Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal Christen-Democratisch Appèl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CDA |
| Leader | Henri Bontenbal |
| Chairperson | Jean Wiertz |
| Founded | 11 October 1980 |
| Merger of | Catholic People's Party Anti-Revolutionary Party Christian Historical Union |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Conservatism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| Colours | Green |
| Senate | 6 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 18 / 150 |
| European Parliament | 3 / 31 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 |
| Website | |
| cda | |
The Christian Democratic Appeal (Dutch: Christen-Democratisch Appèl) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands.[1]
The CDA was initially created as an alliance in 1975 between the main Catholic and Protestant political parties in Dutch politics: the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Union. It contested its first election in 1977 and merged into a single party in 1980.
In 1994, the party suffered a significant defeat and entered the opposition for the first time in its history. It then returned to government in 2002 with leader Jan Peter Balkenende as prime minister. Following the 2010 election, Balkenende resigned and was replaced by VVD leader Mark Rutte as prime minister. The CDA served as a junior partner to the VVD until 2012 and then again from 2017 to 2022. The party returned to government following the 2025 general election serving alongside the VVD as a junior partner to D66 with Rob Jetten as prime minister.[2]
The party has been led by Henri Bontenbal since August 2023.[3]
Positions
[change | change source]The CDA promotes a policy platform based on Christian democracy. The party's main principles are stewardship, solidarity, distributed responsibility and public justice.[4]
Election results
[change | change source]| Election | Lead candidate | Vote share (%) | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Dries van Agt | 31.9 | 49 / 150 |
New | CDA–VVD Majority |
| 1981 | 30.8 | 48 / 150 |
 1 |
CDA–PvdA–D66 Majority | |
| 1982 | 29.4 | 45 / 150 |
3 |
CDA–VVD Majority | |
| 1986 | Ruud Lubbers | 34.6 | 54 / 150 |
 9 |
CDA–VVD Majority |
| 1989 | 35.3 | 54 / 150 |
 |
CDA–PvdA Majority | |
| 1994 | Elco Brinkman | 22.2 | 34 / 150 |
20 |
Opposition |
| 1998 | Jaap de Hoop Scheffer | 18.4 | 29 / 150 |
5 |
Opposition |
| 2002 | Jan Peter Balkenende | 27.9 | 43 / 150 |
14 |
CDA–LPF–VVD Majority |
| 2003 | 28.6 | 44 / 150 |
1 |
CDA–VVD–D66 Majority | |
| 2006 | 26.5 | 41 / 150 |
3 |
CDA–PvdA–CU Majority | |
| 2010 | 13.6 | 21 / 150 |
20 |
VVD–CDA Minority | |
| 2012 | Sybrand Buma | 8.5 | 13 / 150 |
8 |
Opposition |
| 2017 | 12.4 | 19 / 150 |
6 |
VVD–CDA–D66–CU Majority | |
| 2021 | Wopke Hoekstra | 9.5 | 15 / 150 |
4 |
VVD–D66–CDA–CU Majority |
| 2023 | Henri Bontenbal | 3.3 | 5 / 150 |
10 |
Opposition |
| 2025 | 11.8 | 18 / 150 |
13 |
D66–VVD–CDA Minority |
Political leaders
[change | change source]- Dries van Agt - 1976-1982
- Ruud Lubbers - 1982-1994
- Elco Brinkman - 1994
- Enneüs Heerma - 1994-1997
- Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - 1997-2001
- Jan Peter Balkenende - 2001-2010
- Maxime Verhagen - 2010-2012
- Sybrand van Haersma Buma - 2012-2019
- Pieter Heerma - 2019-2020 (actually only parliamentary leader)
- Hugo de Jonge - 2020
- Wopke Hoekstra - 2020-2023
- Henri Bontenbal - 2023-
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "CDA International webpage". CDA (in Netherlands Dutch). Retrieved 2026-04-29.
- ↑ "The Dutch have a new government. Now the hunger games begin". POLITICO. 2026-02-23. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
- ↑ "Politiek leider van een partij | Parlement.com". www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-04-29.
- ↑ "Oplossingen voor Nederland". CDA (in Netherlands Dutch). Retrieved 2026-04-29.
Other websites
[change | change source]