10 new parties for Dutch elections

[Phreakmeister]

10 new parties have registered at the Kiesraad (Election Council) for the upcoming Dutch parliamentary elections on January 22nd, 2003. The elections had become necessary after the collapse of the only 87 days old government of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on October 16th, 2002, the day after the funeral of prince Claus, the husband of Queen Beatrix.

One of the new parties, is LNP (Lijst Nieuwe Politiek (List New Politics)), the party of Herman Heinsbroek, minister for Economic Affairs under Balkenende. After the collapse of the government, Herman Heinsbroek (BA in Business Law and Civil Law) broke away from the Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) and formed his own party, together with the leader of the LPF-MP's, Harry Wijnschenk.
Before joining politics, Herman Heinsbroek has worked for the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, CBS Inc. and Arcade, the biggest Dutch record label.

Another new party is DeConservatieven.nl (Conservatives.nl). The leader of the party is Winnie de Jong, who got thrown out of the LPF on October 1st, 2002. Winnie de Jong wants to fight for people with a certain standing in society. She wants to "correct" the "excessive policy on integration, security and public health". She also focuses on European affairs. Just like Lijst Pim Fortuyn and the afforementioned LNP, she takes the ideas of the murdered maverick Pim Fortuyn as her guideline. Possibly Cor Eberhard, who was thrown out of LPF together with Winnie de Jong, and who formed Lijst De Jong with her after that, will join DeConservatieven.nl.

Another new party is Nieuw Nederland (New Netherlands), founded by Jan Nagel, founder of Leefbaar Nederland (Liveable Netherlands), the party led by Pim Fortuyn untill he founded Lijst Pim Fortuyn.

Another new party is Gemeenschapspartij (Communitarian Party) of the infamous former imam Abdullah Haselhoef, who wants to "be the voice of foreigners, without being a party for just foreigners." In June, Abdullah Haselhouf renounced the title of imam, after having been heavily criticized for justifying the death penalty for homosexuals. Haselhoef said that being imam obstructed him in expressing his personal opinions. He immediately announced he would join several public debates, which he will do thru the Communitarian Party.

LNP, the Gemeenschapspartij and Nieuw Nederland have already announced not to be sure whether or not to join the elections. The LNP has announced to make participation in the elections dependent on the quality of the candidates. Nieuw Nederland has announced to join the elections if Leefbaar Nederland keeps on hanging around 2 seats in parliament in the polls. Haselhoef is still negotiating with other parties about an electable place on their list of candidates for him.

Other newcomers are Nieuwe Communistische Partij (New Communist Party (NCP; not related to the Communist Party of The Netherlands (CPN) or the New Communist Party of The Netherlands (NCPN))), Nederland United (Netherlands United), Vrouw-Man Interactie Partij (Female-Male Interaction Party), Links Alternatief (Left Alternative), Nieuwe Nationale Partij (New National(ist) Party) and Nieuwe Toekomst Partij (New Future Party).

Until Monday, October 28th, requests for registration of party names can be filed. The Kiesraad will decide on the party names on November 6th. Registration doesn't automatically mean that the parties will join the elections. Only when the parties have filed a list of candidates and have met several other conditions, they can join, which has to be dealt with by December 10th.

[nacho cheese]

It'll be interesting to see how well Pim Fortuyn's party will succeed in the forthcoming elections.

[Phreakmeister]

These are the Dutch political parties that have been registered at the Kiesraad (Election Council). Most parties however, don't exist anymore...

(parties in bold still exist/are politically active, the italic parties are in parliament right now)
1. Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD)
(Popular Party for Freedom and Democracy)
2. Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA)
(Labour Party)
3. Reformatorische Politieke Federatie (RPF)
(Calvinist Political Federation; merged into ChristenUnie)
4. Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA)
(Christian Democratic Appeal)
5. Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond (GPV)
(Calvinist Political Union)
6. Democraten 66 (D66)
(Democrats 66 (founded in 1966))
7. Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP)
(Calvinist Political Party)
8. GroenLinks (GL)
(Green Left (merger of Evangelical People's Party (EVP), Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), Political Party Radicals (PPR) and Communist Party of The Netherlands (CPN))
9. Centrum Democraten (CD)
Centre Democrats
17. De Groenen
(Green Party)
24. Natuurwetpartij (NWP)
(Party of the Law of Nature)
27. Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland (NCPN)
(New Communist Party of The Netherlands; breakaway of CPN, which merged into GroenLinks)
28. OuderenUnie (OU)
(Elderly People's Union)
31. Socialistische Partij (SP)
(Socialist Party)
43. Algemeen Ouderen Verbond
(General Elderly Citizens' Union)
44. Vrije Indische Partij (VIP)
Free Indian Party
46. Nieuwe Midden Partij (NMP)
(New Centre Party)
48. Katholieke Politieke Partij (KPP)
(Catholic Political Party)
62. Nederland Mobiel (NM)
(Netherlands Mobile)
64. Nieuw Solidair Ouderen Verbond (NSOV)
(New Solidary Elderly Citizens' Union)
67. Kiezerscollectief voor Consument- & Burgerbelangen (KCCBB)
(Voters' Collective for Consumer and Citizens' Interests)
71. Islamitische Partij Nederland (IPN)
(Islamic Party of The Netherlands)
72. Het Nederlands Blok (NB)
(Dutch Block)
73. Nederlandse Christen Democraten (NCD)
(Dutch Christian Democrats)
74. Moslim Christelijke Volkspartij (MCVP)
(Muslim Christian People's Party)
75. Conservatieve Democraten (CD)
(Conservative Democrats)
76. Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie (OSF)
(Independent Senate Group)
77. Onafhankelijke Lokalen Groeperingen (OLG)
(Independent Groups of Local Parties)
78. Leefbaar Nederland (LN)
(Liveable Netherlands)
79. Verenigde Senioren Partij (VSP)
(United Senior Citizens' Party)
80. Partij voor Veiligheid en Zorg (VZ2000)
(Security and Care 2000)
81. ChristenUnie (CU)
(Christian Union)
82. Gezond & Wel Mobiel (GWM)
(Healthy & Mobile)
83. Republikeinse Volkspartij (RVP)
(Republican People's Party)
84. Vertrouwbare Mensen (VM)
(Trustworthy People)
85. Duurzaam Nederland (DN)
(Durable Netherlands)
86. Nieuw Uitdagend Luidruchtig (NUL)
(New Challenging Loud)
87. Daadkrachtig Nederland (DN)
(Firm Netherlands)
88. Arabische Democratische Partij (ADP)
(Arab Democratic Party)
89. Groen Rechts (GR)
(Green Right; merger of Realisten Nederland (Realists The Netherlands) and Partij voor Milieu en Recht (Party for Environment and Rights))
90. Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF)
(List Pim Fortuyn)
91. Vrouwvriendelijke Interactie (VVI)
(Female Friendly Interaction)
92. Partij van de Toekomst (PvdT)
(Party of the Future)
93. Uw Politieke Partij Aarde (UPPA)
(Your Political Party Earth)
94. Landelijke Buurtbelangen Partij (LBP)
(National Party for Local Interests)

The numbers on this list are the rankings of the parties on the Election Register. The position on this list is more or less based on anciennity, starting in 1945. The oldest party is on #1, the second oldest party is on #2, etc.

Parties that should be on that list, but that I couldn't find on there, are:
Vrije Communistische Partij (VCP)
(Free Communist Party)
Bonapartistische Partij Nederland (BPN)
(Bonapartist Party of The Netherlands)
De IdeALISTEN (sic!)
(The Idealists)
Libertaristische Partij (LP)
(Libertarian Party)
Nederlandse Middenstandspartij (NMP)
(Middle Class Party of The Netherlands)
Liberaal Democratische Partij (LDP)
(Liberal Democratic Party)
Algemene Senioren Partij (ASP)
(General Party of the Senior Citizens)
Fryske Nasjonale Partij (FNP)
(Frisian National Party)
Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij 1992 (PSP '92)
(Pacifist Socialist Party 1992; breakaway of PSP, which merged into GroenLinks)
Jongere Onafhankelijke Ouderen Partij (JOOP)
(Young Independent Elder People's Party)
Socialistische Arbeiders Partij (SAP)
(Socialist Workers' Party)
Republikeinse Moderne Partij (RMP)
(Republican Modern Party)
Senioren 2000
(Senior Citizens 2000)
AOV/Unie 55+
(General Elderly Citizens' Union / Union 55+)

The republican parties should not be confused with the Republican Party in the United States. The Dutch republican parties strive to turn (the name says it) The Netherlands into a republic, and abolish the monarchy.

[Phreakmeister]

Originally posted by nacho cheese
It'll be interesting to see how well Pim Fortuyn's party will succeed in the forthcoming elections.

In the polls they are hovering around 4 out of 150 seats in parliament. In the last elections, they won 26 seats. In other words: they lost 22 out of 26 seats. All that, in just 87 days...

[Phreakmeister]

CDA won 43 seats in the last elections, and is at 49 to 51 seats in the polls.
LPF won 26 seats in the last elections, and is at 4 seats in the polls.
VVD won 24 seats in the last elections, and is at 26 to 31 seats in the polls.
PvdA won 23 seats in the last elections, and is at 27 to 28 seats in the polls.
GroenLinks won 10 seats in the last elections, and is at 12 to 15 seats in the polls.
SP won 9 seats in the last elections, and is at 13 to 15 seats in the polls.
D66 won 7 seats in the last elections, and is at 5 to 6 seats in the polls.
ChristenUnie won 4 seats in the last elections, and is at 4 seats in the polls.
SGP won 2 seats in the last elections, and is at 2 seats in the polls.
LN won 2 seats in the last elections, and is at 2 seats in the polls.
Groep De Jong (which will join the elections as DeConservatieven.nl) has 2 seats in parliament, but in the polls loses them all.

[Phreakmeister]

The records broken by the former government

Shortest ministerial career
Philomena Bijlhout, junior secretary for Emancipation and Family, managed to be a junior secretary for just over 8 hours. She was installed around 2pm. Around 9.30pm, she was forced to resign. She had always told everyone, that she had been part of the militiae that terrorized Surinam in the early 1980's, but that she had left the militiae before the terror started. The evening of her appointment, a news program found a photo of her in a militia. The photo had been taken over a year and a half after the killing started. She said she had made a mistake. She thought she had left before the killings, but she STILL was a militia a year and a half AFTER the killings.

The first cabinet with a new political party
Previously, it took parties some time before being able to join the government (ignoring the first post-WW2 government). Since WW2, only a few parties have been in government: VVD, PvdA, KVP, ARP, CHU (merged into CDA), CDA, DS'70 (break-away from PvdA), PPR (now part of GroenLinks) and D66. All these parties had had previous parliamentary experience. The LPF was only three months old at the time of the elections.

First PM born after WW2
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was born on May 7th, 1956, making him the first Prime Minister born after 1945.

Cabinet with the most millionaires
Herman Heinsbroek (140 million euro's (estimated))
(To be continued)

Cabinet with the least amount of women
Only 1 minister is female: Secretary for Education, Culture and Science Maria van der Hoeven.

[nacho cheese]

May I ask what party will you vote? Of course you don't have to aswer if you don't like

[Phreakmeister]

Socialistische Partij (www.sp.nl/en/). Voted for them in the last elections, and I'll vote for them again in January.

[nacho cheese]

It seems like CDA and VVD could conquer an absolute majority of the seats and form a right wing parliament

[Phreakmeister]

Wouldn't be the first time.
From 1959 to 1963, KVP, ARP and CHU formed a government coalition with VVD in the De Quay (KVP) cabinet.
From 1963 to 1965, KVP, ARP, CHU and VVD formed a government coalition under Marijnen (KVP). The coalition fell over Public Broadcasting System issues.
From 1967 to 1971, KVP, ARP, CHU and VVD formed a government coalition under De Jong (KVP)
From 1972 to 1973, KVP, ARP, CHU and VVD formed a government coalition under Biesheuvel (ARP). The coalition lasted for only 295 days.
From 1977 to 1981, CDA and VVD formed a government coalition under Van Agt (CDA).
From 1982 to 1986, CDA and VVD formed a government coalition under Lubbers (CDA).
From 1986 to 1989, CDA and VVD formed a government coalition under Lubbers (CDA). The coalition fell over disagreements on repayment of travel costs for employees. Lubbers now is UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The new government will very likely be a coalition of VVD and CDA. In policy, the parties have announced not to pursue a very different policy from the previous government. In other words: it will be the same government, but this time without the LPF-ministers.

[nacho cheese]

it will be the same government, but this time without the LPF-ministers.
No one will miss them...

[Phreakmeister]

The latest polls have been released a few hours ago:

CDA - 43 seats now, 51 in the polls (+8)
LPF - 26 seats now, 2 in the polls (-24)
VVD - 24 seats now, 29 in the polls (+5)
PvdA - 23 seats now, 31 in the polls (+8)
GroenLinks - 10 seats now, 11 in the polls (+1)
SP - 9 seats now, 14 in the polls (+5)
D66 - 7 seats now, 6 in the polls (-1)
ChristenUnie - 4 seats now, 3 in the polls (-1)
SGP - 2 seats now, 3 in the polls (+1)
LN - 2 seats now, 0 in the polls (-2)
Other parties have 0 seats in parliament, and 0 seats in the polls as well. Their total support however has risen from .7% in the May elections to 1% in the polls.

So if elections were held now, the composition of parliament would be:
CDA - 51 seats
PvdA - 31
VVD - 29
SP - 14
GroenLinks - 11
D66 - 6 (The Number of the Beast)
ChristenUnie - 3
SGP - 3
LPF - 2

This means, that right now, several coalitians are still possible. In order to form a coalition, there has to be a support of more than half of the parliament. Therefore, the government coalitions would have to total at least 76 seats out of 150. This is not a law, but majority cabinets have turned out to be most effective and most stable.
CDA-VVD - 80 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA - 82 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP - 96 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP-GroenLinks - 107 seats in the polls
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, it seems unavoidable that CDA will play the leading role in the formation of a new government.

[ungua]

why do the socialists who were so successful before lose so many votes!?

regards,
ungua

[Phreakmeister]

You mean PvdA?

[ungua]

are it them who ware in charge for eight years!? i'm a bit in a rush and i was just wondering what happened to this admired netherlands' government...

regards,
ungua

[Phreakmeister]

Yes, that's the PvdA. The 2 last governments (Kok I and Kok II) were PvdA, VVD and D66. Why they lost? Well, compared to them, Gerhard Schroeder and Tony Blair are revolutionary communists...

[Phreakmeister]

The latest polls were released at 10.30pm CET:

CDA - 43 seats now, 50 in the polls (+7)
LPF - 26 seats now, 4 in the polls (-22)
VVD - 24 seats now, 30 in the polls (+6)
PvdA - 23 seats now, 28 in the polls (+5)
GroenLinks - 10 seats now, 12 in the polls (+2)
SP - 9 seats now, 16 in the polls (+7)
D66 - 7 seats now, 4 in the polls (-3)
ChristenUnie - 4 seats now, 3 in the polls (-1)
SGP - 2 seats now, 3 in the polls (+1)
LN - 2 seats now, 0 in the polls (-2)
Other parties have 0 seats in parliament, and 0 seats in the polls as well. Their total support however has dropped from .7% in the May elections to .0x% in the polls.

So if elections were held now, the composition of parliament would be:
CDA - 50 seats
VVD - 30
PvdA - 28
SP - 16
GroenLinks - 12
D66 - 4
LPF - 4
ChristenUnie - 3
SGP - 3

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT COALITIONS
CDA-PvdA - 78 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD - 80 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD-LPF - 84 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP - 94 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP-GroenLinks - 106 seats in the polls

The coalition will either have to be rightwing (CDA-VVD and possibly LPF) or leftwing (CDA-PvdA-SP and possibly GroenLinks). Because of unabridgeable ideological differences, a coalition with both VVD and PvdA is impossible.

[Phreakmeister]

2 new parties have registered at the Kiesraad (Election Council). The parties are Alliantie voor Vernieuwing en Democratie (AVD; Alliance for Innovation and Democracy (AID)) and Utregs Glorie, a party of and for supporters of FC Utrecht, a soccer/football club. Out of anger over the problems facing when visiting away matches of FC Utrecht, the supporters decided to form their own political party, in order to change the treatment of supporters of away teams. The AVD claims to be a "true Fortuyn-party", which wants to carry out the agenda and legacy of Pim Fortuyn. It joins Lijst Pim Fortuyn, Lijst Nieuwe Politiek and DeConservatieven.nl under the umbrella of Pim Fortuyn.

[ungua]

even tony blair!? okay, i might have had a completely wrong image of the netherlands' government - due to the articles in german »der spiegel« it seemed to me as a kind of reformist-left-wing-alliance...

regards,
ungua

[Phreakmeister]

Originally posted by ungua
even tony blair!? okay, i might have had a completely wrong image of the netherlands' government - due to the articles in german »der spiegel« it seemed to me as a kind of reformist-left-wing-alliance...

regards,
ungua

Yeah, officially it was, with a social-democratic party and a left-liberal party, but hey, a government with a conservative party and a socialist party...

[Phreakmeister]

On October 28th, 2002, these parties had been registered at the Election Council for the upcoming elections.

1. VVD
2. Partij van de Arbeid (P.v.d.A./PvdA)
4. Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA)
6. Democraten 66 (D66)
7. Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP)
8. GROENLINKS
28. OUDERENUNIE
31. SP (Socialistische Partij)
44. Vrije Indische Partij (V.I.P.)
46. Nieuwe Midden Partij (NMP)
78. LEEFBAAR NEDERLAND
79. VERENIGDE SENIOREN PARTIJ
81. ChristenUnie
83. Republikeinse Volkspartij RVP
85. DUURZAAM NEDERLAND
90. Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF)
92. Partij van de Toekomst (PvdT)
94. De Groenen
95. Nieuwe Communistische Partij NCPN
96. Nederland United. NU
97. De Conservatieven.nl
98. LINKS ALTERNATIEF
99. Nieuwe Toekomst Partij (NTP)
100 Nieuw Nederland
101 Gemeenschaps Partij
102 Nieuwe Nationale Partij (N.N.P.)
103 Vrouw-Man Interactie Partij (VMIP)
104 Lijst Nieuwe Politiek (LNP)

[Phreakmeister]

The latest polls were released at 10.30pm CET on November 8th, 2002

CDA - 43 seats now, 49 in the polls (+6)
LPF - 26 seats now, 7 in the polls (-19)
VVD - 24 seats now, 28 in the polls (+4)
PvdA - 23 seats now, 28 in the polls (+5)
GroenLinks - 10 seats now, 10 in the polls ()
SP - 9 seats now, 16 in the polls (+7)
D66 - 7 seats now, 5 in the polls (-2)
ChristenUnie - 4 seats now, 4 in the polls ()
SGP - 2 seats now, 3 in the polls (+1)
LN - 2 seats now, 0 in the polls (-2)
Other parties have 0 seats in parliament, and 0 seats in the polls as well. Their total support has risen from .7% in the May elections to 1.2% in the polls.

So if elections were held now, the composition of parliament would be:
CDA - 49 seats
VVD - 28
PvdA - 28
SP - 16
GroenLinks - 10
LPF - 7
D66 - 5
ChristenUnie - 4
SGP - 3

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT COALITIONS
CDA-PvdA - 77 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD - 77 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD-LPF - 84 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP - 93 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP-GroenLinks - 103 seats in the polls

[Phreakmeister]

The latest polls were released at 10.30pm CET on November 15th, 2002

CDA - 43 seats now, 50 in the polls (+7)
LPF - 26 seats now, 7 in the polls (-19)
VVD - 24 seats now, 27 in the polls (+3)
PvdA - 23 seats now, 28 in the polls (+5)
GroenLinks - 10 seats now, 9 in the polls (-1)
SP - 9 seats now, 16 in the polls (+7)
D66 - 7 seats now, 6 in the polls (-1)
ChristenUnie - 4 seats now, 4 in the polls ()
SGP - 2 seats now, 3 in the polls (+1)
LN - 2 seats now, 0 in the polls (-2)
Other parties have 0 seats in parliament, and 0 seats in the polls as well. Their total support has risen from .7% in the May elections to 1% in the polls.

So if elections were held now, the composition of parliament would be:
CDA - 50 seats
PvdA - 28
VVD - 27
SP - 16
GroenLinks - 9
LPF - 7
D66 - 6
ChristenUnie - 4
SGP - 3

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT COALITIONS
CDA-VVD - 77 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA - 78 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD-LPF - 84 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP - 94 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP-GroenLinks - 103 seats in the polls

Latest News

Rosenmöller quits politics
Paul Rosenmöller, leader of GroenLinks has decided to retire from politics. He said that the threats he and his family received since the murder of Pim Fortuyn have taken away his lust in politics. In the threats Rosenmöller, his wife and his 5 children were warned for premature death. Paul Rosenmöller had been a Member of Parliament for 12 years, 8 of which he served as leader of the party. He rebuilt the party after the merger in the late '80's between CPN (communist party), EVP (evangelical-socialist party), PPR (radical party) and PSP (pacifist-socialist party). When he took up leadership of the party, GroenLinks was a fringe party. He turned the party into a party with government aspirations and possibilities. During the 8 years of government of previous Prime Minister Wim Kok, Rosenmöller was widely regarded as being the leader of the opposition, despite being the leader of only the 5th party in parliament.
Rosenmöller is the descendant of one of the richest families in the country. In 1974, he started his study in Social Sciences in Amsterdam. In 1976, he quit his study to become a worker in the port of Rotterdam, where he became a union leader. In 1987 he became famous as the leader of the strike in the port of Rotterdam. In 1989, he was put on the list of GroenLinks candidates for the parliamentary elections and eventually ended up in parliament. In 1994, after the elections, in which GroenLinks went from 6 to 5 seats in parliament, despite great results in the polls, Rosenmöller was appointed party leader by the party.
The continued, incessant threats have put too much strain, also on his friends and family.
Paul Rosenmöller will be succeeded by Femke Halsema. She will be the only female party leader during the next elections.
The departure of Rosenmöller means, that of the leaders of the "serious" parties who entered the May elections, only 5 are still party leaders. Fred Teeven (Leefbaar Nederland), Jan Marijnissen (SP), Thom de Graaff (D66), Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA) and Bas van der Vlies (SGP) are still in charge of their parties. Pim Fortuyn (LPF) was assassinated just over a week before the May elections. VVD-leader Hans Dijkstal and PvdA-leader Ad Melkert stepped down after disastrous election results for their parties. Kars Veling (ChristenUnie) stepped down after prominent members of his party criticized him for having a lack of appeal on voters. He was replaced a few weeks ago with André Rouvoet. Bad polls are threatening the positions of Thom de Graaff (D66) and Fred Teeven (Leefbaar Nederland).
Former Secretary for Economic Affairs, Herman Heinsbroek, has decided not to compete with his partij Lijst Nieuwe Politiek (LNP) in the next elections. He said, that he couldn't find enough qualified candidates for parliament. He said that he didn't want to make the mistake the LPF made: putting uninspired, unmotivated, unqualified people in parliament in order to fill the seats. Landslide victory for LNP was deemed highly unlikely, but the party had chances of taking votes from CDA and VVD, thus thwarting coalition plans of the two parties. Jan Nagel, founder of Leefbaar Nederland, also decided not to compete in the next elections. He said that he didn't want his new party, Nieuw Nederland, to compete with Leefbaar Nederland.

[Phreakmeister]

A few updates

Leefbaar Nederland, former party of Pim Fortuyn, have appointed feel-good guru Emile Ratelband first on their candidate list. Sad thing for both Leefbaar Nederland and Emile Ratelband is, that a poll showed, that 90% of the people don't take him and his candidacy seriously...

Last week, a judge has ruled the board of the LPF illegally elected. This means, that there has to be a new party congress to elect the board of the party. What is strange, is that the leader of the board, thus the chairman of the party, is one of the leading lawyers in this country. It is strange to see, that he didn't even know himself that what they were doing was against the law.

Another episode in the LPF-soap came last week, when leader of the LPF-MP's, Hilbrand Nawijn, also Secretary for Foreigners and Integration, in an interview with Nieuwe Revu Magazine, said that he supported the death penalty. One of the people who should get the death penalty, according to him, is Volkert van der Graaf, the man who this week confessed he shot dead Pim Fortuyn. In saying this, Nawijn interfered in pending court cases, thus violating the separation of powers. According to law experts throughout the country, this might very well mean, that Volkert van der Graaf will have to be released, because of an illegal process.
When asked in another interview about the interview in which he made a case for reintroduction of the death penalty, Nawijn said that he "didn't say it, but felt it, but said it, but didn't support it, but supported it, but..." This is the somanieth election stunt the LPF has made so far. The LPF seems to have a strategy of introducing daring and controversial plans every week, and when they get support, they keep it up, and when it gets shot down, they say that they have never said it. Regardless of whether they are right or wrong in supporting the death penalty (if such a thing as 'right' or 'wrong' exists in cases like this), what outqualifies them is their chicanery in which they try to make their case.

[Phreakmeister]

Polls on November 22nd, 2002

CDA - 43 seats now, 50 in the polls (+7)
LPF - 26 seats now, 6 in the polls (-20)
VVD - 24 seats now, 27 in the polls (+3)
PvdA - 23 seats now, 28 in the polls (+5)
GroenLinks - 10 seats now, 9 in the polls (-1)
SP - 9 seats now, 17 in the polls (+8)
D66 - 7 seats now, 5 in the polls (-2)
ChristenUnie - 4 seats now, 4 in the polls ()
SGP - 2 seats now, 3 in the polls (+1)
LN - 2 seats now, 1 in the polls (-1)

So if elections were held now, the composition of parliament would be:
CDA - 50 seats
PvdA - 28
VVD - 27
SP - 17
GroenLinks - 9
LPF - 6
D66 - 5
ChristenUnie - 4
SGP - 3
Leefbaar Nederland - 1

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT COALITIONS
CDA-VVD - 77 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA - 78 seats in the polls
CDA-VVD-LPF - 83 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP - 95 seats in the polls
CDA-PvdA-SP-GroenLinks - 104 seats in the polls

[Sephirstein]

I bet what Dutch people call "conservative" is far more liberal than anything in the USA.

[Phreakmeister]

Originally posted by Sephirstein
I bet what Dutch people call "conservative" is far more liberal than anything in the USA.

True. Al Gore for instance would belong to the rightwing of the right-most Dutch political party. Not to mention George W. Bush, jr., Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Condolleezza Rice.