Centre Party (Netherlands)
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Centre Party
Centrumpartij |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Chairman |
Henry Brookman Hans Janmaat Nico Konst Pim Lier Danny Segers |
| Founded | 11 March 1980 |
| Dissolved | 13 May 1986 |
| Succeeded by |
Centre Democrats, Centre Party '86 |
| Ideology |
Dutch nationalism, Right-wing populism |
The Centre Party (Dutch: Centrumpartij, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsɛntrəmpɑrˌtɛi], CP) was a Dutch nationalist extreme right-wingpolitical party espousing an anti-immigrant program. The party was founded by Henry Brookman in 1980, and was represented by Hans Janmaat in the Dutch House of Representatives from 1982, until he was expelled from the party in 1984 and joined the more moderate Centre Democrats. The CP, as well as the CD, was subject to a cordon sanitaire by the other parties in the House of Representatives. After much infighting and finally legal proceedings against the party, it was declared bankrupt in 1986. The party was soon after succeeded by the Centre Party '86, which would become increasingly radical, until it was banned in 1998.
The Centre Party was founded on 11 March 1980 by Henry Brookman, one of the founders of the short-lived National Centre Party (NCP) in 1979 (which had been dissolved the day before the founding of the CP), and a prominent member of the Dutch Peoples-Union (NVU). In February 1980 some radical NCP members had harassed Moroccan refugees who held a hunger strike at the Moses and Aaron church in Amsterdam. This led to a conflict within the NCP. Brookman dissolved the NCP and founded the Centre Party (CP). The party contested the 1981 elections unsuccessfully, winning just 0.1% of the vote, the same as the Dutch Peoples-Union.
In the 1982 election the party won 0.8% of the vote, and one seat, which was taken by Hans Janmaat. This was the first time in the Netherlands, that a party considered to be right-wing extremist had won a seat in parliament. Janmaat soon took over the leadership of the party, helped by the small membership of the party, his political background in mainstream political parties, and as Brookman had to move into the background due to pressure from his employer.
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