A board for the 2021 elections. Photo: Remko de Waal
Netherlands has an ever-expanding range of political parties in parliament, due to the recent trend of dissidents breaking away after an intra-party row to form their own splinter group. There are also various flavours of Christianity to choose from.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the 13 parties that currently hold seats in parliament, in alphabetical order, and three hopefuls which, the polls suggest, are in with a chance in the March general election.
50PLUS
Seats in parliament: 3 Campaign slogan: No
Founded in 2009 as a pensioners’ rights party – despite being named for the over-50s – 50PLUS has been bedeviled by splits and rivalries, and former leader Henk Krol is now standing for parliament under his own name. The party wants the retirement age brought back to 65. Manifesto
Former member Henk Otten says no to FvD seat in parliament
Photo: DutchNews.nl
Henk Otten, the former Forum voor Democratie senator thrown out of the party for alleged financial impropriety, has decided not to take the vacant FvD seat in the lower house of parliament, even though he is entitled to do so.
The far right party has two seats in parliament but one MP, Theo Hiddema, resigned in the wake of the row over anti-Semitism. The next few candidate MPs on the list have also said they will not take Hiddema’s place, clearing the way for former member Otten to do so.