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 theNetherlands. 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] However, the GPV and SGP were somewhat less receptive. The GPV was only open to a specific current in reformed Protestantism, namely the Reformed Churches (Liberated), and did not wish to cooperate with non-'liberated' reformed: it had rejected on religious grounds the entry of the group that in the 1970s was to become the RPF. The SGP had rejected cooperation with these parties because they had female members; the SGP consistently rejected female suffrage until 2006. The RPF, GPV and SGP weretestimonial parties, which chose to voice their concerns about government policy, while acknowledging that they were not big enough to force their opinion upon others.
In 1984, however, the three parties cooperated in theEuropean election and presented a common list in order to enter theEuropean Parliament. In the1989 general election they formed anelectoral alliance in order to enhance their chances of obtaining seats. In 1995 informal talks were opened between the three parties. The GPV had opened itself to non-liberated members, but the SGP not to women. The discussions with the SGP were broken off and the GPV and RPF continued together. For a long time the GPV was not willing to enter a major internal debate with the RPF, which also performed better electorally; it had won three seats in the1998 election, while the GPV received only two. From 1998 the two parliamentary parties cooperated with each other, held common meetings and appointed common spokespersons. In 1999 a group called "Transformatie" (Transformation) was set up by young people from both parties in reaction to the slow cooperation process: they tried to intensify the debate about cooperation. In the same year the cooperation talks were formalised and intensified, leading to the foundation of the Christian Union.
The Christian Union was founded in January 2000 as an alliance between the RPF and GPV. Later in that year, their youth organisations, GPJC and RPFJ, fused completely, presenting an example to their mother organisations. In 2001, they formed a commonparliamentary party in both theHouse of Representatives andSenate. In2002 the alliance entered the election for the first time. The party obtained four seats, one seat less than in the 1998 election when they campaigned separately. It had polled much better, with some polling stations predicting seven or eight seats. The party's leaderKars Veling stepped down. He had been good at keeping the peace internally in a party still somewhat divided between the old GPV and RPF memberships, but had not appealed well enough to the population at large. Withpreference votes a woman,Tineke Huizinga (positioned seventh on the CU candidate list) was elected into parliament for the CU, becoming the first woman to enter parliament for the party or its predecessors. Because of her election, prominent party figureEimert van Middelkoop, who was no. 4 on the candidate-list, had to leave parliament.
In the2003 general election the party lost an additional seat, and was left with three seats. Again Huizinga (now no. 4 on the list) was elected with preference votes and this time former RPF leaderLeen van Dijke (no. 3) had to leave parliament. The decline of the CU in 2003 was probably due to party supporters voting for the Christian democratic CDA, which was competing with the social democraticLabour Party (PvdA), to become the largest party. The Christian Union was heavily involved in the formation of thesecond cabinet Balkenende, along with the SGP. However, the liberalPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) vetoed the formation of a cabinet that included the two conservative Reformed parties, and so the progressive liberalD66 became a part of the governing alliance instead. In 2004 the two organisations RPF and GPV officially ceased to exist, making final the fusion into the CU.
In the2006 election the party doubled its seat count and joined thefourth Balkenende cabinet. CU leaderAndré Rouvoet becameDeputy Prime Minister andminister without portfolio forfamily and youth, while Middelkoop became Minister of Defence and Huizinga junior minister (staatssecretaris) of Transport and Water management. Since the party has entered government, there has been some controversy about the conservative Christian ethical views of some of its members. In 2007Yvette Lont, a CU municipal council member forAmsterdam, expressed the view that homosexuals should not be admitted to representative functions within the party. Also in 2007, municipal council member Monique Heger decided to resign from office, because she had recently discovered that she was a lesbian, and she and her (female) partner moved in together.
After the collapse of the Balkenende cabinet, the Christian Union no longer had representatives in government; Rouvoet returned to parliament as leader of the CU parliamentary group until he left politics in April/May 2011. Arie Slob succeeded him as the party leader.
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In October 2013, thesecond Rutte cabinet (VVD and PvdA), lacking a majority in theSenate, reached a budgetary agreement with the CU, theReformed Political Party (SGP) and theDemocrats 66 (D66). This occasional coalition was nicknamed "purple with the Bible" (Paars met de Bijbel) as it included the secular parties VVD, PvdA and D66 plus the religiously-oriented parties Christian Union and SGP. The term "purple with the Bible" had already been used in February that year, when the same parties reached an agreement on modernising the housing market. Although the cabinet was quite unpopular and the VVD and PvdA lost many municipal seats during themunicipal elections of 19 March 2014, the parties that provided tactical support to the government won many seats.
After the2017 general election, the Christian Union became part of thethird Rutte cabinet, as a minor coalition partner to the VVD, CDA and D66. The party has three representatives in the current cabinet: ministerCarola Schouten for theMinistry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality,Arie Slob,Minister for Primary Education, Secondary Education and Media andPaul Blokhuis,State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sports.
Following the2019 European Parliament election, the Christian Union left theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Group in theEuropean Parliament (of which it had been a founding member) arguing that the ECR was moving too far to the right by including MEPs of far-right parties such as the DutchForum for Democracy and theSweden Democrats. The party instead joined theEuropean People's Party Group.
In January 2023,Mirjam Bikker succeeded Segers as the party leader.[18] During the2023 Dutch general election the Christian Union lost two of their five seats, getting 2% of the votes.[19]
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, likeneighbourly love andstewardship for the Earth, however have given the CU's political program a centre-left orientation.
Some of CU'ssocially conservative policies include:[20]
More centre-left policies include:
The CU describes itself as "Christelijk-sociaal"(Social Christian) and explicitly distance themselves from the labelsChristian socialism orChristian right.[22][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][23]
The party supports Dutch membership of theEuropean Union to ensure peace and prosperity, and to counter the influence of Russia and China, 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 respected and wants reforms made to theEurozone. The CU is also against theaccession of Turkey to the European Union.[24]
In May 2019, the Christian Union voted against banning gayconversion therapy.[25]
| 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 | – |
From 2007 to 2010 the CU supplied two ministers and one state secretary in thefourth Balkenende cabinet:
Starting in 2017, the CU has once again supplied two ministers and one state secretary in thethird Rutte cabinet:
The following CU members served in thefourth Rutte cabinet between 2021 and 2024:
The CU was supported by orthodoxReformed of many denominations, such as theChristian Reformed Churches, theReformed Churches in the Netherlands,Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) and theDutch Reformed Church. But members of newer churches such as theEvangelical Church and thePentecostal community also supported this party. The electorate is concentrated in the smaller rural districts in the so-called "Bible Belt" an area of more conservative Christian municipalities that reaches fromOverijssel, through theVeluwe and theBiesbos toZeeland. The party also draws support from Christians with an immigrant background, who are mostly located in the large cities.
The party is also drawing support from a growing number of conservativeRoman Catholics, dissatisfied with the less Christian policies of theCDA. Roman Catholics are welcome to become a member of the party although one of the foundations of the party is theHeidelberg Catechism, known for its staunch anti-Catholicism. During the provincial elections of 2007 the party fielded two Roman Catholic candidates on their shortlist of the province of Limburg. This process has alerted some prominent CDA politicians. CU-senatorEgbert Schuurman stated the CU would provide a shelter for everyone who actively believes in Jesus Christ but also said the CU will always be a Protestant party.
The party's congress, held on 13 June 2015, replaced the Heidelberg Catechism with Nicean Creed.
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The highest body in the CU is the Union Congress, formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It appoints the party board and decides the order of the candidates on the lists for elections to the Senate, House of Representatives and European Parliament and has the final say over the party program. A member congress has an important role in the formation of the CU's political direction.
The CU currently has 25,170 members (as of 1 January 2019). They are organised in over 200 municipal branches.
The youth organisation of the party isPerspectieF which was formed as a fusion of the two youth organisations of the CU's predecessors theGPJC andRPFJ. The party publishes the HandSchrift (HandWriting) six times a year. The party's scientific institute is the Mr. Groen van Prinsterer Foundation, which publishes the DenkWijzer (ThoughtWiser). The women's organisation is Inclusief.
The CU participates in theNetherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.
Internationally, the CU is a member of theEuropean Christian Political Party. Its MEPs were seated in theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Group. Until 2019 when the CU joined theEPP Group
The CU still has ideological strong links with so-calledpillarised organisations. Together with conservativeProtestant schools, papers like theNederlands Dagblad and theReformatorisch Dagblad, the Protestant broadcasterEvangelische Omroep, several Reformed churches they constitute the conservative or orthodox Reformed pillar (Dutchzuil). While all four of the traditional Dutch pillars (socialists, liberals, Protestants and Catholics) have broken down since the 1960s, the orthodox reformed pillar has actually strengthened in reaction to the process of secularisation.
The Christian Union had been in the opposition until 2006. It has good relations with the orthodoxReformed Political Party (SGP), with which it formed a single European parliamentary partyCU-SGP until 2022 and theChristian Democratic Appeal, with which the ChristenUnie-SGP had anelectoral alliance for the2004 European Parliament elections. As an opposition party against the centre-rightsecond Balkenende cabinet, the CU has gained sympathy from the left-wing parties in parliament, theLabour Party, theSocialist Party, and theGroenLinks, with which it cooperates in severalmunicipal executives after the2006 municipal elections.
TheEvangelical People's Party of Switzerland is nearest to the Christian Union as a conservative Protestant party that is left-wing in social matters, conservative in ethical matters and critical of the European Union.
Media related toChristenUnie at Wikimedia Commons
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