Forum for Democracy (Netherlands)

Forum for Democracy ( ; FvD) is a far-right political party in the Netherlands, originally founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2015 before registering itself as a party the following year. The FvD first participated in elections in the 2017 general election, winning two seats in the House of Representatives.

At the time of its conception, the FvD was a conservative liberal and Eurosceptic movement positioned on the right-wing of the political spectrum. During its initial years, the FvD was defined as a national conservative political party focused on opposing Dutch membership of the European Union, political reform and protection of Dutch culture. Following the 2017 general election, the FvD saw a period of popularity in opinion polls and grew to become the largest party during the 2019 Dutch provincial elections. However, it underwent an ideological change and adopted increasingly radical policies and messages following the departure of several of its founding members and saw a subsequent decline in support. Presently, the FvD is regarded by media and political analysts to be a right-wing populist, nativist, far-right, radical right or extreme-right political party.

History

Founding and early years (2016–2018)

The FvD was established by Baudet and Henk Otten as a citizens initiative and then a think tank whose main feat was campaigning in the 2016 Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum and against the EU in general. The think-tank argued for the introduction of a referendum act and campaigned with GeenPeil to have an inquiry into Dutch membership of the eurozone. In 2015, Baudet along with journalists Jort Kelder and Arno Wellens took the initiative to parliament to call for a debate on the eurozone.

In September 2016, it converted itself into a political party founded by Baudet, Henk Otten and Rob Rooken and announced its intention to take part in the 2017 general election. The FvD ended up with 1.8% of the vote, entering parliament for the first time with and two seats taken by Baudet and well-known lawyer and commentator Theo Hiddema.

In February 2018, in part due to its rapidly growing pace, the party suffered from internal issues with a number of prominent members leaving the party because they felt the party had a lack of internal democracy.

Electoral breakthrough (2018–2019)

In the 2018 municipal elections, the FvD won three seats on the Amsterdam city council. The party only stood in Amsterdam. In Rotterdam however it endorsed the Livable Rotterdam party.

The FvD gained three MEPs during the 2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands. The party's lead candidate was journalist and former Lijst Dedecker politician Derk Jan Eppink. During the campaign, Baudet pledged that the FvD would join the European Conservatives and Reformists and the party was subsequently accepted into the group.

During the 2019 provincial elections, Forum for Democracy made a major breakthrough and won 86 seats, spread across the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. In South Holland, North Holland, and Flevoland, FvD became the largest party, winning 11, nine, and eight seats respectively. In all other provinces, the party came either second or third in terms of numbers of votes. As populists, the bulk of the Forum's nominated parliamentary candidates did not have prior active experience in other political parties.

In August 2019, former FvD senator and founding member Henk Otten announced he had registered '' Group Otten'' (GO) as a new political party. GO had two seats in the Senate and one seat in the European Parliament which were taken up by former FvD members.

On 30 April 2020, Forum for Democracy formed a coalition with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) in the North Brabant province, the first time the party had formally entered into the administration of a regional authority. In late 2020, former VVD MP Wybren van Haga defected to the party.

Internal divides (2020–2021)

In April 2020, '' HP/De Tijd'' revealed instances of antisemitism, homophobia and glorification of Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant in online WhatsApp groups associated with FvD's youth wing. The FvD executive board later investigated these instances and discharged three members from the party. Three additional members were also suspended. More similar messages were revealed in November by newspaper ''Het Parool'' which published an article about extremist comments made by members the party's youth organization.

In response, a committee of inquiry was set up within the party with some FvD politicians such as Theo Hiddema arguing that the youth wing should be disbanded and others stating the FvD should follow the example of the Sweden Democrats by disassociating the youth-wing.
Baudet also resigned as the party's lead candidate for the 2021 Dutch general election and was temporarily replaced by Lennart van der Linden. The day after Baudet stood aside as leader, party vice-leader Theo Hiddema vacated his seat in the House of Representatives for "personal reasons," although some media outlets speculated that this was due to controversies within the party. The following day, Senator Paul Cliteur also resigned from his position as Senate leader while remaining a member of the party. On 26 November 2020, '' Algemeen Dagblad'' obtained a letter by FvD Senator Nicki Pouw-Verweij alleging multiple incidents which had taken place during a campaign meeting for the election and at a dinner party held on 20 November for the FvD's candidates. These included Baudet making antisemitic statements and expressing conspiracy theories such as claiming that the COVID-19 lockdowns were concocted by George Soros and lashing out at party colleague Joost Eerdmans. Pouw-Verweij also claimed that while Baudet had criticized the party's youth-wing in public, he had privately supported the statements made by its members. Her accusations were supported by FvD candidates Eerdmans and Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Baudet denied the accusations during a subsequent talk show interview.

In December 2020, Baudet reversed his resignation and announced the party would hold a leadership contest. The FvD's executive board announced an internal referendum on whether to expel Baudet from the party and replace him with a new leader. This took place on 3 December 2020, with 76% of FvD members voting in favour of Baudet remaining in the party and he subsequently resumed his role as leader. In protest at the outcome, the FvD's three MEPs, seven of its senators and some of its parliamentary candidates for the upcoming general election resigned to sit as independents before joining the JA21 party founded by former FvD members who had left due to the controversies concerning the youth wing.

Splits and radicalization (2021-)

At the 2021 general election, the party campaigned against COVID-19 lockdown measures in the Netherlands imposed by the Dutch government and managed to win eight MPs. However, the issue of racist comments from youth members was brought up again during the campaign. One of the accused youth members, Gideon van Meijeren, was elected into parliament, as was youth wing chairman Freek Jansen.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the party caused controversy and saw another three of its MPs leave after it released a poster on Holocaust Memorial Day comparing lockdown measures with the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The three former FvD MPs later founded the '' Belang van Nederland'' party. The analogy and timing of the poster was criticized by the Central Jewish Board of the Netherlands. During the pandemic, members of FvD were accused of circulating conspiracy theories regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and using further Holocaust comparisons with vaccinations and social distancing. In December 2021, a Dutch court found Baudet guilty of "creating a breeding ground for antisemitism" with his statements and ordered him to delete social media posts comparing COVID policies to the Holocaust or face a fine. Baudet denied that his statements were intended to be offensive or antisemitic.

In 2022, the FvD regained representation in the European Parliament when Marcel de Graaff defected to the party. As a result, the FvD became a member of the Identity and Democracy group instead of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). In 2022 FvD left the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. In March 2022, Senators Theo Hiddema and Paul Frentrop left the party over FvD's absence at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech to the House of Representatives, leaving only Senator Johan Dessing.

Ideology and political positions

The FvD's ideology and beliefs have shifted over time. During the period of its foundation in 2016, the FvD was initially described as a national conservative, eurosceptic and a conservative liberal political party. The party self-identified as liberal conservative and sat on the right-wing of the political spectrum. The party initially focused on drawing support from former People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) voters who felt the VVD had grown too soft on the policy areas of European Union and immigration, but saw Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) as too hardline, and tried recruiting candidates who came from professional rather than political backgrounds. During its early years, the FvD was also described as one of several contemporary conservative-populist parties in the Netherlands that have been inspired by or inherited the mantle of the defunct Pim Fortuyn List.

On its official platform, the FvD declares itself to be a movement rather than a party with a focus on protecting Dutch sovereignty, identity, and cultural and intellectual property. The party wants stricter immigration and integration policies, calling for the protection of high culture and " Judeo-Christian values". The FvD is also opposed to the integration of the European Union which it claims will lead to eventual Eurofederalism and supports a referendum on Dutch membership of EU. In a 2019 column for the Dutch newspaper '' Het Financieele Dagblad'', historian and philosopher Jozef Waanders described the FvD at the time as containing various ideological factions with strands of libertarianism and moderate conservatism, including members sympathetic to the ideas of Ayn Rand and Michel Houellebecq.

After establishing itself, the FvD and its platform started to be perceived by political commentators as a standard Eurosceptic national populist political party, and on the far-right of the spectrum, although this was disputed by the party at the time. The FvD was also accused of drawing links with the alt-right movement. The FvD has been described as ideologically national conservative, Hard Eurosceptic, and right-wing populist. In 2017, ''NRC Handelsblad'' alleged the FvD was attempting to cultivate popularity among the alt-right, although the party did not identify itself as such at the time.

In 2019, political commentators and authors began to describe the FvD as moving further to the right of the PVV following the departure of several of its founding members and adoption of more radical political stances. By 2020, observers argued that Baudet and the FvD had undergone an ideological shift and adopted rhetoric deemed far-right. Since 2022, commentators have described the party's current program as neo-fascist. Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election, the FvD was claimed to be an extreme-right party by journalist Jon Henley and Cas Mudde, who differentiated the FvD from national-populist parties such as the PVV, French National Rally and Vox in Spain since these parties do not reject democracy, while the FvD has promoted conspiracy theories and called for the creation of a “countersociety.”

Domestic policy

One of the major issues, FvD campaigns against is the perceived existence of a " party cartel" in which the main ruling parties of the country divide power among themselves and work towards the same goals despite claiming to be competitors. The party promises direct democracy through binding referendums as well as directly elected mayors and a directly elected Prime Minister. The party is also in favor of the government consisting of apolitical experts in their respective fields ("technocracy"), and top civil servants having to reapply for their positions whenever a new cabinet is formed.

Society and culture

FvD supports high culture. It argues for the protection of Dutch culture and "European classical music, art and knowledge." It is critical of modern architecture, calling for both new government buildings to be constructed in a neoclassical style and for city planning that "fits within a historical view." FvD also supports the establishment of a commission to protect historic monuments from destruction, wants Frysk to be retained as a second state language, calls for schools to teach about "beautiful things that the West has produced" and supports free museum admission for all Dutch citizens. However, the party has also promoted plans to defund and privatize the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, a Dutch public broadcasting organization.

Although the party has argued for equal treatment of people of different sexual orientations, it calls for the protection of children against what it describes as " woke and LGBT propaganda" and supports prohibiting minors from being in Pride parades and taking hormone therapy. The FvD's current platform also calls for an end to the promotion of LGBT campaigns by government institutions and for a ban on "transgender propaganda" targeting minors. FvD has spoken out against feminism and has promoted traditional gender roles such as that of the "masculine man that supports his family".

Criminal justice

The party calls for a reform of the Dutch justice system, increased funding for the Dutch police force, tougher penalties against those convicted of violent crimes and where possible for non-naturalized immigrants found guilty of serious crimes to be deported and tried in their country of origin. FvD also supports deleting Articles 93 and 94 from the Dutch constitution which enables international law to take precedence above national law in some cases.

FvD calls for a gradual legalization of soft drugs but also supports reducing the number of cannabis coffee shops within the vicinity of schools.

Immigration

The FvD also adopts a nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected. The party is in favor of reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration. It also campaigns against unchecked immigration, says it would introduce a Dutch Values Protection Act. The party supports freedom of religion and calls for equal treatment of all citizens regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, but is also against any further influence of Islamic culture on Dutch society, supports a crackdown on forced or child marriages and wants to ban Islamic face veils and other face coverings. The FvD also opposes foreign funding of Islamic schools and institutions, and argues that all schools in the Netherlands should subscribe to "Judeo-Christian values." FvD also states that immigrants who do not wish to integrate should be offered incentives to return to their native country and that whenever possible asylum seekers should be processed off Dutch soil.

In 2024, Baudet advocated for mass remigration in order to maintain a "white Europe".

Economy

FvD in the economic field supports economic liberalism. The party is a proponent of the introduction of a high tax-free bracket for everyone, the abolition of taxes on gifts and inheritance and a radical simplification of tax brackets. The party is a proponent of drastic changes in elementary and secondary education, focusing on performance evaluations for teachers. It wants to expand the armed forces, expanding the National Reserve Corps and reverting defense budget cuts.

Environment

The party calls for a reduction in the use of plastic, more support for the agricultural economy, sustainable farming and tougher laws against animal cruelty. In the spring of 2019, the party, endorsing a climate change denialist platform, intensively campaigned against large state investments in renewable energy, leading to a victory in the provincial elections. Later that year, it also supported protests by Dutch farmers against enforcing legislation on nitrogen emissions.

Foreign policy

International relations

The FvD's initial foreign policy stances aligned to Atlanticism and pro-Western positions before moving to a more neutral attitude with the party claiming "there are no friends or enemies" in foreign policy and arguing Dutch interests must come first. In 2022, party leader Baudet claimed that NATO expansion, EU "colour revolutions" in post-Soviet states and the Arab Spring were all part of an ambition by the United States to achieve global regime change. The FvD supports strengthening ties with BRICS countries and for an end to Dutch sanctions on Russia.

Defence

Early on, FvD held a more pro-NATO stance but has since shifting to blaming NATO countries for the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War and since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has openly supported the Russian view of the conflict, with the party's current platform calling the invasion a "stupid NATO war against Russia." The party's original co-founder Henk Otten has criticised the FvD's stance on Russia and called Baudet a " Manchurian candidate" of Putin. Baudet has supported Dutch withdrawal from NATO. The FvD program currently calls for the Netherlands to "reconsider Dutch NATO membership" by holding a referendum on the matter and supports raising the defense budget once the Netherlands withdraws support for Ukraine. The FvD is alleged to have been among European parties who received funding from Russia to influence political debates according to a leaked report by the Czech intelligence service in 2024, although this was denied by Baudet who claimed the allegations were a "witch hunt" against the party.

Middle East

The FvD has shifted from an initial strongly pro-Israel attitude towards the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, towards criticism of Israel's role in the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, with Baudet praising the pro-Palestinian DENK's stance on the conflict. In March 2024, Baudet and DENK's Stephan van Baarle were the only two parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives to abstain on supporting a statement against antisemitism. Baudet has described Israeli actions as "ethnic cleansing" and suggested that Israel was planning to make money by selling new housing developments in the Gaza Strip.

European Union

The party states that it supports protecting European civilization and wants free trade between European nations and the world but is opposed to the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone. The party calls for an immediate end to EU enlargement and for the Netherlands to use every veto possible to prevent the EU from becoming a federal superstate. It also supports referendums and Dutch withdrawal from the Eurozone and the Schengen Agreement. FvD also wants a renegotiation of Dutch membership of the EU followed by a binding referendum on EU membership and an "intelligent exit" ( Nexit) from the EU if it cannot be reformed and terms cannot be met.

Netherlands

The party leader Thierry Baudet supported the idea of the Greater Netherlands, claiming that Flanders "actually just belongs to us".

Electoral performance

House of Representatives

Senate

European Parliament

Provincial

Organization

Leadership

* Leaders
** Thierry Baudet (22 September 2016 – present)
* Chairman
** Thierry Baudet (22 September 2016 – 17 January 2017; 25 November 2017 – present)
** Paul Frentrop (interim; 17 January 2017 – 24 November 2017)
* Leaders in the House of Representatives
** Thierry Baudet (23 March 2017 – present)

Membership

Prior to 2022, party membership numbers of FvD were not independently verified and have been disputed.

Flemish chapter

Forum for Democracy founded a Flemish chapter in January 2024. It intended to participate in the June 2024 European Parliament election in Belgium's Dutch-speaking electoral college, but the party did not manage to collect the required amount of signatures.

International affiliations

In the European Parliament, the FvD initially sat with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) after being admitted into the group following the 2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands. During this time, the FvD maintained relations and dialogue with fellow ECR member parties the Sweden Democrats, Flemish N-VA, Poland's Law and Justice and the British Conservative Party.

Following a split in the FvD in 2020, its former MEP's defected to JA21 party and joined European Conservatives and Reformists Party. FvD subsequently left the European Conservatives and Reformists Party and was affiliated with the Identity and Democracy (ID) political group with the French National Rally, Vlaams Belang, Danish People's Party, Italian Lega and the Austrian FPO for a short period in 2022. The FvD was later suspended from the ID in October 2022 and later quit the group after accusing ID of being anti-Russian. In 2024, the FvD lost its European Parliament representation, after its MEP had sat as a Non-Inscrit. It joined the newly established Europe of Sovereign Nations party in 2024 led by Alternative for Germany. The FvD also has contacts with the Hungarian Our Homeland Movement, Moldovan Renastere, Republic Movement of Slovakia, the Serbian Party Oathkeepers and Alternative for Sweden, as well as Sanseitō of Japan.

Alleged ties to Russia

The FvD has also been criticized for alleged financial and politics ties to Vladimir Putin with Dutch television show '' Zembla'' claiming to have unearthed WhatsApp communications between the party and someone Baudet describes as a Kremlin official. Baudet claimed the messages were a "playful exaggeration." Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FvD's leadership have been condemned by both former party members and other Dutch political parties for supporting the invasion, taking an overtly pro-Putin stance and blaming the West for the war. In October 2022, the party's remaining MEP was suspended (and subsequently resigned) from the Identity and Democracy European Parliamentary group after posting messages on Twitter praising Putin and expressing support for Russia in the war.

References

External links

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Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties about FVD
(in Dutch)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forum for Democracy (Netherlands)
2016 establishments in the Netherlands
Conservative parties in the Netherlands
Direct democracy parties
Election and voting-related organizations
Eurosceptic parties in the Netherlands
Far-right political parties in Belgium
Far-right parties in Europe
National conservative parties
Nationalist parties in the Netherlands
Organisations based in Amsterdam
Organizations of environmentalism skeptics and critics
Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Europe
Political parties established in 2016
Right-wing populism in the Netherlands
Right-wing populist parties
Russophilic parties