Free-minded Democratic League
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Template:Politicsboxend The Free-minded Democratic League (in Dutch: Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a dutch progressive liberal political party. The League is a predecessor of two of the major dutch political parties, the liberal VVD and the social-democratic PvdA. The social-liberal D66 claims that it and the VDB are ideologically connected.
Contents |
Party History
Pre-foundation history
The VDB is a merger of two groups, one the Radical League was founded in 1892 as an Amsterdam secession of the Liberal Union, they left the Union over the issue of universal suffrage. The second group was the Free-thinking Democratic political club (dutch: Vrijzinnig Democratische Kamerclub, VD-kamerclub). A club of Liberal Union MPs (in 1901 it had about twenty-five members, out of thirty-five Liberal Unions MPs and one hundred MPs in total). The second group left the Union over the same matter. In 1901 the board of the Liberal Union, supported by the VD-kamerclub, proposed that all its candidates would stand on a platform of universal suffrage. The party congress rejected this proposal. In reaction to this the party's board, some of the members of the VD-kamerclub, and some of the parties caucuses left the party.
1901-1917
The two groups, the Radical League and the VD-kamerclub merge in 1901 to form the Free-minded Democratic League. In the :1901 elections they win nine seats. The party always remained rather small, but because of their strategic position and quality of their MPs the party was very influential.
Altough they VDB had split from the Liberal Union and the other liberal split, the League of Free Liberals, was against universal suffrage, they still needed each other to from a liberal alternative to the christian-democratic coalition. In many districts there was only one liberal candidate supported by all three liberal parties.
In 1905 the VDB won two seats. From 1905 to 1908 the Liberal Union and the VDB formed a liberal minority cabinet led by De Meester. The cabinet was supported by socialist SDAP. In the 1909 elections the christian-democratic coalitie regained its majority. The VDB lost two seats, making its total nine. In the elections of 1913 the christian-democrats lost their majority. The VDB lost four seats, because it was no the only liberal party in favour of universal suffrage, the Liberal Union and the League of Free Liberals had also included in their programmes. Furthermore the socialist SDAP performed exceptionally well in these elections. The leader of the VDB tried to form a cabinet with the liberals, free liberals, socialists and free-thinking democrats. The socialists refused to cooperate, because one of their major issues (unilateral disarmament of the Netherlands) could not be realized. A liberal extra-parliamentary cabinet is formed, led by Pieter Cort van Linden. It implements universal suffrage and proportional representation.
During this cabinet a conflict between the VDB-parliamentary party and minister Treub led to his resignation. Treub left the party and founded the Economic League, which would merge with the Liberal Union to form the Liberal Political Party.
1918-1945
In the 1918 elections, with universal suffrage and proportional representation the liberal concentration loses nearly halves its seats. The VDB remains relatively stable with five seats, but they are nonetheless forced to a position in opposition to a christian-democratic cabinet. In 1919 however VDB-leader Henri Marchant initiated the law for female suffrage. In the 1922 elections the party retained its five seats. In the 1925 elections the party unexpectedly wins to seats.
In 1926 the party had been instrumental in the fall of the cabinet led by Colijn: each year the orthodox protestant SGP proposed that the dutch representation at the pope would be removed. The protestant SGP was fervently anti-catholic. This proposal was always supported by the protestant CHU, which was part of the catholic-protestant cabinet, but nonetheless had anti-catholic history. For the catholic leader Nolens this papal representation was of utmost importance. In 1926 the VDB had convinced the other opposition parties that this was their chance to let the government fall and create a progressive cabinet. The entire opposition voted with the SGP and CHU, and the cabinet fell. After the fall of the cabinet Marchant attempts to form a progressive government with the catholic RKSP, the socialist SDAP and the VDB. He fails however and a new christian democratic cabinet is formed.
In the 1929 elections the VDB retains its seven seats. In the 1933 the party looses one seat, but it is nonetheless asked to cooperate in the centre-right government led bij Colijn, which constists out of the catholic RKSP, the protestant CHU and ARP, and the liberal VDB and Liberal Political Party. The VDB cooperated in the budget cuts and the strengthening of the dutch armed forces. The previously good relations with the SDAP came under considerable strain from this. In 1937 they managed to retain their seven seats. In 1941 the party is forbidden by the German occupying force. The VDB played a minor role in the 1940-1945 cabinets in exile.
Dissolution
After the German occupation there was a wide-spread feeling that a new political party was necessary, one that was not part of the pillarized system. This movement was called the doorbraak. The VDB merged with the social-democratic SDAP and the christian-socialist CDU to form the PvdA. This party however soon strenghtened its ties socialist organizations. In 1948 a group dissatisfied with the failed doorbraak and the socialist course of the PvdA left the party. These were all former VDB-members, led by former VDB-leader Oud. Together with the conservative-liberal PvdV, they founded the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.
Name
The party specifically did not name itsself liberal, because of the connotations with conservative liberalism. They preferred the word vrijzinnig which means as much as free-minded or freethinking. It also has meanings in the protestant church referring to more liberal, latitudinarian parts of the church. Democracy furthermore was a core issue for the League. The party did not call itself party because in liberal circles parties were seen as factionalist and incompatible with the common good.
Ideology & Issues
The VDB started out as a left, social or progressive liberal party, committed to universal suffrage and the construction of a welfare state. It favoured the democratization of dutch political system. Female suffrage was one of its most important issues. It favoured government influence in the national economy by nationalizing crucial industries. Government should also play an important part in insuring the welfare of the population: it favoured the implementation of state pension for the elderly.
Before the First World War it favoured an army formed by national conscription. After the War until the 1930s it favoured unilateral disarmement. This position was abandoned with the rise of international tensions after 1933.
Representation
Leadership
Chairman of the Lower House parliamentary party
- 1938-1940 Dolf Joekes
- 1937-1938 Pieter Oud
- 1933-1937 Dolf Joekes
- 1916-1933 Henri Marchant
- 1913-1916 Dirk Bos
- 1901-1913 Hendrik Drucker
- 1937 Pieter Oud
- 1933 Henri Marchant
- 1929 Henri Marchant
- 1925 Henri Marchant
- 1922 Henri Marchant
- 1918 Henri Marchant
Members of the Lower House of Parliament
Development of the number of seats in the Lower House, of the 100 available. Before 1918 elected in single member districts, after that by proportional representation:
Members of the Higher House of Parliament
Development of the number of seats in the Higher House, of the 50 available:
Municipal government
In its stronghold Amsterdam and Rotterdam the party provided various mayors. Former VDB-leader Oud was mayor of Rotterdam between 1938 and 1941.
Electorate
The VDB was mainly supported by atheists or latitudinarian protestants from higher classes: the party was supported by teachers, civil servants, intellectuals and educated teachers. Regionally the VDB received most of its support form the large cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but also from provincial centres in Groningen, Drenthe, North and South Holland.
Pillarisation
The VDB lacked a real system of pillarized organisations around it. 'Neutral' organisations, which were not linked to a pillar, often had friendly relations with the VDB. This included the general broadcasting association AVRO (Algemene Verenigde Radio Omroep, General United Radio Broadcasting Organisation), the general union ANWV (Algemene Nederlandse Werkelieden Vereniging, the General Dutch Workers' Association), furthermore the neutral employers' organisation VNO and the financial paper Het Handelsblad had good relations with the League. Together with the other liberal party, the Liberal Political Party, these organisation formed the weak general pillar.