Christian Democratic Appeal

Since 1880 the sizeable Catholic and Protestant parties had worked together in the so-called Coalitie. They shared a common interest in public funding of religious schools. In 1888 they formed the first Christian-democratic government, led by the Anti-Revolutionary Æneas Baron Mackay. The cooperation was not without problems and in 1894 the more anti-Catholic and aristocratic conservatives left the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party, to found the Christian Historical Union (CHU). The main issues dividing Protestants and Catholics was the position of the Dutch Representation at the Holy See and the future of the Dutch Indies.

Piet Steenkamp, founder and chairman from 1973 until 1980.

Dries van Agt, CDA Leader from 1976 until 1982 and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1977 until 1982.

By 1918, there were three major Christian Democratic parties in the Netherlands—the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses, the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Protestant Christian Historical Union. The General League evolved into the Roman Catholic State Party by 1926, and the Catholic People's Party in 1945.

From 1918 to 1967, the three Christian Democratic parties had a majority in both houses of the States General, and at least two of them were included in every cabinet. The KVP and its antecedents had been in government without interruption since 1918.

In the sixties, Dutch society became more secularised and the pillars faded, and voters began to move away from the three Christian-democratic parties. In the 1963 general election the three parties held 51% of the vote, whilst in 1972 general election they held only 32%. This decline forced the three parties to work closer together. In 1967 the Group of Eighteen was formed: it was a think-tank of six prominent politicians per party that planned the future cooperation of the three parties. In 1968 the three political leaders of the parties (Norbert Schmelzer (KVP), Barend Biesheuvel (ARP) and Jur Mellema (CHU) made a public appearance, stating that the three parties would continue to work together.

This caused progressive forces within the three parties, especially the ARP and KVP, to regret their political affiliation. In 1968 they founded the Political Party of Radicals (PPR), a left-wing party that sought cooperation with the Labour Party (PvdA). Locally and provincially however the three parties had long cooperated well, in some areas they formed one Christian-democratic parliamentary party and proposed one list of candidates. In the 1971 general election, the three parties presented a common political program, which lay the foundation for the first Biesheuvel cabinet.

Ruud Lubbers, CDA Leader from 1982 until 1994 and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 until 1994.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, CDA Leader from 1997 until 2001.

After the disastrous elections of 1972 the cooperation was given new momentum. Piet Steenkamp, a member of the Senate for the KVP was appointed chairman of a council which was to lay the foundation for a federation of the three parties, and provide a common manifesto of principles. In 1973 this federation was officially formed, with Steenkamp as chairperson.

The cooperation was frustrated by the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet, established by the leader of the social-democratic PvdA and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Joop den Uyl. Den Uyl refused to allow members of the CHU in the cabinet that he would lead. This led to a situation where the CHU, ARP and KVP sat as a single faction in both houses of parliament, but only the KVP and ARP supplied ministers and junior ministers. The cabinet Den Uyl was riddled with political and personal conflicts. Another issue that split the three parties was the place that the Bible would take in the new party.

In 1976, the three parties announced that they would field a single list at the 1977 general election under the name Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen Democratisch Appèl). The KVP minister of Justice, Dries van Agt, was the top candidate. In the election campaign he made clear the CDA was a centrist party, that would not lean to the left or to the right. The three parties were able to stabilise their proportion of the vote.

The election result forced Van Agt to start talks with Den Uyl. Although Van Agt had been Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet Den Uyl, the two had never gotten along well. The animosity between them frustrated the talks. After more than 300 days of negotiations, they finally officially failed, and Van Agt was able to negotiate a cabinet with the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The first Van Agt cabinet had a very narrow majority. The unexpected cabinet with the VVD led to split within the newly founded CDA between more progressive and more conservative members. The progressives remained within the party, and were known as loyalists. On 11 October 1980, the three original parties ceased to exist and the CDA was founded as a unitary party. After the 1981 general election, the VVD and the CDA lost their majority, and the CDA was forced to cooperate with the PvdA. Den Uyl became deputy prime minister under van Agt. The second Van Agt cabinet was troubled by ideological and personal conflicts, and fell after one year.

After the 1982 general election, the new CDA leader, Ruud Lubbers (formerly of the KVP), formed a majority coalition with the VVD. The first Lubbers cabinet set an ambitious reform program in motion, which included budget cuts, reform of the old age and disability pensions and liberalisation of public services. Lubbers was reelected in 1986 and in 1989. In 1989 however, the CDA only garnered a minimal majority with the VVD, which they had also gradually fallen out with during the previous cabinet, leading the CDA to instead cooperate with the PvdA in the new government. In the third Lubbers cabinet, a CDA-PvdA coalition, the ambitious reform project was continued, with some adaptations and protests from the PvdA.

The 1994 general election was fraught with problems for the CDA: personal conflicts between retiring prime minister Lubbers and lead candidate Elco Brinkman, a lack of support for the reforms of old age and disability pensions, and the perceived arrogance of the CDA caused a dramatic defeat at the polls. A new coalition was formed between PvdA and the liberal parties VVD and Democrats 66 (D66), consigning the CDA to opposition for the first time ever. It was also the first government without any Christian Democratic ministers since 1918. The party was marred by subsequent internal battles over leadership. The party also reflected on its principals: the party began to orient itself more toward communitarian ideals.

During the tumultuous 2002 general election, which saw the murder of right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, many people voted for the CDA, hoping that it could bring some stability to Dutch politics. The CDA led the first Balkenende cabinet, which included the VVD and the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). This cabinet fell due to internal struggles within the LPF. After the 2003 general election, the Christian Democrats were forced to begin cabinet negotiations with the PvdA. Personal animosity between Balkenende and the leader of the PvdA, Wouter Bos, frustrated these negotiations. Balkenende eventually formed a coalition with the VVD and D66. The coalition proposed an ambitious program of reforms, including more restrictive immigration laws, democratisation of political institutions and reforms of the system of social security and labour laws.

Jan Peter Balkenende, CDA Leader from 2001 until 2010 and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 until 2010.

Wopke Hoekstra, CDA Leader from 2020 until 2023.

Henri Bontenbal, CDA Leader since August 2023.

After the 2006 general election the CDA changed their course radically: they formed a new fourth cabinet Balkenende still led by Balkenende, but now with the PvdA and the Christian Union (CU). The cabinet was more progressive, entailing increased government spending.[16]

In the 2010 general election the CDA lost half of its seats and came in fourth place after VVD, PvdA and the Party for Freedom (PVV). Balkenende announced his resignation and stayed prime minister until the formation and inauguration of the Rutte cabinet.

After the fall of the short-lived first Rutte cabinet in 2012, in which the CDA participated as junior coalition partners to the VVD, the party announced a leadership election. On 18 May 2012 the party announced that the leadership elections were won by Sybrand van Haersma Buma. He received more than 50 percent of the votes. The popular Mona Keijzer, the rising star within the party, received 26% of the votes and announced that she would closely collaborate with Van Haersma Buma during the election campaign prior to the Dutch general election on 12 September 2012. In that election, the CDA suffered considerable losses, falling to 13 seats. The party was excluded from the second Rutte cabinet—only the second time in its history that the party has not been in government. At the municipal elections of 19 March 2014 the CDA won 18% of all the votes and remained the largest party in Dutch municipalities.[17]

In the 2017 general election, the CDA gained six seats to become the third largest party.[18] It continued to remain in government as part of the third Rutte cabinet, with the VVD, D66 and CU.

On 19 March 2021, chairman Rutger Ploum resigned after the party looked to have lost 4 out 19 seats in the 2021 general election.[19]

At a congress on 21 January 2012 the party adopted a centrist course, dubbed by former minister of Social Affairs Aart-Jan de Geus as "radical centrist" ("het radicale midden").[23] The party explicitly abandoned its former center-right course. Despite this, the party continued its coalition with the centre-right VVD of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders until the government collapsed later in the year. The so-called Strategic Council, which was formed in 2011 and headed by former minister Aart-Jan de Geus, that worked on a report to redefine the party course, advised the following:

• limiting the home mortgage interest deduction;
• introduction of flat tax;
• eco-friendly policy (ecotax);
• a pro-European policy;
• a more friendly immigration policy;
• equal chances for every person;
• more investment in higher education;
• and a modern social policy.

In 2014, the party leader Van Haersma Buma announced that CDA was now officially in favour of directly elected mayors,[24] although a large majority of its members are opposed to elected mayors.[25]

Election	Votes	Weight	%	Seats	+/–
1977*				24 / 75	5
1980				27 / 75	3
1981				28 / 75	1
1983				26 / 75	2
1986				26 / 75
1987				26 / 75
1991				27 / 75	1
1995				19 / 75	8
1999				20 / 75	1
2003		46,848	29.0 (#1)	23 / 75	3
2007		43,501	26.7 (#1)	21 / 75	2
2011	86	24,260	14.6 (#3)	11 / 75	10
2015	89	25,145	14.9 (#2)	12 / 75	1
2019	76	19,756	11.4 (#3)	9 / 75	3
2023	47	13,136	7.34 (#5)	6 / 75	3

• 11 seats as a stand-alone party.

The CDA has been a member of the European People's Party (EPP) since its founding in 1976;[35] CDA MEPs sit in the EPP group.

Current members of the European Parliament since the 2019 election:

4 seats:

1. Esther de Lange (lead candidate)
2. Annie Schreijer-Pierik
3. Jeroen Lenaers
4. Tom Berendsen

By far, the CDA has the most members of municipal and provincial councils in the Netherlands. Furthermore, it cooperates in most municipal and provincial governments.

The youth movement of the CDA is the Christian Democratic Youth Appeal (CDJA). The CDA publishes a monthly magazine, and its scientific bureau publishes the Christian Democratic Explorations (Christen-Democratische Verkenningen).

As an effect of pillarisation, the CDA still has many personal and ideological ties with religious organisations, such as the broadcasting societies KRO and NCRV, the newspaper Trouw, the employers organisations NCW and the union CNV.

The CDA participates in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.

The CDA is a member of the European People's Party[40] and the Centrist Democrat International.[41]