil Canada Blue Red Social China Colombia Cuba Denmark Finland France Action Française Gaullism Maurassisme Germany Revolutionary State Socialism Greece Guatemala Hong Kong India Hindutva Mexico New Zealand Pakistan Panama Russia Eurasianism Putinism Serbia Spain Carlism Francoism Switzerland South Korea Taiwan Turkey Democracy Erdoğanism United Kingdom Andism One-nation Thatcherism Toryism United States Compassionate Fusionism Movement Neo Paleo Trumpism
show Related topics Ancien Régime Anti-communism Aristocracy Corporatism Counter-revolutionary Elite theory Feudalism Conservative feminism Maternalism Monarchism Nativism Patriarchy Radical right Europe United States Reactionary Neo Right-wing politics New Old Small-c conservative
Conservatism portal  Politics portal
v t

Forum for Democracy (Dutch: Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a conservative and right-wing populist^[27] Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands that was initially founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and in 2016. 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 out of any party.

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.^[28]

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.^[29] As populists, the bulk of the Forum's nominated parliamentary candidates did not have prior active experience in other political parties.^[30][31]

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.^[32]

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. The FvD did not stand in Rotterdam but instead endorsed the Livable Rotterdam party.^[33]

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.^[34] In 2020, former VVD MP Wybren van Haga defected to the party.

In April 2020, the party became split following a series of controversies related to members of the FvD's youth wing making comments that were deemed racist and homophobic. Baudet was also accused of endorsing antisemitic conspiracies, something he denied. This led to calls for Baudet to be removed as FvD leader and he temporarily stepped down. In December 2020, it was announced that Baudet had returned as party leader and would lead the FvD into the 2021 Dutch general election.^[35]

At the 2021 general election, the party campaigned against COVID-19 lockdown measures imposed by the Dutch government and managed to win eight MPs. In May 2021, three of the FvD MPs (Van Haga, Hans Smolders and Olaf Ephraim) left the party to sit as independents in response to the FvD releasing a poster comparing the lockdown to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.^[36][37][38]

Ideology and political positions[]

The FvD has been described as ideologically national conservative,^[39][7] conservative-liberal^[12] eurosceptic and right-wing populist.^[8] On its official platform, the FvD declares itself to be a movement rather than a party with a focus on protecting Dutch sovereignty, identity, and cultural and intellectual property. The party also wants stricter immigration policies and is opposed to the European Union.^[40] Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad has described the FvD of containing various factions, including members sympathetic to conservative and libertarian ideas.^[41] Initially, the party focused on drawing support from former People's Party for Freedom and Democracy voters who felt the VVD had grown too soft on the policy areas of European Union and immigration, but saw the Party for Freedom as too hardline, and tried recruiting candidates who came from professional rather than political backgrounds.^[42] The FvD has been accused of cultivating popularity among the alt-right movement, although the party does not identify itself as such.^[43]

Economy[]

FvD is a conservative liberal party and as such supports economic liberalism.^[12] The party is a proponent of the introduction of a high tax-free bracket for everyone, the abolition of taxes on gifts and inheritance and a radical simplification of tax brackets.^{[44][45][46][47]} The party is a proponent of drastic changes in elementary and secondary education, focusing on performance evaluations for teachers.^[48] It wants to expand the armed forces, expanding the National Reserve Corps and reverting defense budget cuts.^[49]

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.^[28] The party promises direct democracy through binding referenda^[30] as well as directly elected mayors and a directly elected Prime Minister.^[50][51] 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.^[52]

Immigration and European Union[]

The party states that it supports protecting European civilization and wants free trade between European nations and the world but is opposed to the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone. The party calls for referendums on the Eurozone, the Schengen agreement and on the Dutch membership of the EU.^[53] The FvD also adopts a nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected.^[54] For instance, the party is in favor of reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration.^[55][56] 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 Islamic schools and institutions, and argues that all schools in the Netherlands should subscribe to "Judeo-Christian values."^[57][58] FvD also states that immigrants who do not wish to integrate should be offered incentives to return to their native country and that whenever possible asylum seekers should be processed off Dutch soil.^[59]

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.^[60]

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.^[61] 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.^[62] 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.^[63][64] Later that year, it also supported protests by Dutch farmers against enforcing legislation on nitrogen emissions.

Society and culture[]

FvD supports high culture. It argues for the protection of Dutch culture and "European classical music, art and knowledge." It is critical of modern architecture, calling for both new government buildings to be constructed in a neoclassical style and for city planning that "fits within a historical view." FvD also supports the establishment of a commission to protect historic monuments from destruction, wants Frysk to be retained as a second state language, calls for schools to teach about "beautiful things that the West has produced" and supports free museum admission for all Dutch citizens.^[65] However, the party has also promoted plans to defund and privatize the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, a Dutch public broadcasting organization.^[66]

Controversies[]

Since it became active in politics, FvD has sparked controversy,^[67][68] especially regarding allegations of racism against important FvD politicians,^[69] the FvD "left-wing indoctrination in education" hotline^[70] and whether or not the FvD is a far-right party.^[17] Many of these controversies surround party leader Baudet.^[71] 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.^[72] FvD later investigated these instances and discharged three members from the political party. Three additional members were also suspended.^[73] After more similar messages were revealed in November, Baudet resigned as lijsttrekker.^[74] 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. ^[75] 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.^[76]

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.^[77] 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.

Split-off parties[]

In August 2019, former FvD senator and founding member Henk Otten announced he had registered Group Otten (GO) as a new political party.^[78] GO currently has two seats in the Senate and one seat in the European Parliament which were taken up by former FvD members.^[79][80]

In 18 December 2020, former FvD parliamentary candidates Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga created JA21 to contest in the 2021 Dutch general election following what they felt was the FvD's poor handling of members who had made extremist statements. They were joined by the FvD's three MEPs.^[81][82][83]

Following the 2021 Dutch election, FvD MP Wybren van Haga founded Belang van Nederland and was joined by two former FvD MPs.^[84][85]

Electoral results[]

House of Representatives[]

Election	Lijsttrekker	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
2017	Thierry Baudet	187,162	1.8 (#13)	2 / 150	New	Opposition
2021		521,102	5.0 (#8)	8 / 150	6	TBD
Current	defected to Van Haga Group 3 / 150			5 / 150	3	TBD

Senate[]

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
2019	27,473	15.87 (#1)	12 / 75	New	Opposition
Current	2 / 75 defected to JA21 8 / 75 defected to Group Otten 2 / 75			10

Municipal[]

Election	Municipality	Votes	%	Rank	Seats	+/-
2018	Amsterdam	20,015	5.77	8th	3 / 45	New
Current	1 / 45				2

Provincial[]

Election	Overall 12 provinces					Involved in Executives
	Votes	Percentage	Rank	Seats	+/-
2019[86]	1,057,029	14.53	1st	86 / 570	New	1 / 12
Current	25 / 570				61	0 / 12

European Parliament[]

Election	List	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Notes
2019	List	602,507	10.96 (#4)	3 / 26	3	[87][88][89]
After split	0 / 26 to JA21 3 / 26				3

Party membership[]

Organization[]

Leadership[]

Thierry Baudet, founder and leader of the party

• Leaders
  • Thierry Baudet (22 September 2016 – present)
• Chairman
  • Thierry Baudet (22 September 2016 – 17 January 2017; 25 November 2017 – present)
  • Paul Frentrop (interim; 17 January 2017 – 24 November 2017)
• Vice Chairman^{[citation needed]}
  • Theo Hiddema (17 January 2017 – present)
• Leaders in the House of Representatives
  • Thierry Baudet (23 March 2017 – present)
• Lijsttrekker for the general election
  • Thierry Baudet (2017, 2021)

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Forum voor Democratie at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in Dutch)
• Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties about FvD (in Dutch)