The FvD's ideology and beliefs have shifted over time. During the period of its foundation in 2016, the FvD was initially described as a
national conservative,
eurosceptic and a
conservative liberal political party. The party self-identified as
liberal conservative and sat on the
right-wing of the political spectrum. During its early years, the FvD was also described as one of several contemporary conservative-populist parties in the Netherlands that have been inspired by or inherited the mantle of the defunct
Pim Fortuyn List. On its official platform, the FvD declares itself to be a movement rather than a party with a focus on protecting Dutch sovereignty, identity, and cultural and intellectual property. The party wants stricter immigration and integration policies, calling for the protection of
high culture and "
Judeo-Christian values". The FvD is also opposed to the integration of the
European Union which it claims will lead to eventual
Eurofederalism and supports a referendum on Dutch membership of EU. After establishing itself, the FvD and its platform was perceived by political commentators as a standard
Eurosceptic and
national populist political party. It was variously described as ideologically
national conservative, Both party spokespeople and outside observers dismissed labelling the FvD as a far-right party at the time of its foundation, but various political commentators in the Netherlands and abroad have since described the party as moving towards the
far-right of the spectrum. The FvD has also been accused of drawing links with the
alt-right movement with
NRC Handelsblad alleging the FvD was attempting to cultivate popularity among the alt-right in 2017, although the party did not identify itself as such at the time. In 2019, political commentators and authors began to describe the FvD as moving further to the right of the PVV following the departure of several of its founding members and adoption of more radical political stances. By 2020, observers argued that Baudet and the FvD had undergone an ideological shift and adopted rhetoric deemed
far-right. Since 2022, commentators have described the party's current program as
neo-fascist. Ahead of the
2024 European Parliament election, the FvD was claimed to be an
extreme-right party by journalist Jon Henley and
Cas Mudde, who differentiated the FvD from national-populist parties such as the PVV, French
National Rally and
Vox in Spain since these parties do not reject democracy, while the FvD has promoted conspiracy theories and called for the creation of a “countersociety.” The FvD has also been compared to the
Alternative for Germany (AfD) party whereby both the AfD and FvD started out as conservative and standard Eurosceptic movements but subsequently followed an opposite trend to other European populist parties that have moderated themselves by moving in a more hardline direction since the early 2020s and containing representatives who openly express statements considered extreme.
Domestic policy One of the major issues FvD campaigns against is the perceived existence of a "
party cartel" in which the main ruling parties of the country divide power among themselves and work towards the same goals despite claiming to be competitors. The party is also in favor of the government consisting of apolitical experts in their respective fields ("
technocracy"), and top civil servants having to reapply for their positions whenever a new cabinet is formed.
Society and culture FvD supports
high culture. It argues for the protection of Dutch culture and "European classical music, art and knowledge." It is critical of modern architecture, calling for both new government buildings to be constructed in a
neoclassical style and for city planning that "fits within a historical view." FvD also supports the establishment of a commission to protect historic monuments from destruction, wants
Frysk to be retained as a second state language, calls for schools to teach about "beautiful things that the West has produced" and supports free museum admission for all Dutch citizens. However, the party has also promoted plans to defund and privatize the
Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, a Dutch public broadcasting organization.
Social issues Historically the party has argued for equal treatment of people of different sexual orientations and was more supportive of gay rights, although it now calls for the protection of children against what it describes as "
woke and
LGBT propaganda" and supports prohibiting minors from being in Pride parades and taking hormone therapy. The FvD's current platform also calls for an end to the promotion of LGBT campaigns by government institutions, for a ban on "transgender propaganda" targeting minors and opposes flying
Pride flags from government buildings. FvD has spoken out against
feminism and has promoted traditional
gender roles such as that of the "masculine man that supports his family". The FvD also supports a retraction for all apologies made by Dutch governments for Dutch colonial history. On abortion, the FvD supported the current Dutch laws regarding abortion until 2019 and held a generally moderate voting record on the matter until a 2022 debate when it took a more socially conservative stance by referring to abortion as "inhumane" and argued the abortion limit should be reduced from 24 to 18 weeks and that it should only be possible in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother's life.
Criminal justice The party calls for a reform of the Dutch justice system, increased funding for the Dutch police force, tougher penalties against those convicted of violent crimes and where possible for non-naturalized immigrants found guilty of serious crimes to be deported and tried in their country of origin. FvD also supports deleting Articles 93 and 94 from the Dutch constitution which enables international law to take precedence above national law in some cases. FvD calls for a gradual legalization of soft drugs but also supports reducing the number of
cannabis coffee shops within the vicinity of schools.
Immigration The FvD has adopted a
nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected and presently argues for mass and incentivized
remigration of foreign nationals from the Netherlands. The party calls for a ten year freeze on issuing Dutch citizenship and residency and for Dutch withdrawal from international migration treaties. In its initial 2017 platform, the party favoured reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as
mass immigration, instead calling for a points based system for skilled immigration. It also supported an end to the
Schengen agreement and for Dutch borders to be monitored with digital and biometric technology. It also campaigned against unchecked immigration and said it would introduce a Dutch Values Protection Act. In 2018, the party said that it supported freedom of religion and called for equal treatment of all citizens regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, but expressed opposition to any further influence of
Islamic culture on Dutch society, supports a crackdown on forced or child marriages and wants to ban Islamic face veils and other face coverings. The FvD also opposes foreign funding of Islamic schools and institutions, and argues that all schools in the Netherlands should subscribe to "Judeo-Christian values." FvD also states that immigrants who do not wish to integrate should be offered incentives to return to their native country and that whenever possible asylum seekers should be processed off Dutch soil. The party also supports withdrawing the Netherlands from the UN
1951 Refugee Convention and expanding the
Royal Marechaussee to patrol Dutch borders. The FvD has gradually hardened some of its rhetoric on immigration, with party leader Baudet arguing that he does not want Europe to "Africanize." In 2024, Baudet and the FvD advocated for mass
remigration in order to maintain a "white Europe". Baudet and the party have also criticised the immigration policies of
Geert Wilders and the
PVV as being too liberal. During a speech in Belgium, Baudet said "You have to organize mass remigration, because there are already far too many people here."
Economy FvD in the economic field supports
economic liberalism. The party is a proponent of drastic changes in elementary and secondary education, focusing on performance evaluations for teachers. It wants to expand the armed forces, expanding the
National Reserve Corps and reverting defense budget cuts.
Environment The party calls for a reduction in the use of plastic, more support for the
agricultural economy, sustainable farming and tougher laws against
animal cruelty. In the spring of 2019, the party, endorsing a
climate change denialist platform, intensively campaigned against large state investments in
renewable energy, leading to a victory in the provincial elections. Later that year, it also supported protests by Dutch farmers against enforcing legislation on nitrogen emissions.
Foreign policy International relations The FvD's initial foreign policy stances aligned to
Atlanticism and pro-Western positions before moving to a more neutral attitude with the party claiming "there are no friends or enemies" in foreign policy and arguing Dutch interests must come first. In 2022, party leader Baudet claimed that NATO expansion, EU "colour revolutions" in post-Soviet states and the
Arab Spring were all part of an ambition by the United States to achieve global regime change. The FvD supports strengthening ties with
BRICS countries and for an end to Dutch sanctions on Russia.
Defence Early on, FvD held a more pro-
NATO stance but has since shifting to blaming NATO countries for the escalation of the
Russo-Ukrainian War and since the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has openly supported the Russian view of the conflict, with the party's current platform calling the invasion a "stupid NATO war against Russia." The FvD is alleged to have been among European parties who received funding from Russia to influence political debates according to a leaked report by the Czech intelligence service in 2024, although this was denied by Baudet who claimed the allegations were a "witch hunt" against the party.
Middle East Initially, the FvD held a strongly
pro-Israel attitude towards the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict and Baudet stated in 2017 that the FvD supported Israel "unconditionally" by considering the country a democratic ally. However, the party began criticizing both sides following the start of the
Gaza war and has become more critical of Israel's role with Baudet praising the pro-Palestinian
DENK's stance on the conflict. In March 2024, Baudet and DENK's
Stephan van Baarle were the only two parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives to abstain on supporting a statement against antisemitism. Baudet has described Israeli actions as "ethnic cleansing" and suggested that Israel was planning to make money by selling new housing developments in the
Gaza Strip. In 2024, Baudet expressed criticism of the
PVV and
Vlaams Belang for holding pro-Israel stances and supporting Ukraine and claimed that they consider "Israel more important than Europe."
European Union The party states that it supports protecting European civilization and wants free trade between European nations and the world but is opposed to the
European Union (EU) and the
Eurozone. The party calls for an immediate end to
EU enlargement and for the Netherlands to use every veto possible to prevent the EU from becoming a federal superstate. It also supports referendums and Dutch withdrawal from the Eurozone and the
Schengen Agreement. FvD also wants a renegotiation of Dutch membership of the EU followed by a binding referendum on EU membership and an "intelligent exit" (
Nexit) from the EU if it cannot be reformed and terms cannot be met.
Netherlands The party leader Thierry Baudet supported the idea of the
Greater Netherlands, claiming that
Flanders "actually just belongs to us". == Electoral performance ==