Liberalism in the Netherlands

This article gives an overview of liberalism in the Netherlands. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament.

The Netherlands has a long liberal political tradition. From the founding of the Dutch Republic in the 16th century to beginning of the 19th century the main political conflict was between the liberal urban patriciate and the supporters of the House of Orange, from the lower class and orthodox variants of Protestantism. The urban patriciate favoured religious tolerance. Between mid-19th century to the late-1800 they were a dominant force in shaping the Dutch parliamentary democratic rechtsstaat. In the early 20th century the liberals split between progressive liberals and conservative liberals. Due to their political division and the introduction of universal suffrage the liberals disappeared from the political stage. After the Second World War the liberals were united again under one roof, the VVD, but the party remained small. It entered some administration coalitions as a junior party. A progressive liberal party, D'66 was founded in 1966. Since the 1970s however liberalism has been on the rise again electorally. Since 1977 the largest, more conservative, liberal party, VVD has been in government for twenty two years. In early 21st century the VVD saw major splits over the issue of integration and migration. In 2010, they won the national elections for the first time in its history.

In the early years of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1814–1848) the House of Representatives was dominated by conservatives supportive of the policy of government of William I and later William II. From 1840 onward, the amount of liberals in the House gradually increased. These liberals advocated a parliamentary democracy with a directly elected House of Representatives and in which the ministers, not the King, had executive power. In 1844, nine liberal representatives led by the jurist and historian Johan Rudolph Thorbecke attempted in vain to amend the constitution and introduce parliamentary democracy. In 1848, amidst a wave of revolutions across Europe, the balance of power shifted in favour of the liberals. In order to prevent civil unrest in the Netherlands, William II formed a commission, chaired by Thorbecke, which would draft a new constitution. The new constitution, which was introduced in October 1848, limited the power of the king by introducing ministerial responsibility and by giving parliament the right to amend laws and hold investigative hearings. It also extended the census suffrage and codified civil rights, such as the freedom of assembly, the privacy of correspondence, freedom of ecclesiastical organisation and the freedom of education.

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