| Free Democratic Party Vrije Democratische Partij | |
| |
| Leader | Branden Dykstra |
|---|---|
| Deputy Leader | Mark Ollongren |
| Founded | 16 April 1942 |
| Ideology | Conservative liberalism Classical liberalism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colour | Blue |
| Slogan | Voor een liberaal Batavia ("For a liberal Batavia") |
| House of Representatives |
50 / 168
|
The Free Democratic Party (FDP, Dutch: Vrije Democratische Partij, VDP, commonly known as the Free Democrats or Vrije Democraten in Dutch) is a centre-right liberal political party in Batavia. The party is the one of the three historical major political parties in Enderronian politics, the others being the Batavian Labour Party and the Christian Democrats. The current party leader is Branden Dykstra, who has been Prime Minister of Batavia since 2010.
The Free Democratic Party was historically the weakest of the three major parties in Batavia, consistently polling third in general elections for most of the time between the 1970s and the 2010s. It has formed the government as the largest party of a coalition from 1980 to 1983, 1999 to 2003 and 2010 to the present. However, it has participated in coalition governments for all but four years (2006–2010) since 1972. In 2013 it became the largest party in parliament for the first time in its history, overtaking the Christian Democrats as Batavia's largest centre-right party.
The FDP was formed in 1942 and has been represented in the Parliament of Batavia since the first post-war election in 1949.
Election results[]
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % | Position | Government | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 3 / 116
|
 3
|
2.77% | 5th
|
Opposition | Jurren Lourens | |
| 1952 | 3 / 116
|
 0
|
3.14% | 5th
|
Opposition | Jurren Lourens | |
| 1955 | 6 / 116
|
3
|
5.08% | 5th
|
Opposition | Arnout Houver | |
| 1959 | 5 / 116
|
 1
|
4.35% | 5th
|
Coalition | Jan Reitz | |
| 1961 | 11 / 116
|
6
|
9.50% | 5th
|
Opposition | Jan Reitz | |
| 1964 | 15 / 116
|
4
|
12.52% | 4th
|
Opposition | Jan Reitz | |
| 1967 | 16 / 116
|
1
|
13.42% | 4th
|
Opposition | Frank Denk | |
| 1969 | 13 / 116
|
3
|
11.39% | 4th
|
Opposition | Frank Denk | |
| 1972 | 21 / 130
|
8
|
15.80% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Willem Braker | |
| 1976 | 25 / 130
|
4
|
18.24% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Jansen Dykstra | |
| 1980 | 30 / 130
|
5
|
22.11% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Frank Denk | |
| 1983 | 28 / 148
|
2
|
18.26% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Frank Denk | |
| 1984 | 20 / 148
|
8
|
13.41% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Lars Luttikhof | |
| 1988 | 21 / 148
|
1
|
14.17% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Lars Luttikhof | |
| 1991 | 25 / 148
|
4
|
16.29% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Lars Luttikhof | |
| 1994 | 20 / 148
|
1
|
13.34% | 4th
|
Coalition | Lars Luttikhof | |
| 1996 | 24 / 168
|
4
|
14.57% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Tom Lee | |
| 1999 | 34 / 168
|
10
|
19.29% | 2nd
|
Coalition | Willem van de Steege | |
| 2003 | 23 / 168
|
11
|
13.67% | 3rd
|
Coalition | Willem van de Steege | |
| 2006 | 33 / 168
|
10
|
19.36% | 2nd
|
Opposition | Stef Jacobsen | |
| 2010 | 43 / 168
|
10
|
25.05% | 2nd
|
Coalition | Branden Dykstra | |
| 2013 | 46 / 168
|
3
|
26.58% | 1st
|
Coalition | Branden Dykstra | |
| 2017 | 50 / 168
|
4
|
28.77% | 1st
|
Coalition | Branden Dykstra |