In Dutch politics there’s actually a lot to vote for. Here we do a quick run down of the 15 most most popular parties.
| VVD People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy Right wing liberals, party of the prime-minister Rutte. Rutte, who has been in power for already 10 years prides himself in having no vision, but instead is a ‘pragmatic’ leader. Supports private enterprise and economic. |
| PVV Party for freedom Right-winged, nationalist and populist party. Lead by Geert Wilders, the party traditionaly focuses on anti-immigration and anti-Islam stances. These elections, more money for healthcare is also one of their key points. |
| CDA Christian Democratic Appeal Centre-right Christian party, comparable with the German CDU. Traditionally a party for farmers with electorate outside of the Randstad, but in recent times also a broad people’s park. Economically, very similar to the VVD, but with a slightly more social and conservative agenda. |
| D66 Democrats 66 Progressive liberal party, with a focus on education. Popular amongst students. D66 is pro-Europe and international relations are important for the party. Before going into national politics, Party-leader Kaag used to serve as a Dutch diplomat. |
| GroenLinks GreenLeft Leftwing party with a strong focus on environment and climate. Describes itself as green social and tolerant. Party leader Jesse Klaver is often praised for its ‘Trudeau’ like charisma and is popular amongst young voters. |
| SP Socialist party Socialist party with a focus on economic equality. Core issues are employment, social welfare and healthcare. The party opposes privatisation of public services and is critical of globalisation, including taking a (soft)eurosceptic stance. |
| PvdA Labour Party Centre-left party, with focus on employment and social security. Historically one of the big parties, supported by the working class, but in recent years, electorate has largely shrunk. |
| CU Christian Union Christian-democratic party, with progressive stances on economy, immigration and environment, while holding socially conservative stances on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. |
| PvdD Party for the Animals Left-wing party with main focus for animal welfare and ecological issues. Pleading for an economic system change as “economic growth is unsustainable”. |
| 50PLUS Party that advocates pensioners’ interests. Higher old age pensions, and better healthcare are among their top priorities. |
| SGP Reformed Political Party Conservative orthodox calvinist political party, draws its ideology from the reformed tradition. Often stresses the importance of the rules of law and order. |
| Denk Think (Turkish: Equal) Left-wing party with strong roots in the Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch communities. Focuses on integration of Dutch citizens of muslim origin and opposes anti-Islam policies and rhetoric. |
| FvD Forum for Democracy Conservative and right-wing populist party, lead by Thierry Baudet. Opposes COVID measures, opposes climate-measures and has anti-immigration stances. |
| BIJ1 Together Focuses on fighting racism and discrimination. Strives for emancipation of the LGBT community, anti-hate speech laws and an end to ethnic profiling. |
| JA21 Right answer 21 Conservative and right-wing party. Describes itself as the “proper” right wing party and aims to fill the gap between the right-wing liberal VVD and the anti-Islam PVV. Emphasis is on personal freedom, tax relief and strict immigration policies. |