Livable Netherlands

Leefbar Nederland - LN ( "Liveable Netherlands ") was a Dutch Party, which was founded in 25 March 1999. Originally more liberal and rooted at the local level, the movement of right-wing populist thoughts took on later. 2001/2002 was their top candidate for a short time Pim Fortuyn. In 2006 it was dissolved.

The resulting as a grassroots movement was initially developed at the local level. Founder of the party at the national level included the chairman of Leefbar Hilversum, Jan Nagel, who was also the first chairman of Leefbar Nederland, the singer Henk Westbroek and radio presenter Willem van Kooten.

On 27 July 2006 it was announced that the party in the elections to the Second Chamber from 2006 does not participate and will be dissolved. Reason was an indebtedness of the party. Local parties such as Leefbar Hilversum, Leefbar Utrecht, Rotterdam or Leefbar Leefbar Delft there are still.

Objectives

Originally the party had no clear political profile, but had emerged as a bourgeois protest movement, which was unhappy with the deadlocked policy at national level and the increasingly deteriorating working and living conditions. The actions of this small town municipal parties or civic groups were occasionally left side, but most significantly rechtsauslegend, remained generally diffuse and had varying degrees of success in the different municipalities.

The protests turned mainly need to put politics back " into the hands of the people" and to allow citizens direct influence on the government, which the established parties have taken them. As the aristocratic- bourgeois elite of the 18th century, the political offices had divided among themselves, the " regent ", so this would do nowadays, the professional politicians of the established parties. To break this " cartel party ", Leefbar Nederland wanted to give the citizens the opportunity to elect their mayor and the prime minister directly. In addition, laws should be corrected by referendums.

However, these claims in the Netherlands were not entirely new; they have already been addressed by Democraten 66 and partly also of Groen Links. But Leefbar Nederland did not want to be allocated to the parties of the left and aimed at, too, " the Berufspoltiker " and "all bureaucrats " to " overthrow " and to reform the asylum policy.

Pim Fortuyn

Program and activities of Leefbar Nederland were often awkward and comparatively restrained, because the party lacked a public appeal central figure. Jan Nagel but had worked long enough in the television business to know which properties have had such a person and how it was to be found. In August 2001, he was the charismatic Pim Fortuyn, who was already elected at the congress of November 2001 on the top candidates.

This radicalized the party program. He joined the criticism of the political system with attacks on the Dutch asylum and immigration policy, and against the principles of the polder model: a modern, dynamic and cosmopolitan economy like that of the Netherlands do not need a old-fashioned " corporatism ". Workers would have no " paternalistic intervention " of the trade unions of their rights itself represented, as these would have the elites of the employers' associations and Karrierepoltiker connected, only cared about themselves and not about the real problems of the people. This shows particularly in the asylum and immigration policy. Due to the lack of integration of foreigners there had been in the big cities to insecurity, alienation and neglect, any discussion about going from " the elite " but taboo. Who anpragere this kind grievances, 'll insulted by the (of " the elite " well controlled ) media as a right-wing extremist and muzzled.

In order to break this taboo, must be deleted Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution, which prohibits discrimination and, for example, makes it difficult for him to call Islam a backward culture, while, conversely, a Muslim can say with impunity, homosexuals are worth less than pigs

These statements Fortuyn had not been discussed with the party leadership, and it came to the break. Other parties criticized Fortuyn loudly as the popularity of Fortuyn rose among parts of the population. Then Leefbar Nederland was with difficulty a new leader: Fred Teeven, a prosecutor who had indeed made ​​a crime fighter a certain name, but had no charisma.

In the elections to the Second Chamber of May 2002, the party could win only two seats, despite the promising election campaign. At the same time lost Leefbar Nederland three-quarters of his followers. Fortuyn, however, had his impressive survey results taken on his own party, founded quickly, Lijst Pim Fortuyn. This achieved, despite the murder of Fortuyn just before the election, from a standing start the second best result of all parties.

Before the elections to the Second Chamber of January 2003 was again unrest in Leefbar Nederland, as the party leadership unexpectedly Emile Ratelband proposed as new leader. Fred Teeven withdrew from the party back, and on a tumultuous running Congress the only 22 -year-old Haitske van der Linde was finally chosen as the top candidate. In the elections the party lost its two seats, after which it finally became more and more silent around them. In the First Chamber Leefbar Nederland had never been represented.

To Leefbar Nederland has ceased to participate in the national elections of 2006.

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