People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

1948–1971

The VVD was founded in 1948 as a continuation of the Freedom Party,^[9] which was a continuation of the interbellum Liberal State Party,^[10] which in turn was a continuation of Liberal Union.^[11] They were joined by the Comité-Oud, a group of liberal members of the Labour Party (PvdA), led by Pieter Oud. The liberals within the Labour Party were primarily members of the pre-war social liberal Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) who had gone on to join the Labour Party in the post-war Doorbraak ("Breakthrough") movement. However, they believed that the Labour Party was becoming too socialist for their liking. Oud became the merged party's first leader.

Between 1948 and 1952, the VVD took part in the broad cabinets led by the Labour Party Prime Minister Willem Drees. The party was a junior partner with only eight seats to the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and Labour Party, which both had around thirty seats (out of 100). The Drees cabinets laid the foundation for the welfare state^{[citation needed]} and decolonisation of the Dutch East Indies^{[citation needed]}. In the general election of 1952 the VVD gained one seat, but did not join the government. In the general election of 1956 it increased its total, receiving thirteen seats, but was still kept out^{[citation needed]} of government until the general election of 1959, which was held early because of a cabinet crisis. This time it gained nineteen seats, and the party entered government alongside the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union CHU and the Roman Catholic KVP.

In 1963, Oud retired from politics, and was succeeded by the Minister of the Interior Edzo Toxopeus. With Toxopeus as its Leader, the VVD lost three seats in the 1963 election, but remained in government. In 1962, a substantial group of disillusioned VVD members founded the Liberal Democratic Centre (Liberaal Democratisch Centrum, LDC) which was intended to introduce a more twentieth-century liberal direction pointing to the classical liberal VVD. In 1966, frustrated with their hopeless efforts, LDC members departed the VVD altogether and went on now to form an entirely political party, the Democrats 66 (D66).

In 1965, there also occurred a conflict between VVD Ministers and their counterparts from the KVP and ARP in the Marijnen cabinet. The cabinet fell, and without an election it was replaced by a KVP–ARP–PvdA cabinet under Jo Cals, which itself also fell the next year. In the following 1967 election the VVD remained relatively stable and entered yet again the cabinet under Prime Minister Piet de Jong.

During this period, the VVD had loose ties with other liberal organisations; together, these formed the neutral pillar. They included the liberal papers Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad, the broadcaster AVRO and the employers' organisation VNO.

1971–1994

In the Dutch general election of 1971, the VVD lost one seat and the cabinet lost its majority. A cabinet was formed by the Christian democratic parties, the VVD and the Labour Party offshoot Democratic Socialists '70. This cabinet collapsed after a few months. Meanwhile, the charismatic young MP Hans Wiegel had attracted considerable attention. He became the new leader of the VVD. In 1971, he became the new parliamentary leader, and he was appointed lead candidate in 1972. Under Wiegel's leadership, the party oriented towards a new political course, aiming to reform the welfare state and cut taxes. Wiegel did not shrink from conflict with the Labour Party and the trade unions. With this new course came a new electorate: working-class and middle-class voters who, because of individualisation and depillarisation, were more easy to attract.

The course proved to be profitable: in the heavily polarised general election of 1972, the VVD gained six seats. The VVD was kept out of government by the social democratic and Christian democratic cabinet led by Joop den Uyl. Although the ties between the VVD and other organisations within the neutral pillar became ever looser, the number of neutral organisations friendly to the VVD grew. The TROS and later Veronica, new broadcasters which entered the Netherlands Public Broadcasting, were friendly to the VVD. In 1977, the VVD again won six seats, bringing its total to twenty-eight seats. When lengthy formation talks between the social democrats and Christian democrats eventually led to a final break between the two parties, the VVD formed cabinet with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), with a majority of only two seats.

In the general election of 1981, the VVD lost two seats and its partner the CDA lost even more. The cabinet was without a majority and a CDA, Labour and D66 cabinet was formed, falling after only a few months. In 1982, Hans Wiegel left Parliament to become Queen's Commissioner in Friesland and was succeeded by Ed Nijpels. In the general election of 1982 Nijpels' VVD gained ten seats, bringing its total up to 36. Once again, it formed a cabinet with the CDA under CDA Leader Ruud Lubbers. The cabinet began a programme of radical reform of the welfare state, which is still in place today. The VVD lost nine seats in the 1986 election but the cabinet nonetheless retained its majority. The losses were blamed on Nijpels, who stood down as leader of the VVD. He was succeeded by Joris Voorhoeve. In 1989 the CDA–VVD cabinet fell over a minor issue, and the VVD lost five seats in the subsequent election, leaving only twenty-two. The VVD was kept out of government, and Voorhoeve stood down and was succeeded by the charismatic intellectual Frits Bolkestein.

1994–present

Bolkestein's VVD was one of the winners of the Dutch general election of 1994: the party gained nine seats. It formed an unprecedented government with the Labour Party (PvdA) and the social liberal Democrats 66. The so-called "purple cabinet" led by Wim Kok was the first Dutch government without any Christian parties since 1918. Like many of his predecessors, Bolkestein remained in parliament. His political style was characterised by some as "opposition to one's own government". This style was very successful and the VVD gained another seven seats in the 1998 election, becoming the second largest party in parliament with thirty-eight seats. The VVD formed a second Purple cabinet with the Labour Party and D66. Bolkestein left Dutch politics in 1999 to become European Commissioner. He was replaced by the more technocratic and social liberal Hans Dijkstal.

In the heavily polarised Dutch general election of 2002, dominated by the rise and murder of Pim Fortuyn, the VVD lost fourteen seats, leaving only twenty-four. The VVD nonetheless entered a cabinet with the Christian Democratic Appeal and the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). Dijkstal stood down and was replaced by the popular former Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm. After a few months, Zalm "pulled the plug" on the First Balkenende cabinet, after infighting between Pim Fortuyn List ministers Eduard Bomhoff and Herman Heinsbroek.

In the subsequent general election of 2003, the VVD with Gerrit Zalm as lead candidate gained four seats, making a total of twenty-eight. The party had expected to do much better, having adopted most of Fortuyn's proposals on immigration and integration. The VVD unwillingly entered the Second Balkenende cabinet with Zalm returning as Minister of Finance and as Deputy Prime Minister. On 2 September 2004, Geert Wilders, a Member of the House of Representatives, left the party after a dispute with Parliamentary leader Van Aartsen. He chose to continue as an Independent in the House of Representatives. On 27 November 2004 Gerrit Zalm was succeeded as Leader by the Parliamentary leader of the VVD in the House of Representatives Jozias van Aartsen.

In 2006, the party lost a considerable number of seats in the municipal elections, prompting parliamentary leader Jozias van Aartsen to step down. Willibrord van Beek was subsequently appointed parliamentary leader ad interim. In the subsequent party leadership run-off Mark Rutte was elected as the leader, defeating Rita Verdonk and Jelleke Veenendaal.^[12]

The general election of 2006 did not start off well for the VVD: Mark Rutte was criticised by his own parliamentary party for being invisible in the campaign, and he was unable to break the attention away from the duel between then-Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Christian democrats and Wouter Bos of the Labour Party. However, the VVD's campaign started relatively late.^[13] The election polls showed losses for the VVD; the former VVD deputy Prime Minister Hans Wiegel blamed a poor VVD campaign for this, caused by the heavily contested VVD leadership run-off between Mark Rutte and Rita Verdonk earlier in the year. Verdonk had her eyes on the deputy-minister post, while cabinet posts are normally decided upon by the political leader of the VVD.^[14] On election day, the party received enough votes for twenty-two seats, a loss of six seats. When the official election results were announced on Monday 27 November 2006, preferential votes became known as well, showing that Rita Verdonk, the second candidate on the list, had obtained more votes than the VVD's lead candidate, Mark Rutte. Rutte had received 553,200 votes, while Verdonk had received 620,555.^[15] This led Verdonk to call for a party commission that would investigate the party leadership position, as a consequence of the situation of her obtaining more votes in the general election than Rutte, creating a short-lived crisis in the party.^[16] A crisis was averted when Rutte called for an ultimatum on his leadership, which Verdonk had to reconcile to, by rejecting her proposal for a party commission.^[17]During 2007, signs of VVD infighting continued to play in the media. In June 2007, the former VVD minister Dekker presented a report on the previous election, showing that the VVD lacked clear leadership roles, however the report did not single out individuals for blame for the party's losses.^[18]

After Verdonk renewed her criticism of the party in September 2007, she was expelled from the parliamentary faction, and subsequently relinquished her membership of the party, after reconciliation attempts had proven futile.^[19][20] Verdonk started her own political movement, Proud of the Netherlands, subsequently. In opinion polls held after Verdonk's exit, the VVD was set to lose close to ten parliamentary seats in the next election.^[21][22][23]

Jan van Zanen, chairman of the VVD's party board, announced in November 2007 that he would step down in May 2008, a year before his term would end. The rest of the board also announced that they would step down. On the same day of his announcement, honorary member Hans Wiegel called for the resignation of the board, because it could not keep Verdonk in the party.^[24][25] Wiegel also opined that the VVD should become part of a larger liberal movement, that would encompass the social liberal Democrats 66, the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders and Rita Verdonk's Proud of the Netherlands movement, although he found little resonance for this ideas from others.^[26]

In 2008, the VVD chose a new party chairman, Ivo Opstelten, the outgoing mayor of Rotterdam. Mark Rutte announced at the celebration of the party's sixth decennial that he would rewrite the foundational programme of the party that was enacted in the early 1980s, and offer the new principles for consideration by the party's members in the fall congress.

After the 2010 general election the VVD became the largest party with 31 seats and was the senior party in a centre-right minority First Rutte cabinet with the Christian Democratic Appeal supported by the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders to obtain a majority. Rutte was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 October 2010. Not only was it the first time that the VVD had led a government, but it was the first liberal-led government in 92 years. However, on 21 April 2012, after failed negotiations with the Party for Freedom on renewed budget cuts, the government became unstable and Mark Rutte deemed it likely that a new election would be held in 2012.^[27] On election day, 12 September 2012, the VVD remained the largest party in Parliament, winning 41 seats, a gain of 10 seats.

After the 2012 general election, the VVD entered into a ruling coalition with the Labour Party as its junior coalition partner. This coalition lasted a full term, but lost its majority at the 2017 election; the VVD itself lost eight seats, though remained the largest party with 33.^[28] Rutte became Prime Minister again, forming a centre-right green cabinet with the Christian Democratic Appeal, Democrats 66 and the Christian Union. In March 2021, VVD was the winner of the general election, securing 34 out of 150 seats. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2010, formed his fourth VVD-led coalition.^[29]

After the cabinet Rutte IV broke down due to disagreements over migration policy, and new elections were called for 22 November 2023. Rutte announced that following the election he would step down as leader of the VVD and that he would leave Dutch politics.^[30] Dilan Yesilgöz became the new leader of the party in August 2023 after running unopposed in the leadership election.^[31] Following the 2023 Dutch General Election the VVD was reduced to 24 seats in the House of Representatives, their worst since the 2006 Dutch general election.

Etymology

The VVD was originally a merger of the Party of Freedom and Freethinking Democratic dissenters within the Labour Party. In this name, both tendencies, classical liberalism ("Freedom") and social liberalism ("People's Party"; "Democracy") are represented. Despite being a liberal party, the VVD did not openly call itself "liberal", mainly because of the for some still lingering negative connotations of liberalism developed during the Great Depression and World War II.^{[citation needed]}

The most common English translation of the name is the literal translation, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.^[32][33][34]

The VVD is described as conservative-liberal,^{[35][36][37][38]} liberal-conservative,^[39][40][41] conservative,^[42][43][44] and classical liberal.^[45]

The VVD describes itself as a party founded on a liberal philosophy.^[46] Traditionally, the party is the most ardent supporter of 'free markets' of all Dutch political parties, promoting political, economic liberalism, classical liberalism, cultural liberalism; in contrast to this, it is also committed to the idea of the welfare state.^{[citation needed]}

After 1971, the party became more populist, although some conservative liberal elements remain.^[7] The 2006 leadership election was interpreted by many as a conflict between a liberal group and a conservative group within the VVD, with the distinctly liberal Rutte beating conservative Verdonk;^[47] 52% of the electorate voted for Rutte, while 46% voted for Verdonk.^[48]

Liberal Manifesto

The principles of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy were outlined in the "Liberal Manifesto" (Liberaal Manifest) and latterly the election programmes. The Liberal Manifesto was a general outlook on the direction of the party would like to mirror itself and is an extension of the party's foundational principles.^[49] The election programmes are more oriented to practical politics, for example, winning the elections on-the-day and by any means possible. The last Liberal Manifesto of the VVD was published in September 2005.^[49] It developed a broad outline around the themes of democracy, security, freedom and citizenship, along with a vision of the future of party's internal structure. Below some of the points from the Manifesto are presented:

Democracy

• The Manifesto calls for a directly elected Prime Minister, whereby voters could express their preference on the ballot.
• The idea of (advisory) referendums is not supported by the party.
• Mayors should be directly elected by the people.
• Commitment to the four freedoms of the European Single Market.

Security

• A common policy on defence and security in the European Union is called for.

Freedom

• The principle of non-discrimination should be given more importance than the exercise of religion.^{[citation needed]}
• "Social rights" are to be continued. These are not simply rights, but they also create obligations.
• Euthanasia is part of a person's right to self-determination.
• Commitment to an open economy, with a "regulated free-market", including patents.
• Support for the freedom of contract. No right for workers to enter into nationally binding collective bargaining agreements.

Citizenship

• Minimise the option of dual citizenship.
• Social security should only be fully open for Dutch nationals. Migrants would have to integrate in order to become citizens.

Policy overview

House of Representatives

Election	Lead candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1948	Pieter Oud	391,908	7.9 (#5)	8 / 100	New	Coalition
1952		470,820	8.8 (#5)	9 / 100	1	Opposition
1956		502,325	8.7 (#4)	9 / 100 13 / 150	4	Opposition
1959		732,658	12.2 (#3)	19 / 150	6	Coalition
1963	Edzo Toxopeus	643,839	10.2 (#3)	16 / 150	3	Coalition
1967		738,202	10.7 (#3)	17 / 150	1	Coalition
1971	Molly Geertsema	653,092	10.3 (#3)	16 / 150	1	Coalition
1972	Hans Wiegel	1,068,375	14.4 (#3)	22 / 150	6	Opposition
1977		1,492,689	17.0 (#3)	28 / 150	6	Coalition
1981		1,504,293	17.3 (#3)	26 / 150	2	Opposition
1982	Ed Nijpels	1,897,986	23.1 (#3)	36 / 150	10	Coalition
1986		1,595,377	17.4 (#3)	27 / 150	9	Coalition
1989	Joris Voorhoeve	1,295,402	14.6 (#3)	22 / 150	5	Opposition
1994	Frits Bolkestein	1,792,401	20.0 (#3)	31 / 150	9	Coalition
1998		2,124,971	24.7 (#2)	38 / 150	7	Coalition
2002	Hans Dijkstal	1,466,722	15.4 (#3)	24 / 150	14	Coalition
2003	Gerrit Zalm	1,728,707	17.9 (#3)	28 / 150	4	Coalition
2006	Mark Rutte	1,443,312	14.7 (#4)	22 / 150	6	Opposition
2010		1,929,575	20.5 (#1)	31 / 150	9	Coalition
2012		2,504,948	26.6 (#1)	41 / 150	10	Coalition
2017		2,238,351	21.3 (#1)	33 / 150	8	Coalition
2021		2,276,514	21.9 (#1)	34 / 150	1	Coalition
2023	Dilan Yeşilgöz	1,589,519	15.24 (#3)	24 / 150	10	TBA

Senate

Election	Votes	Weight	%	Seats	+/–
1948				3 / 50	New
1951				4 / 50	1
1952				4 / 50
1955				4 / 50
Apr 1956				4 / 75
Oct 1956				7 / 75	3
1960				8 / 75	1
1963				7 / 75	1
1966				8 / 75	1
1969				8 / 75
1971				8 / 75
1974				12 / 75	4
1977				15 / 75	3
1980				13 / 75	2
1981				12 / 75	1
1983				17 / 75	5
1986				16 / 75	1
1987				12 / 75	4
1991				12 / 75
1995				23 / 75	11
1999		39,809	25,3 (#2)	19 / 75	4
2003		31,026	19,2 (#3)	15 / 75	4
2007		31,360	19,2 (#2)	14 / 75	1
2011	111	34,590	20.83 (#1)	16 / 75	2
2015	90	28,523	16.87 (#1)	13 / 75	3
2019	78	26,157	15.11 (#2)	12 / 75	1
2023	67	22,194	12.40 (#2)	10 / 75	2

European Parliament

Election	List	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Notes
1979	List	914,787	16.14 (#3)	4 / 25	New	[51]
1984	List	1,002,685	18.93 (#3)	5 / 25	1	[52]
1989	List	714.745	13,63 (#3)	3 / 25	2	[53]
1994	List	740.443	17,91 (#3)	6 / 31	3	[54]
1999	List	698,050	19.69 (#3)	6 / 31		[55]
2004	List	629.198	13,20 (#3)	4 / 27	2	[56]
2009	List	518.643	11,39 (#4)	3 / 25	1
				3 / 26		[57]
2014	List	571.176	12,02 (#4)	3 / 26		[58]
2019	List	805,100	14.64 (#2)	4 / 26	1
				5 / 29	1	[59]

Cabinet

Members of the States General

Members of the House of Representatives

Members of the Senate

Representation in EU institutions

In the European Parliament, VVD sits in the Renew Europe group with five MEPs.^{[60][61][62][63][64]}

In the European Committee of the Regions, VVD sits in the Renew Europe CoR Group, with one full and two alternate members for the 2020-2025 mandate.^[65][66] Martijn van Gruijthuijsen is Coordinator in the ECON Commission.^[67]

Municipal and provincial government

Provincial government

The VVD provides three out of twelve King's Commissioners. The VVD is part of every college of the Provincial-Executives Gedeputeerde Staten except for Utrecht.

In the following figure one can see the election results of the provincial elections of 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 per province. It shows the areas where the VVD is strong, namely the Randstad urban area that consists out of the provinces of North and South Holland, Utrecht and (parts of) Flevoland, and also the provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The party is weak in northern peripheral provinces like Friesland, Groningen, and Overijssel, and also in southern peripheral provinces like Zeeland, and Limburg.

• 
  Ina Adema
  North Brabant
  (since 2020)
• 
  Arno Brok
  Friesland
  (since 2017)
• 
  Arthur van Dijk
  North Holland
  (since 2019)
• 
  Arjen Gerritsen
  Flevoland
  (since 2023)

Municipal government

119 of the 380 Dutch Mayors are member of the VVD since 2018. Furthermore, the party has about 250 aldermen and 1100 members of municipal councils. The VVD provides the mayors of several major cities.

• 
  Jan van Zanen
  The Hague
  (since 2020)
• 
  Koen Schuiling
  Groningen
  (since 2019)
• 
  Theo Weterings
  Tilburg
  (since 2017)
• 
  Marianne Schuurmans-Wijdeven
  Haarlemmermeer
  (since 2019)
• 
  Jack Mikkers
  's-Hertogenbosch
  (since 2017)
• 
  Peter Snijders
  Zwolle
  (since 2019)

Historically, the VVD electorate consisted mainly of secular middle-class^[68] and upper-class voters, with a strong support from entrepreneurs. Under the leadership of Wiegel, the VVD started to expand its appeal to working class voters.

Leadership

Organisational structure

The highest organ of the VVD is the General Assembly, in which all members present have a single vote. It convenes usually twice every year. It appoints the party board and decides on the party programme.

The order of the First Chamber, Second Chamber and European Parliament candidates list is decided by a referendum under all members voting by internet, phone or mail. If contested, the lead candidate of a candidates lists is appointed in a separate referendum in advance. Since 2002 the General Assembly can call for a referendum on other subjects too. The present chairman of the board was elected this way.

About 90 members elected by the members in meetings of the regional branches form the Party Council, which advises the Party Board in the months that the General Assembly does not convene. This is an important forum within the party. The party board handles the daily affairs of the party.

Linked organisations

The independent youth organisation that has a partnership agreement with the VVD is the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy (Jongeren Organisatie Vrijheid en Democratie, JOVD), which is a member of the Liberal Youth Movement of the European Union and the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth.

The education institute of the VVD is the Haya van Someren Foundation. The Telders Foundation is the party's scientific institute and publishes the magazine Liberaal Reveil every two months. The party published the magazine Liber bi-monthly.

International organisations

The VVD is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and Liberal International.

The VVD has always been a very independent party. The VVD cooperates on the European and the international level with the social liberal Democrats 66. It has a long history of coalitions with the Christian Democratic Appeal and its Christian democratic predecessors, but was in government with the social democratic Labour Party from 1994 to 2002 and again between 2012 and 2017.

The VVD participates in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.

• Liberalism:
  • Contributions to liberal theory
  • Liberal democracy
  • Liberalism in the Netherlands
  • Liberalism worldwide

Wikimedia Commons has media related to People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

• Official website (in Dutch)
• Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties about VVD (in Dutch)