The Economic League (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Economische Bond'', EB) was a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1917 to 1921.

Party History

The EB was founded on 15 December 1917 by Willem Treub, a former

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He was a political independent, although he had been member of the progressive liberal

Freethinking Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League ( nl, Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a Social liberalism, progressive liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relativel ...

(VDB) until 1913. He was a very successful minister and popular politician, especially in business and middle class circles. He was known as "Minister Forward". He advocated pragmatic politics implemented by strong independent politicians drawn from business. Treub's personalized campaign was supported by successful businessmen. In the 1918 elections the party won only three seats. After the elections the League joined the newly formed neutral parliamentary party, which united several one and two-person parties, namely the Economic League, the

Neutral Party The Neutral Party (in Dutch: ''Neutrale Partij'', NP) was a Dutch political party representing artists' interests. It played only a marginal role in Dutch politics. History The NP was founded by Henri ter Hall a well-known variety artist. The ...

, the

Peasants' League The Peasants' League (in Dutch: ''Plattelandersbond'', PB) was a Politics of the Netherlands, Dutch agrarianism, agrarian political party. The League played only a minor role in Dutch politics. Party history The party was founded on February 17, ...

, the

Middle Class Party The Middenstandspartij (in Dutch: ''Middenstandspartij'', MP) was a Dutch political party representing middle class interests. It played only a marginal role in Dutch politics. Party History The MP was founded by Abraham Staalman a businessman f ...

and the

Alliance for Democratization of the Army The Alliance for the Democratisation of the Army (in Dutch: ''Verbond tot Democratisering der Weermacht'', VDW) was a Dutch political party representing military interests. The VDW played only a marginal role in Dutch politics. Party History The ...

. The parliamentary party was led by Treub. In parliament Treub was unable retain his popularity, in the 1919 municipal elections the party lost half its votes and won no seats. In the same year Treub, who realized his party had failed, initiated the formation of a liberal party, which would unite all liberal parties. In 1921 the Economic League merged into the

Liberal State Party The Liberal State Party, "the Freedom League" ( nl, Liberale Staatspartij "de Vrijheidsbond", LSP), was a conservative liberal political party in the Netherlands from 1921 to 1948. It is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom and D ...

, together with the Liberal Union,

League of Free Liberals The League of Free Liberals ( nl, Bond van Vrije Liberalen) was a Dutch classical liberal political party and a predecessor of the Liberal State Party which is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the major Dutch ...

and the

. Treub left politics, and the influence of the League on this new party was rather limited.

Ideology & Issues

The EB was a pragmatic liberal party which sought to replace ideological, partisan politics with pragmatic solutions for the common man. It had a liberal agenda, advocating a

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

, with strong business and a limited, but efficient government. It sought to limit the power of parliament, while strengthening that of the cabinet.

Leadership & Support

This table show the EB's results in elections to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.

Electorate

The party drew most its support from voters who were not aligned with any of the major

pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

. It drew most of its support from middle-class neighbourhoods in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

and the Gooi region, the region around

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

References

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Liberal parties in the Netherlands Netherlands 1917 Political parties established in 1917 Political parties disestablished in 1921 1917 establishments in the Netherlands