On Wednesday, June 9th, Dutch voters will go the polls to choose a new Parliament. As one of the most progressive and liberal societies in the world, the decision the Netherlands makes today is very important for those of us who care about liberty, openness and human rights. While we believe Dutch voters will, in the end, make a wise choice, there are threats to the values liberals so deeply care about. In this occasion, the major threat comes from the extremist and xenophobic PVV –also (quite paradoxically) referred to as the ‘Party for Freedom’. They couldn’t have chosen a more deceptive name. If there is one value the PVV despises, that value is freedom. The PVV despises the free movement of goods, services and people across Europe and around the world. The PVV despises economic freedom and open markets. And most importantly, the PVV despises the values of tolerance and social inclusion that are a tenet of Dutch society. In summary, the so called ‘Party for Freedom’ despises everything freedom-loving people stand for. They are the major threat on this election, and they, we believe, will be the major losers on this Election Day. Dutch voters have too much common sense to give them the reins of power.
Now, who do we think should govern the Netherlands? And which particular political party gets our full support? In response to the first question, we would like to see once again a ‘Purple Coalition’, composed of Labour (PvdA), the conservative Liberals (VVD), the progressive Liberals (D66) and the Greens. We believe the time of the Christian Democrats is up.
When evaluating which particular party should get our endorsement, we considered three political parties: the Labour Party (PvdA), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Democrats 66 (D66). We share common values with all these parties. We like the tolerance and social inclusion espoused by Labour’s leader Job Cohen. We share the pro-market impulses of the conservative Liberals. But if there is a party in Dutch politics that truly represents the spirit behind Liberalism, that party is the Democrats 66. D66’s policies are a testament of what Liberalism stands for: freedom above all, equality under the law, tolerance and social inclusion, protection of civil liberties, advancement of human rights, expansion of civil rights, support for open markets and free trade, protection of the environment, equality of opportunity regardless of social background and a fair and open society and world.
Those are the values Liberalism has always stood for. Those are the values that the Netherlands has so deeply represented throughout the last decades across the world. Those are the values we want to see in the future coalition government.
We trust D66 with the task of standing up and defending those values. We need a liberal Netherlands at the heart of a liberal Europe. With a strong D66 and a strong ‘Purple’ coalition government, we can be confident that the torch of liberty will be kept alive.
Vote for freedom and openness on Wednesday. Vote for the Democraten 66.
Find more about D66 @ www.d66.nl
