The Neutral Party (in Dutch: ''Neutrale Partij'', NP) was a

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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 ...

representing artists' interests. It played only a marginal role in Dutch politics.

History

The NP was founded by Henri ter Hall a well-known

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artist. The 1918 elections were the first in the Netherlands to use a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. With about 7,000 votes (0,5% of the votes) the NP won one seat, as did several other ones or two-person parties. After the elections, the election law became more restrictive. After the elections the NP initiated the formation of a neutral parliamentary party, which united several ones and two-person parties, namely the Neutral Party,

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 Economic League, 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 parliamentary party was led by the former minister Willem Treub. In 1921 several of these parties, including the Neutral Party 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 ...

, together with two larger liberal parties. Until 1929 the party was an independent part in the Liberal State Party, campaigning with its own list.

Ideology and issues

The NP was a typical special-interest party. Its main goal was to represent the interests of artists and people employed in the entertainment sector. In all other questions it sought to supersede partisan interest and act from the general interest.

Leadership and support

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

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and Senate, 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 of its support from voters who were not aligned with any of the major

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. {{Historical Dutch political parties Defunct political parties in the Netherlands