The General Elderly Alliance (in Dutch: ''Algemeen Ouderen Verbond'', AOV) was a

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 ...

pensioners'

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 ...

. The AOV was very successful in the

1994 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1994. Africa * 1994 Botswana general election * 1994 Guinea-Bissau general election * 1994 Malawian general election * 1994 Mozambican general election * 1994 Namibian general election * 1994 South Af ...

but disappeared four years later.

Party History

The AOV was founded on December 1, 1993. The direct cause for the formation of the AOV were budget cuts on

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

s. During the 1994 election campaign one of the governing parties, the CDA, announced that it would cut government pensions. This made the AOV very attractive to the elderly. During the campaign the party organized several successful mass protests against budget cuts. The party won six seats. The Union 55+, another party aiming to represent the elderly, also won one seat. In the autumn of 1994 a conflict developed in the party between Nijpels and the party's founder Batenburg. This results in a split within the parliamentary party and the party board. After the split there was no party in parliament which was allowed to call itself AOV by the presidium. In the 1995 Senate election, the party won two seats, one of which was taken by Batenburg, who immediately became an independent. In 1998 the party's sole senator joined the CDA. In the elections of the same year the AOV formed a new party, the Elderly Union (Ouderenunie), whilst Batenburg also participated in the election as the New Solidary Elderly Alliance. All were unable to win a seat.

Ideology & Issues

The party was a typical

one issue party Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. Political expression One weakness of such an approach is that effective political party, political parties are usually coali ...

: it sought to better the position of the elderly, by increasing government pensions.

Representation

This table the AOV'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 ...

, Senate and States-Provincial, 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. *: Split from the party after 1995. **: estimates of the number of members elected on combined AOV/ Unie 55+ lists.

Municipal and Provincial Government

In several provincial and local legislatures elderly parties, sometimes officially linked to the AOV, held seats. In the period 1995-1999 the party had its own parliamentary parties with one or two seats in provincial legislatures in

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, Overijssel,

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and Groningen. In the other six provinces it ran a joint list with Unie 55+ which won more seats. In

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

this party had 5 seats out of 79. In the period 1999-2003 the party had representatives in only four provinces all in combined AOV/Unie 55+ parties. In Eindhoven the party was particularly successful - in the 1994 municipal elections the party, led by Jet Nijpels, won a considerable number of seats and participated in the local executive.

Electorate

The party was supported by elderly, especially by former CDA-voters from the Southern provinces,

and

International Comparison

The party can be compared to other suddenly successful elderly parties, like the Israeli Gil, but unlike that party, the AOV did not participate in government. {{Historical Dutch political parties Pensioners' parties Populism in the Netherlands Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1993 Political parties disestablished in 1998 1993 establishments in the Netherlands