Democratic Socialists '70

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Democratic Socialists '70
Democratisch Socialisten '70

The Democratic Socialists '70 (

social-democratic[9] political party in the Netherlands
.

History

DS'70 was founded on 4 April 1970 as the result of a split from the

House of Representatives, left the PvdA and became members of DS'70 because of the anti-American position the PvdA had taken in the Vietnam War. They had previously been frustrated by its cooperation with other left-wing parties such as the Pacifist Socialist Party and its left-wing fiscal policy. In its declaration of principles (Beginselverklaring), DS'70 argued that whilst the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) lacked the comprehension of the necessity of social and economic reforms, the PvdA had acquired "anarchist" and unrealistic pacifist aspirations.[10]

In the

Transport and Water Works. In 1972, the cabinet fell because of the opposition of DS'70 to the proposed budget. DS'70 ministers refused to accept budget cuts in their own departments. In the 1972 election, the party lost two seats, and it was confined to opposition to the PvdA-headed Den Uyl cabinet
.

Shortly after its foundation, two factions developed within DS'70, namely the social-democratic faction led by Jan van Stuijvenberg and the

anti-communist faction led by Frans Goedhart. In 1975 this division led to a conflict. The party leader Willem Drees Jr. was seen as conservatively social-democratic, lacking a willingness to reform and the ability to oppose the Den Uyl cabinet fiercely. However, Drees won the conflict, and a group of prominent members left the party. In the 1977 general election the party was left with only one seat which it lost at the 1981 general election
. In 1983, the party was officially dissolved.

Ideology

DS'70 saw itself as a

social-democratic party. Its founders thought that the mainstream Dutch social-democratic party PvdA was becoming too radical in its economic and international policy and that the New Left
was having too great an impact on the PvdA. DS'70 was a fiercely anti-communist party.

The party was

government spending
and implement the principle of profit for many government services.

The DS'70 was critical towards immigration; the party wanted to restrict the migration of Dutch citizens from Suriname. However, DS'70 was progressive on other issues: The party did support a modern natural environmental policy with strong public transport and restrained automobile use. It thought that economic growth and sustainability were compatible.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the party became more socially conservative, emphasizing family values and civic society. However, the party still saw itself as a social-democratic party focusing on solidarity and community solutions.

Linked organisations

DS'70 lacked the links with other societal organisations that many Dutch parties had. The party magazine was called Political Bulletin of DS'70, and since 1978 Buitenhof (Outer Court, in contrast with the Inner Court, the nickname of the buildings of the Dutch parliament and government). Its youth organisation was the Social Democratic Youth Active.

Important figures

House of Representatives
.

Electorate

The party was supported by former

VVD and Democrats 66 voters and undecided voters. The party was mainly supported by middle-class voters (e.g. civil servants). Unlike other left-wing parties, the DS'70 scored particularly well in more prosperous municipalities. In 1972 the party scored its best result in Rozendaal
(10.5%), where the DS'70 was almost bigger than the PvdA. In municipalities such as Wassenaar, De Bilt and Naarden the party also performed above average.

Notes

  1. ^ Vingerling en Schouten, p. 270 e.v.
  2. ^ Vingerling en Schouten, p. 275 e.v. Door DS'70 werd de synthese tussen "socialisme" en "liberalisme" omschreven met de term "sociale democratie." Hier moet echter worden opgemerkt dat er binnen DS'70 meer aandacht was voor de gemeenschap en het dienende karakter van het individu binnen het collectief dan gebruikelijk is binnen het sociaalliberalisme.
  3. ^ Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin Politics and Governance in the Netherlands, Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49
  4. ^ Vingerling en Schouten, pp. 274-275 e.v.
  5. ^ G. Voerman: Een geval van politieke schizofrenie. Het gespleten gedachtegoed van DS'70 in: Jaarboek Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen 1990, uitgegeven in 1991, pp. 100 e.v. Vgl. met name de uitspraken van vicevoorzitter J.H. Gootjes op p. 102 (noten 36, 37)
  6. PvdA
    , maar dat de partij in de latere jaren steeds verder naar rechts opschoof.
  7. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1
    . Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  8. ^ Score 4.0/10 in 2003 Chapel Hill expert survey, see Hooghe et al. (2003) Chapel Hill Survey Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0
    .
  10. ^ "Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen (DNPP) | werken aan de grenzen van het weten" (PDF).
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