New Social Contract Nieuw Sociaal Contract | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | NSC |
| Leader | Eddy van Hijum |
| Chairperson | Reinout van Malenstein |
| Founder | Pieter Omtzigt |
| Founded | 19 August 2023; 2 years ago (2023-08-19) |
| Split from | Christian Democratic Appeal |
| Youth wing | Jong Sociaal Contract[1] |
| Membership(January 2025) |  7,991[2] |
| Ideology | Christian democracy |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-right |
| Regional affiliation | Christian Group[3] |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party Group[4] |
| Colours | Dark blue Yellow |
| Senate | 0 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 150 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 31 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 |
| Website | |
| partijnieuwsociaalcontract.nl | |
New Social Contract (Dutch:Nieuw Sociaal Contract[niusoːˈɕaːlkɔnˈtrɑkt],NSC) is aChristian-democraticpolitical party in theNetherlands founded byPieter Omtzigt in 2023.[5]
In early 2021, Omtzigt wrote themanifestoA New Social Contract,[6] with ideas for theChristian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the party for which he served in theHouse of Representatives at the time.[7] After a falling out with his party over the appointment ofWopke Hoekstra as party leader[8] and the"Position Omtzigt, function elsewhere" note that leaked during the 2021–2022 cabinet formation, he split from the CDA in June 2021 and continued as a one-man faction in September of that year.[9]
After the2023 Dutch general election was announced following the fall of thefourth Rutte cabinet, Omtzigt founded New Social Contract (NSC) on 19 August 2023.[5] His 2021 manifesto is the basis for the new party's program.[10] On 20 August 2023, Omtzigt announced inTubantia newspaper that he did not strive for NSC to become the largest party in the general election in November that year. If that does happen, he did not want to becomeprime minister, but to remain in the House of Representatives asparliamentary leader.[9] After the party's candidate list was presented, Omtzigt no longer ruled out premiership.[11]
CDA prominentEddy van Hijum became chairman of the committee that would write the party's manifesto ahead of the 2023 general election.[12] FormerVVD hopefulOnno Aerden was introduced as the party's spokesperson on 12 September 2023, but he stepped down a few hours later when atweet resurfaced in which he had referred to theFarmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) as "a tumor that destroys the fragile democracy from within".[13] On 2 October, NSC announced the resignation of its co-founder and inaugural chairmanHein Pieper, after the revelation of a past allegation ofabuse of power.[14]
Until 28 August 2023, the party offered people who endorsed the party's principles the opportunity to apply online for a seat in the House of Representatives. It was later announced that around 2,400 candidates had registered.[15] NSC presented a list of 44 candidates on 26 September 2023. It includes several former members of parliament, such asNicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok, Eddy van Hijum,Wytske Postma, andFolkert Idsinga, as well as people without political experience, including a judge, a pensions expert, a public prosecutor, a former ambassador, a microbiologist/columnist, a director of a housing corporation, civil servants, and businesspeople.[16][17]
NSC won twenty seats in the 22 November general election, entering the House as the fourth largest party, while the right-wing populistParty for Freedom (PVV) received aplurality. Omtzigt had told during the campaign that NSC would be unwilling to form acoalition government with the PVV andForum for Democracy (FvD), as he felt they did not meet the "basic conditions of therule of law".[18] Followinggovernment formation talks with the PVV, VVD, and BBB, Omtzigt left open the possibility for anextraparliamentary cabinet. The four parties struck acoalition agreement in May 2024 after Omtzigt had once stepped out of the talks due to concerns about government finances.[19]
Following Omtzigt's retirement from politics in 2025 citing health concerns, former parliamentary leaderNicolien van Vroonhoven became the party's new leader andlijsttrekker for the next election.[20] In June 2025, she stood down triggering a leadership contest. The party's former migration spokesmanDiederik Boomsma stood as a candidate but withdrew after the party board chose to replace van Vroonhoven withEddy van Hijum, who was put forward as lead candidate for the2025 Dutch general election. It was later revealed Boomsma had switched his affiliation toJA21 after his name appeared on JA21's electoral list. In the election the party wascompletely wiped out, losing all their seats.[21]
NSC has been described ascentre[22] tocentre-right,[23]anti-establishment,[24][25]Christian democratic[26][27][28][29] and close tocommunitarian philosophy.[29] Article 2 of the party's statutes speak of "personal responsibility, family and communities and distributed private property" as founding principles, while an accompanying programme of principles mentions notions includingpersonalism,virtue ethics and thesocial market economy.[30] The party is also critical ofneoliberalism and believes that neoliberal tendencies in Dutch economy should be reined in.[31]
"Good governance" and "social security" are the party's primary concerns.[10] Policies regarding good governance include the establishment of aconstitutional court and instituting a regional electoral system similar tothat of Sweden.[32]
While the NSC has been compared to the centre-leftGroenLinks–PvdA alliance on economic issues, the party has a more conservative attitude towards immigration. Omtzigt proposed a two-status system that would apply different admission criteria to asylum seekers andeconomic migrants.[31][33]
In 2024, the NSC voted in favour of a motion tabled in the House of Representatives by theReformed Political Party (SGP) to abolish the so-called “transgender law” which had been brought in under the previous Dutch government and would enable people under the age of 16 to legally change their gender without a verdict from a doctor. In a statement, the party said “We are absolutely not against changing sex, but it should not be too easy either" and argued that changes in the law would create loopholes allowing male criminals to access women's prisons.[34]
According tomarket researcher I&O Research, NSC attracts voters from parties across the political spectrum, including theSocialist Party,JA21,BBB, andPVV.[35] Polls in late August 2023 showed that it was the most popular party, with 40% of its electorate coming from BBB, reducing that party's vote share by more than a third.[36][37][38]
| Election | Lead candidate | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pieter Omtzigt | List | 1,343,287 | 12.88 | 20 / 150 | New | Coalition(2024–2025) |
| Opposition(2025) | |||||||
| 2025 | Eddy van Hijum | List | 39,408 | 0.37 | 0 / 150 | 20 | No seats |
| Election | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | List | 233,564 | 3.75 | 1 / 31 | New | EPP |
Media related toNieuw Sociaal Contract at Wikimedia Commons
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