The Catholic People's Party (, KVP) was a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as a continuation of the interwar
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party (, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. During its entire exis ...
, which was in turn a successor of the
General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. The party was in government throughout its existence. In 1977, a federation of parties including the Catholic People's Party, the
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, 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 minister who served as Prime Mi ...
(ARP) and the
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980.
History 187 ...
(CHU) ran together under the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands.
Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
(CDA) banner. The three participating parties formally dissolved to form the CDA in 1980.
History
1945–1965
The KVP was founded on 22 December 1945. It was a continuation of the pre-war
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party (, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. During its entire exis ...
(RKSP). Unlike the RKSP, the KVP was open to people of all denominations, but mainly
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
s supported the party. The party adopted a more progressive course and a more modern image than its predecessor.
In the
1946 general election, the party won a third of the vote, and joined the newly founded
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
Labour Party (PvdA) to form a government coalition. This
Roman/Red coalition ("Roman" for the KVP, "Red" for the PvdA) lasted until 1958. In the first two years, the KVP's
Louis Beel led the
Cabinet. Beel was not the party's leader, a post which was taken by
Carl Romme
Carl Paul Maria Romme (21 December 1896 – 16 October 1980) was a Dutch politician of the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister o ...
, who led the KVP from the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
between 1946 and 1961. After the
1948 general election, the PvdA supplied the prime minister
Willem Drees
Willem Drees Sr. (; 5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands), Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA) ...
. The PvdA and the KVP were joined by combinations of the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
-Christian
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, 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 minister who served as Prime Mi ...
(ARP) and
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980.
History 187 ...
(CHU) and the
liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...
(VVD) to form oversized cabinets, which often held a comfortable two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. The cabinets were oriented at rebuilding Dutch society and
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
after the ravages of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and grant independence to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. That last point caused a split within the KVP; in 1948, a small group of Catholics opposed to decolonisation and cooperation with social democrats broke away to form the
Catholic National Party (KNP). Under pressure of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, the two parties reunited in 1955.
The KVP was at the height of its power from 1958 to 1965. It was the dominant force in all cabinets, and every prime minister during this time was a party member. In 1958 the
fourth Drees cabinet fell and Louis Beel formed an interim cabinet with KVP, ARP and CHU. After the
1959 general election, the KVP formed a centre-right
cabinet with ARP, CHU and VVD, led by KVP member
Jan de Quay. It continued to strengthen the welfare state. After the
1963 general election, this cabinet was succeeded by a new
cabinet of KVP-CHU-ARP-VVD, which was led by the KVP's
Victor Marijnen. This coalition oversaw an
economic boom
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
.
Norbert Schmelzer became the party's new leader, again operating within the House of Representatives and not the cabinet. A cabinet crisis over the
Netherlands Public Broadcasting
(; abbreviated to NPO ; literally "Dutch Public Broadcaster") or Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting () is a Dutch public broadcasting organisation that administers public broadcasting services in the Netherlands. NPO is also the owner of ...
, however, caused the cabinet to fall in 1965. The KVP and ARP formed a
cabinet with the PvdA, led by the KVP's
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.
Cals studie ...
. This cabinet also fell in the Night of Schmelzer, in which Norbert Schmelzer forced a cabinet crisis over the cabinet's financial policy. This was the first fall of cabinet directly broadcast on television. An interim government of KVP and ARP was formed, led by the ARP's
Jelle Zijlstra
Jelle Zijlstra (; 27 August 1918 – 23 December 2001) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967.
Zijlstra studied Economi ...
.
1965–1980
The period 1965–1980 was period of decline, crisis and dissent for the KVP. The party's vote share began to decline after 1966 as a result of
depillarisation and
secularisation
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
; there were fewer Catholics, and Catholics no longer necessarily supported a Catholic party.
In the
1967 general election, the KVP lost 15% of its votes and eight seats. During the election campaign the KVP, ARP and CHU declared that they wanted to continue cooperating with each other. Cooperation with the PvdA was much less important. This led to unrest among young and
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
KVP supporters, including
Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refug ...
,
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.
Cals studie ...
,
Erik Jurgens and
Jacques Aarden
Jacobus Maria "Jacques" Aarden (11 August 1914 – 23 November 1997) was a Dutch politician.
Career
In 1940, Aarden finished his education in economics. After the World War II, Second World War he joined the new Catholic People's Party, even th ...
, who called themselves Christian Radicals. After the election, this promise was upheld and the KVP formed a
cabinet with its old partners, led by
Piet de Jong. After much debate, some of the Christian Radicals broke away from the KVP in 1968 to form the
Political Party of Radicals
The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') 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 for ...
(PPR). These include three members of parliament, who form their own
parliamentary party
A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...
, Groep Aarden. Lubbers and Cals stayed with the KVP. The new party became a close partner of the PvdA. In the
1971 general election, the KVP lost another seven seats (18% of its vote). The KVP again joined the ARP, CHU and VVD to form a new centre-right
cabinet with right-wing dissenters of the PvdA, united in
Democratic Socialists '70
The Democratic Socialists '70 (, DS'70) was a social democratic political party in the Netherlands.
History
DS'70 was founded on 4 April 1970 as the result of a split from the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA). In June 1970, Frans ...
(DS'70). The ARP's
Barend Biesheuvel led the cabinet. In 1972 the cabinet fell because of internal problems of the junior partner, DS'70.
In the
subsequent election, the KVP again lost eight seats, leaving only 27, 23 less than in 1963. The cabinet lost its majority and the KVP saw no alternative than to cooperate with the PvdA and its allies PPR and
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...
(D'66). An
extra-parliamentary
An extra-parliamentary opposition, also referred to as simply extra-parliamentary or extraparliamentary, is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could ...
cabinet was formed by PvdA, PPR and D66 joined by prominent progressives from KVP and ARP. The KVP's ministers include the minister of Justice
Dries van Agt
Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; 2 February 1931 – 5 February 2024) was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader o ...
and the minister of the Economy Ruud Lubbers. The KVP did not officially support this cabinet, which was led by social democrat
Joop den Uyl
Johannes Marten den Uijl (9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987), better known as Joop den Uyl (), was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA ...
. This cabinet was characterised by infighting and fell just before the
1977 general election.
In the 1970s, the KVP realised that if it was to continue, it needed to find new ways of cooperating. Ideas to form a broad Christian democratic party, like the German
Christian Democratic Union, were brought into practice. In 1974 the three parties formed a federation, called
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands.
Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
(CDA). In the 1977 election the CDA won more seats than the KVP, ARP and CHU had together. After the election, Dries van Agt became prime minister. In 1980, the three parties officially dissolved themselves into the CDA.
The Catholics still constitute a powerful group within the CDA. Indeed, the CDA's first two prime ministers, van Agt and
Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refug ...
, came from the KVP side of the merger. In the early years, a system of equal representation of Catholics and Protestants was practiced, from which the KVP as the only Catholic group profited. Nowadays many CDA members, like
Maxime Verhagen and
Maria van der Hoeven have a background in the KVP's political Catholicism.
Name
The name Catholic People's Party (Dutch: ''Katholieke Volkspartij''; KVP), must be seen in contrast with the name of its predecessor
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party (, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. During its entire exis ...
. The party no longer uses the name "
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
", but simply "
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
", de-emphasising its religious affiliation. It is no longer a state party, but a people's party, emphasising its progressive, democratic nature. The new name emphasises the KVP's progressive, democratic and non-denominational image.
Ideology
The KVP was a
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
party, which based itself on the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
and Catholic
dogma
Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...
.
As such, it was a proponent of a
mixed economy
A mixed economy is an economic system that includes both elements associated with capitalism, such as private businesses, and with socialism, such as nationalized government services.
More specifically, a mixed economy may be variously de ...
: A strong
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
should be combined with a
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), 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 ...
, with a
corporatist
Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come together and negotiate contracts ...
organisation.
Trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and
employers' organisation
An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutua ...
s were to negotiate on wages in a
Social and Economic Council
The Social and Economic Council (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a Publiekrechtelijke Bedrijfsorganisatie, system of sector-based ...
and should make legislation for some economic sectors on themselves, without government intervention, in so-called ''Productschappen''.
The state should watch over the morality of the people: divorce should be limited, recreation should be moral (for instance different swimming hours for women and men) and the family should be preserved. Families were to be helped by fiscal policies, such as the ''kinderbijslag'', support by the government, by the newly set up Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Welfare, and the possibility to buy their own home.
Internationally, the KVP was a staunch proponent of
European integration
European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
and cooperation within
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. The party sought the middle ground in the issue of decolonisation: Indonesia and
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
should be independent countries within a Dutch
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
.
Electoral performance
Municipal and provincial government
The party was particularly strong in the southern provinces of
Limburg and
North Brabant
North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic 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 ...
, where it often held 90% of the seats in the
provincial and
municipal legislatures and supplied all
provincial and
municipal governments,
provincial governors and
mayors
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...
. In regions like
Twente
Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...
,
West Friesland and
Zeelandic Flanders
Zeelandic Flanders ( ; ; )''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and th ...
it held similar positions in municipalities, but cooperated with other parties on the provincial level.
Organisation
Leaders
*
Chairs
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or Upholstery, upholstered ...
**
Piet Witteman (22 December 1945 – 4 April 1946)
**
Jan Andriessen (4 April 1946 – 30 May 1953)
**
Harry van Doorn (30 May 1953 – 23 June 1962)
**
Piet Aalberse Jr. (23 June 1962 – 30 March 1968)
**
Fons van der Stee (30 March 1968 – 14 July 1971)
**
Dick de Zeeuw (14 July 1971 – 20 June 1975)
**
Wim Vergeer (20 June 1975 – 27 September 1980)
*
Prime Ministers
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
**
Louis Beel (3 July 1946 – 7 August 1948, 22 December 1958 – 19 May 1959)
**
Jan de Quay (19 May 1959 – 24 July 1963)
**
Victor Marijnen (24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965)
**
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.
Cals studie ...
(14 April 1965 – 22 November 1966)
**
Piet de Jong (5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971)
*
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...
s in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
**
Carl Romme
Carl Paul Maria Romme (21 December 1896 – 16 October 1980) was a Dutch politician of the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister o ...
(4 June 1946 – 25 October 1960)
**
Jan Andriessen (25 October 1960 – 19 September 1961)
**
Wim de Kort (19 September 1961 – 7 December 1963)
**
Norbert Schmelzer (7 December 1963 – 28 April 1971)
**
Piet Engels (28 April 1971 – 11 May 1971)
**
Gerard Veringa (11 May 1971 – 16 August 1971)
**
Frans Andriessen
Franciscus Henricus Johannes Joseph "Frans" Andriessen (2 April 1929 – 22 March 2019) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and businessperson who served as List of Europ ...
(16 August 1971 – 25 May 1977)
*
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...
s in the
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 ...
**
Jan van de Mortel (22 December 1945 – 23 July 1946)
**
Cor Kropman (23 July 1946 – 5 June 1963)
**
Harry van Lieshout (1 October 1963 – 7 October 1969)
**
Jan Niers (7 October 1969 – 11 May 1971)
**
Piet de Jong (11 May 1971 – 17 September 1974)
**
Jan Teijssen (17 September 1974 – 20 September 1977)
Electorate
The KVP was supported by Catholics of all
classes. Its strength was in the
Catholic south of the Netherlands:
North Brabant
North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic 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 ...
and
Limburg, where it often obtained more than 90% of vote. It was also strong in Catholic regions like
Twente
Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...
,
West Friesland and
Zeelandic Flanders
Zeelandic Flanders ( ; ; )''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and th ...
.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the KVP lost part of its electorate to progressive parties like the
Political Party of Radicals
The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') 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 for ...
, the
Labour Party and
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...
.
Organisation
Linked organisations
The KVP had an own youth organisation, the Catholic People's Party Youth Groups (Dutch: ''Katholieke Volkspartij Jongeren Groupen''; KVPJG) and a scientific foundation, the Centre for Political Formation.
International organisations
In the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...
the KVP's members sat in the
Christian Democratic group.
Pillarised organisations
The KVP had close links to many other Catholic institutions such as the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and together they formed the Catholic
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. These organisations included the Catholic Labour Union NKV, the Catholic Employers Organisation KNOV, the Catholic Farmers' Organisation KNBLTB, Catholic Hospitals united in the Yellow-White Cross and Catholic Schools. The Catholic broadcasting association ''
Katholieke Radio Omroep
KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925.
Broadly Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations b ...
'' and the Catholic newspaper ''
De Volkskrant
''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000.
Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...
'' were the voices of the KVP.
Relationships to other parties
As a Christian party, the KVP had strong ties with the conservative Protestant
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, 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 minister who served as Prime Mi ...
and
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980.
History 187 ...
. The strong ties resulted in several cabinets in the period from 1946 to 1977 and the formation of the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands.
Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
, in which the three parties united in 1974.
The KVP had a strong centre-left group within its ranks. These supported closer cooperation with the social democratic
Labour Party. This resulted in several cabinets with the PvdA, but also splits within the party, most notably the formation of the
Political Party of Radicals
The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') 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 for ...
As noted by one study, in the early post-war years "the Catholic party was dominated by its left wing, with the result that the PvdA and the KVP had relatively few disagreements on policy issues." Beginning in 1952 however, "the focus of power within the KVP shifted to the right, resulting in frequent conflicts within the cabinet, especially in the area of economic and social policy." According to another study, the Catholic party shifted to the right between 1958 and 1963. Nevertheless, new social welfare benefits were established under successive KVP-led coalition governments.
Overheid; sociale uitkeringen 1987 – 2013
(From Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)
International comparison
As the party of a Catholic minority in a dominantly Protestant country, the KVP is comparable to the German Centre Party, which existed before World War II, and the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (, CVP), also called the Christian Democratic Party (, PDC), Democratic People's Party (, PPD) and Swiss Christian Democratic Party (, PCD), was a Christian democracy, Christian democratic Li ...
. Its political position and agenda are similar to other catholic Christian democratic parties in Europe, such as the Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, ; CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations ( UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party w ...
party and the Italian Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
.
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References
Further reading
* ''Electoral Stability and Electoral Change: The Case of Dutch Catholics'' by Herman Bakvis in: Canadian Journal of Political Science Vol. 14, No. 3 (Sep., 1981), pp. 519–555
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* ''Changing Procedures and Changing Strategies in Dutch Coalition Building'' by Hans Daalder In: Legislative Studies Quarterly Vol. 11, No. 4 (Nov., 1986), pp. 507–531
* ''Conservatism in the Netherlands'' by Hermann von der Dunk In: Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1978), pp. 741–763
{{Defunct political parties in the Netherlands
Catholic political parties
Defunct political parties in the Netherlands
Confessional parties in the Netherlands
Political parties established in 1945
Political parties disestablished in 1980
Defunct Christian political parties
1945 establishments in the Netherlands
1980 disestablishments in the Netherlands