What is the Christian Democratic Appeal?
Q: What is the Christian Democratic Appeal?
A: The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) is a political party in the Netherlands that was formed by the merger of three major former political parties: Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union (CHU) and Catholic People's Party (KVP).
Q: When was the CDA established?
A: The CDA was established on 11 October 1980.
Q: How popular has the CDA been in recent elections?
A: In recent elections, the CDA has been very popular up until 2010 when they lost 20 seats and received less than half of the votes from the previous election. In 2012, they received 801,620 votes and lost 8 more seats. In 2017, they won 19 seats (+6) and in 2021 15 (-4).
Q: What are some of the beliefs held by members of this party?
A: The CDA supports Christian democracy and can have Jewish, Muslim and Hindu members of parliament. They support environmentalism as well as European Union membership. They call themselves a moderate party but have an alliance with centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. They believe that toleration of "soft drugs" like marijuana should stop, abortion and prostitution should be limited, while immigrants should integrate into Dutch culture with a more friendly open immigration policy.
Q: Who recently left this party to become an independent politician?
A: On 12 June 2021 MP Pieter Omtzigt left the CDA to become an independent politician.
Q: What type of government does this party support?
A: This party supports Christian democracy which is based on principles such as social justice, respect for human life, religious freedom and civil rights for all citizens regardless of their religion or beliefs.
