Christian Union ChristenUnie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CU |
| Leader | Mirjam Bikker (list) |
| Chairman | Marco Vermin |
| Leader in the Senate | Tineke Huizinga |
| Leader in the House of Representatives | Mirjam Bikker |
| Founded | 22 January 2000 (2000-01-22) |
| Merger of | Reformed Political League Reformatory Political Federation |
| Headquarters | Partijbureau ChristenUnie Johan van Oldebarneveltlaan 46,Amersfoort |
| Youth wing | PerspectieF |
| Think tank | Mr. G. Groen van Prinsterer Stichting |
| Membership(January 2025) |  23,975[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position |
|
| Religion | Orthodox Protestant[note 1] |
| European affiliation | European Christian Political Party |
| European Parliament group | ECR Group (2009–2019) EPP Group (2019–2024) |
| Benelux Parliament group | Christian Group[10] |
| Colours | Sky blue Dark blue |
| Slogan | Geef geloof een stem ('Give faith a voice/vote') |
| Senate | 3 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 3 / 150 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 31 |
| Provincial councils | 21 / 570 |
| King's Commissioners | 1 / 12 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 |
| Website | |
| christenunie.nl | |
TheChristian Union (Dutch:ChristenUnie[ˌkrɪstənˈyni,-təˈʔy-],CU) is aChristian democratic[11]political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining moreprogressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues[12][13][14] while holding moresocially conservative positions on issues, such as opposingabortion andeuthanasia.[15] The party describes itself as "social Christian".[16]
The CU was founded in 2000 as a merger of theReformed Political League (GPV) andReformatory Political Federation (RPF).[12] After doubling its seat tally in the2006 Dutch general election, it became the smallest member of thefourth Balkenende cabinet, and since that time has been likewise part of thethird Rutte cabinet and thefourth Rutte cabinet.[12] In some elections it formsan alliance with the CalvinistReformed Political Party (SGP), which, unlike the CU, is atestimonial party.
Primarily aProtestant party, the CU bases its policies on theBible, and takes the theological principles ofcharity andstewardship as bases for its support forpublic expenditure andenvironmentalism. It seeks for government to uphold Christian morality, but supportsfreedom of religion under the doctrine ofsphere sovereignty. The party is moderately Eurosceptic; it was formerly in theEuropean Parliament with theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR Group) andEuropean People's Party Group (EPP Group). It is a member of theEuropean Christian Political Party.
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Along with the largerAnti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), the Netherlands has a long tradition of small orthodox or conservative Protestant (i.e., mostlyReformed) parties in parliament, including theReformed Political Party (SGP), founded in 1918. After a group ofReformed Churches members formed theReformed Churches (Liberated) over a religious disagreement, theReformed Political Alliance (GPV) split off from the ARP in 1948.[17] It took until1963 for the party to enter parliament. In the1981 election, theReformatory Political Federation (RPF) entered parliament. It had split off from the ARP six years earlier over the formation of theChristian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
The RPF explicitly stated in its manifesto of principles that it sought to unite all reformed parties in the Netherlands.[17]
The CU describes itself as a Christian social party. The party has its roots in orthodox Protestant (i.e. mostlyReformed) parties, often referred to as the "small right". It combines a conservative point of view on ethical and foreign policy issues, with morecentre-left ideas on economic, asylum, social and environmental issues. Its conservative reformed ideals are reflected in its program of principles. It believes that the state is theswordmaiden ofGod. It bases its politics directly on theBible. However, it sees separate duties for the state and the church in public life: the church should spread the Word of God, while the state should merely uphold public morality. The state should respect the religion of its citizens. Other Christian principles, such asneighbourly love andstewardship for the Earth, however have given the CU's political program a centre left orientation. The party has also been described as centre-left or left-wing overall.[18]
Some of CU'ssocially conservative policies include:[19]
More centre-left policies include:
The CU describes itself asChristelijk-sociaal ('social Christian') and explicitly distance themselves from the labelsChristian socialism orChristian right.[21][2] "Social Christian" describes aChristian democracy ideology that is more right-wing than Christian socialism and more left-wing than the Christian right and social conservatism. Described ascentrist andOrthodox Protestant, it has an emphasis on the community, social solidarity, support for a welfare state, and support for some regulation of market forces but is more conservative on some social issues opposition toeuthanasia,embryonic stem cell research,same-sex marriage,abortion, and some elements ofthe EU. The party is left of centre on issues such asasylum policy,development aid, greenenvironmental policy and theeconomy.[16][22]
In May 2019, the Christian Union voted against banning gayconversion therapy.[23]
On immigration, the CU supports a work permit scheme for immigrants with integration requirements such as learning Dutch to prevent what the party calls a "parallel society". It calls for a humane asylum policy, especially for those fleeing religious persecution and for the creation of asylum centres outside of Europe to combat human trafficking. It seeks a faster processing measure for asylum seekers.[24]
The CU supports Dutch membership of theEuropean Union while simultaneously being critical of several EU policies which it claims are undemocratic and "mainly benefits large companies and the upper middle classes". The CU instead calls for more transparency within the EU, for domestic decision making of EU member states to be complied with and wants reforms made to theEurozone. The CU is also against theaccession of Turkey to the European Union.[25]
In the Middle East, the CU platform expresses support forIsrael and its right to exist on the basis that "Christians feel a biblical connection to the Jewish people" and supports moving the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem while stating that civilians on both sides should be protected, with the party highlightingPalestinian Christians as a concern. The party condemned the 2023October 7 attacks and maintained Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorism while appealing to both sides to respect international law and for the allowance of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. The CU says it supports recognition of a Palestinian state with an economic recovery and investment plan for Gaza on the conditions of the release of Israeli hostages and the dismantling ofHamas with no extremist organizations playing a role in Palestinian governance.[26]
The party supports international recognition of theArmenian Genocide.[27]
| Election | Lead candidate | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kars Veling | List | 240,953 | 2.54 | 4 / 150 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2003 | André Rouvoet | List | 204,649 | 2.12 | 3 / 150 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2006 | List | 390,969 | 3.97 | 6 / 150 |  3 | Coalition | |
| 2010 | List | 305,094 | 3.24 | 5 / 150 | 1 | Opposition | |
| 2012 | Arie Slob | List | 294,586 | 3.13 | 5 / 150 |  | Opposition |
| 2017 | Gert-Jan Segers | List | 356,271 | 3.39 | 5 / 150 | | Coalition |
| 2021 | List | 350,523 | 3.37 | 5 / 150 | | Coalition | |
| 2023 | Mirjam Bikker | List | 212,532 | 2.04 | 3 / 150 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2025 | List | 201,361 | 1.90 | 3 / 150 | | TBA |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 4 / 75 | 2 | ||
| 2003 | 2 / 75 | 2 | ||
| 2007 | 4 / 75 | 2 | ||
| 2011 | 2 / 75 | 2 | ||
| 2015 | 32 | 3 / 75 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 33 | 5.03 | 4 / 75 | 1 |
| 2023 | 23 | 3.73 | 3 / 75 | 1 |
| Election | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004[a] | List | 279,880 | 5.87 | 1 / 27 | New | IND/DEM |
| 2009[a] | List | 310,540 | 6.82 | 1 / 25 | 0 | ECR |
1 / 26 | 0 | |||||
| 2014[a] | List | 364,843 | 7.67 | 1 / 26 | 0 | |
| 2019[a] | List | 375,660 | 6.83 | 1 / 26 | 0 | EPP |
1 / 29 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | List | 180,060 | 2.89 | 0 / 31 | 1 | – |
Far-left parties include SP, PVDD, BIJ1. Center-left parties include PVDA, GroenLinks, ChristenUnie.
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