New Social Contract

This article is about the political party. For the manifesto it is based on, see A New Social Contract.

New Social Contract Nieuw Sociaal Contract
Abbreviation	NSC
Leader	Pieter Omtzigt
Chairperson	Vacant
Founder	Pieter Omtzigt
Founded	19 August 2023; 16 months ago (2023-08-19)
Split from	Christian Democratic Appeal
Youth wing	Jong Sociaal Contract[1]
Membership (January 2024)	9,979[2]
Ideology	Christian democracy
Political position	Centre to centre-right
Regional affiliation	Christian Group[3]
European Parliament group	European People's Party Group[4]
Colours	Dark blue   Yellow
Senate	0 / 75
House of Representatives	20 / 150
European Parliament	1 / 31
Benelux Parliament	1 / 21
Website
partijnieuwsociaalcontract.nl
Politics of the Netherlands Political parties Elections

New Social Contract (Dutch: Nieuw Sociaal Contract [niu soːˈɕaːl kɔnˈtrɑkt]; NSC) is a political party in the Netherlands founded and led by Pieter Omtzigt.^[5]

History

In early 2021, Omtzigt wrote the manifesto A New Social Contract,^[6] with ideas for the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the party for which he served in the House of Representatives at the time.^[7] After a falling out with his party over the appointment of Wopke Hoekstra as party leader^[8] and the "Position Omtzigt, function elsewhere" note that leaked during the 2021–2022 cabinet formation, he split from the CDA in June 2021 and continued as a one-man faction in September of that year.^[9]

After the 2023 Dutch general election was announced following the fall of the fourth Rutte cabinet, Omtzigt founded New Social Contract (NSC) on 19 August 2023.^[5] His 2021 manifesto is the basis for the new party's program.^[10] On 20 August 2023, Omtzigt announced in Tubantia newspaper that he did not strive for NSC to become the largest party in the general election in November that year. If that does happen, he did not want to become prime minister, but to remain in the House of Representatives as parliamentary leader.^[9] After the party's candidate list was presented, Omtzigt no longer ruled out premiership.^[11]

CDA prominent Eddy van Hijum became chairman of the committee that would write the party's manifesto ahead of the 2023 general election.^[12] Former VVD hopeful Onno Aerden was introduced as the party's spokesperson on 12 September 2023, but he stepped down a few hours later when a tweet resurfaced in which he had referred to the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) as "a tumor that destroys the fragile democracy from within".^[13] On 2 October, NSC announced the resignation of its co-founder and inaugural chairman Hein Pieper, after the revelation of a past allegation of abuse of power.^[14]

Party leader Pieter Omtzigt and Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok at the first NSC membership meeting on 10 November 2023

Until 28 August 2023, the party offered people who endorsed the party's principles the opportunity to apply online for a seat in the House of Representatives. It was later announced that around 2,400 candidates had registered.^[15] NSC presented a list of 44 candidates on 26 September 2023. It includes several former members of parliament, such as Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok, Eddy van Hijum, Wytske Postma, and Folkert Idsinga, as well as people without political experience, including a judge, a pensions expert, a public prosecutor, a former ambassador, a microbiologist/columnist, a director of a housing corporation, civil servants, and businesspeople.^[16][17]

NSC won twenty seats in the 22 November general election, entering the House as the fourth largest party, while the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) received a plurality. Omtzigt had told during the campaign that NSC would be unwilling to form a coalition government with the PVV and Forum for Democracy (FvD), as he felt they did not meet the "basic conditions of the rule of law".^[18] Following government formation talks with the PVV, VVD, and BBB, Omtzigt left open the possibility for an extraparliamentary cabinet. The four parties struck a coalition agreement in May 2024 after Omtzigt had once stepped out of the talks due to concerns about government finances.^[19]

Ideology and positions

NSC has been described as centre^[20] to centre-right,^[21] anti-establishment,^[22][23] Christian democratic^{[24][25][26][27]} and close to communitarian philosophy.^[27] Article 2 of the party's statutes speak of "personal responsibility, family and communities and distributed private property" as founding principles, while an accompanying programme of principles mentions notions including personalism, virtue ethics and the social market economy.^[28] The party is also critical of neoliberalism and believes that neoliberal tendencies in Dutch economy should be reined in.^[29]

"Good governance" and "social security" are the party's primary concerns.^[10] Policies regarding good governance include the establishment of a constitutional court and instituting a regional electoral system similar to that of Sweden.^[30][31] With regard to social security, the party proposes revising the living wage to aid people living on low incomes.^[32]

While the NSC has been compared to the centre-left GroenLinks–PvdA alliance in terms of social issues, the party has a more conservative attitute towards immigration. Omtzigt proposed a two-status system that would apply different admission criteria to asylum seekers and economic migrants. He also stated that the current figure of the Netherlands accepting more than 100,000 immigrants per year is too high, and the party aims to limit net migration to no more than 50,000 per year.^[29][33] On its platform, NSC supports reforms to asylum laws such as limiting the duration asylum seekers can be in the Netherlands and faster deportation of rejected asylum cases. The party also supports limits and stricter quotas for the number of foreign students in the Netherlands and wants Dutch to be reinstated as the standard language of the university system, with exceptions for certain postgraduate degrees.^[34]

In foreign policy, NSC aspires to continue intensive cooperation within Europe. The idea is that by working together, the Netherlands gets a better grip on cross-border problems such as migration, CO2 emissions and the power of big tech. Nevertheless, NSC also sees the need to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of European legislation and calls for the European Union to be more transparent and accountable to European citizens. According to its party manifesto, European decision-making must become more transparent and be more focused on upholding the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Ultimately, Omtzigt has vowed for a firm stance from the Netherlands in Europe, without creeping transfers of budgets and powers eroding national sovereignty and democratic control, and argues that the Netherlands should protect its interests on the European stage.^[35] The party also calls for no more Dutch participation in Eurozone bailouts, less EU influence on Dutch taxation policies and for the Netherlands to opt-out of EU agreements it deems contradictory to Dutch interests. NSC supports Dutch NATO membership and argues for the Netherlands to meet the standard of at least 2% of GDP on defense.^[36]

In 2024, the NSC voted in favour of a motion tabled in the House of Representatives by the Reformed Political Party (SGP) to abolish the so-called “transgender law” which had been brought in under the previous Dutch government and would enable people under the age of 16 to legally change their gender without a verdict from a doctor. In a statement, the party said “We are absolutely not against changing sex, but it should not be too easy either" and argued that changes in the law would create loopholes allowing male criminals to access women's prisons.^[37]

Electorate

According to market researcher I&O Research, NSC attracts voters from parties across the political spectrum, including the Socialist Party, JA21, BBB, and PVV.^[38] Polls in late August 2023 showed that it was the most popular party, with 40% of its electorate coming from BBB, reducing that party's vote share by more than a third.^[39][40][41]

Leadership

Party leader

• Pieter Omtzigt (since 19 August 2023)

Party chair

• Hein Pieper (24 August 2023 – 2 October 2023)^[42]
• Bert van Boggelen (acting, 2 October 2023 – 31 July 2024)^[43]

Electoral results

House of Representatives

See also: List of members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2023–present

Election	Lead candidate	List	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
2023	Pieter Omtzigt	List	1,343,287	12.88	20 / 150	New	Coalition

European Parliament

Election	List	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
2024	List	233,564	3.75	1 / 31	New	EPP

See also

• Social contract
• A New Social Contract

References

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2. "Ledentallen Nederlandse politieke partijen per 1 januari 2024" [Membership of Dutch political parties as of 1 January 2024]. University of Groningen (in Dutch). Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
3. "Politieke fracties". beneluxparl.eu. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
4. "EPP Group welcomes new members". eppgroup.eu. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
5. Adams, Kelly (20 August 2023). "Pieter Omtzigt begint eigen partij en doet mee aan de verkiezingen". Tubantia (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 August 2023.
6. Omtzigt, Pieter Herman (23 February 2021). Een nieuw sociaal contract (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Prometheus. ISBN 9789044648058.
7. Hanna, Marc (22 May 2021). "Een Nieuw Sociaal Contract: Omtzigts Belangrijkste Politieke Lessen En Aanbevelingen". Interruptie (in Dutch). Christian Democratic Youth Appeal. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
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20. • "Netherlands". Europe Elects. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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24. Graafland, Johan (28 August 2023). "Op naar een nieuwe en sociale christendemocratie". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
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29. Senay Boztas; Pjotr Sauer (14 November 2023). "Pieter Omtzigt: centrist outsider who wants to remake Dutch politics in his own image". theguardian.com. Amersfoort.
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32. "Bestaanszekerheid". Nieuw Sociaal Contract (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
33. "Verkiezingsprogramma Omtzigt: geen gratis kinderopvang, maximaal 50.000 migranten". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 24 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
34. "Een houdbare migratie". Retrieved 11 January 2024.
35. Nieuw Sociaal Contract, Verkiezingsprogramma 2023: Tijd voor herstel, https://storage.googleapis.com/groep-pieter-website/NSC_verkiezingsprogramma_2023_v3.pdf
36. "Stabiliteit in Europa en de wereld". Retrieved 11 January 2024.
37. "The Netherlands hardens stance as transgender law voted down". Retrieved 29 September 2024.
38. Goot, Edo van der (20 August 2023). "Stemmenkanon Pieter Omtzigt vaart ook met nieuwe partij zijn eigen koers". NU.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
39. Kanne, Peter; Schelde, Asher van der (26 August 2023). "I&O zetelpeiling: Kiezers enthousiast over Nieuw Sociaal Contract" (in Dutch). I&O Research. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
40. Hond, Maurice de (26 August 2023). "Nieuw Sociaal Contract op 1e plaats met 29 zetels". Maurice.nl (in Dutch). Maurice de Hond. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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External links

• Media related to Nieuw Sociaal Contract at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website