The Frisian National Party ( fy, Fryske Nasjonale Partij; nl, Friese Nationale Partij, FNP) is a Frisian

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

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 ideological or p ...

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 ...

. The FNP is mostly involved in Frisian politics. The

Independent Senate Group The Independent Politics Netherlands ( nl, Onafhankelijke Politiek Nederland, OPNL) formerly known as the Independent Senate Group (Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie) is a political party in the Dutch Senate with one senator, representing several pr ...

represents the FNP on a national level, the

EFA EFA may refer to: England Football Association Arts * European Film Academy, a trade organisation * European Film Awards, organized by the European Film Academy * European Festivals Association, an arts festival organisation Commerce * Electri ...

represents the FNP on a European level.

Party history

The party was founded in 1962 by young activists of the Frisian movement ( fy, Fryske Beweging), which developed in the 19th century. It advocated the importance of the (West) Frisian language, culture and

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. The movement was founded in reaction to the use of Dutch in sermons of

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

es in Friesland. The Frisian movement has links with the reformed

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...

, but in the 1962 provincial elections it claimed that Frisian interests were less important than Dutch national interests. In 1966, it won its first seat in the provincial legislature and municipal councils. In 1995, it cooperated with provincial parties and

the Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...

to get a seat in the Senate, which is elected indirectly, in the so-called

. Between 1995 and 2003, it was taken by a member of the Greens, since 2003 it is taken by a member of the FNP.

Ideology and issues

The FNP is a

party which advocates a

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

political system in which Frisians get more autonomy or independence. It calls for greater autonomy of the region, government use, protection and recognition of the Frisian language and Frisian control over its gas reserves. According to a survey of 554 party members done by the European Policies Research Centre at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in 2009, 5.05% of members identified as far-left on the political spectrum, 13.9% as

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, 28.16% as

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

, 17.51% as

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

, 14.98% as

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

, 7.4% as right-wing, and 2.53% as far-right, with 10.47% unsure.

Representation

Since 1995 the party cooperated with several provincial parties and the Greens in the Independent Senate Fraction which had one seat in the Senate. From 2003 till 2011 and 2015 till 2019 this seat was taken by Hendrik ten Hoeve, a member of the FNP. In 2019 the seat was taken by Gerben Gerbrandy also a member of the FNP. The party has four (out of 43) seats in the Frisian provincial legislative and is part of the provincial government since 2011. The party has 39 members in 11 of the 18 Frisian municipal councils. It cooperates in the local executive of

Tytsjerksteradiel Tytsjerksteradiel () is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It is named after the town of Tytsjerk, whose name is derived from a person named Tiete. Tiete was a daughter of Tryn, after whom the region (Trynwâlden) is n ...

Waadhoeke Waadhoeke is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2018 and consists of the former municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel, all four of which were ...

, and

Noardeast-Fryslân Noardeast-Fryslân is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2019 and consists of the former municipalities of Dongeradeel, Ferwerderadiel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland, all three of which diss ...

. In

Wûnseradiel Wûnseradiel () is a former municipality in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands, at the eastern end of the ''Afsluitdijk''. The official (legal) name of the municipality is in the West Frisian language, though it is known as Wonsera ...

and Achtkarspelen the party supplied the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. In 2020 the party supplies the Mayor in Noardeast-Fryslân. On the European level, the party is a member of the

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...

, although it has no seats in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Electoral performance

The party's electorate is limited to Friesland, where it dominates in the Western and North-Eastern part of the mainland of the province. In rural

Littenseradiel Littenseradiel () is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands, known in Dutch as Littenseradeel (). The municipality was formed on 1 January 1984 by a merger of the former municipalities Baarderadeel and Hennaarderadeel. On 1 January 2018 ...

, the FNP got nearly 28% of the votes and became the largest party in 2003. In 2010 33.9% of the people voted FNP in rural

Skarsterlân Skarsterlân (; nl, Scharsterland ) is a former municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. The municipality was created 1 January 1984 by merging the municipalities of Doniawerstal and Haskerland, the part of Utingeradeel con ...

Relationships with other parties

The party has good relations with other provincial parties like

Party New Limburg The Party New Limburg (''Partij Nieuw Limburg'', abbreviated as ''PNL'') is a provincial political party in the Dutch province of Limburg. It has no parliamentary representation, but it is linked to the Independent Senate Group The Independent P ...

with which it together forms the

.Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie (OSF)
''Parlement & Politiek''. Historically it cooperated very well with the

Political Party of Radicals The Political Party of Radicals ( nl, Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR) was a progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to ...

, a left-wing Christian party.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Regionalist parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1962 Politics of Friesland European Free Alliance 1962 establishments in the Netherlands