Ja21

JA21
JA21
Leader	Joost Eerdmans
Chairperson	Adrien de Boer
Leader in the House ; of Representatives	Joost Eerdmans
Leader in the Senate	Annabel Nanninga
Leader in the EP	Michiel Hoogeveen
Founders	Joost Eerdmans ; Annabel Nanninga
Founded	18 December 2020
Split from	Forum for Democracy
Headquarters	Anna van Buerenplein 41 ; 2595 DA The Hague
Membership (2024)	4,466
Ideology	Conservative liberalism; Fortuynism; Right-wing populism; Anti-immigration; Euroscepticism;
Political position	Right-wing to far-right
European Parliament group	European Conservatives and Reformists
Colours	Navy; Crimson
Senate	3 / 75
House of Representatives	1 / 150
Provincial councils	22 / 572
Municipal councils	2 / 8,522
European Parliament	1 / 29
Website
	ja21.nl
	Politics of the Netherlands; Political parties; Elections;

It was founded on 18 December 2020 by Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga after they left the Forum for Democracy (FVD) on 26 November 2020. The party, affiliated with conservative liberalism, first participated in elections in the 15–17 March 2021 general election.

History

JA21 was founded on 18 December 2020 by Eerdmans and Nanninga, after they had left the right-wing populist Forum for Democracy following an internal dispute over the party leadership's response to allegations of racism, antisemitism and homophobia against its youth wing (including glorification of Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant), as well as controversial statements made by party leader Thierry Baudet. JA21 describes itself as a "proper" right-wing party and aims to fill the gap between the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the more radical-right Party for Freedom (PVV). Party leader Joost Eerdmans had previously been a member of parliament for the Pim Fortuyn List and served as deputy mayor of Rotterdam.

According to Eerdmans, the name JA21 does not only refer to the first names of himself and Nanninga; it also stands for the 'Right Answer/Correct Answer' (het 'Juiste Antwoord') and 'Your Alternative' ('Jouw Alternatief').

On 20 December 2020, ex-Forum for Democracy MEPs Derk Jan Eppink, Rob Roos and Rob Rooken announced that they had become members of JA21. Two days later, the independent Senate group Fractie-Van Pareren – consisting of seven ex-Forum for Democracy senators – joined JA21, making it the fourth largest party in the Senate.

On 16 January 2021, the provincial group of Forum for Democracy in North Brabant split, with three members leaving Forum for Democracy to form the JA21 parliamentary group in the Provincial Council of North Brabant. As Forum for Democracy was part of the province's coalition government at the time of the split, the new JA21 parliamentary group immediately entered the coalition after talks with the other coalition members. This marked the first time that JA21 entered a coalition with other parties.

Ideology

In its platform, JA21 describes itself as both liberal and conservative with an emphasis on personal freedom, political transparency and reliable government. Initially, JA21 sought to emulate the original political platform of the Forum for Democracy party from which it split. Both political observers and the party's leadership have also referred to JA21 as being more influenced by Fortuynism, the ideology espoused by assassinated Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and his Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party. Party leader Joost Eerdmans, himself a former LPF member of parliament, has claimed that he wants JA21 to help "Fortuyn's ideas return to the House of Representatives."

JA21 states that it stands for "less regulatory burden, tax relief, a strict immigration policy and support for the entrepreneurs who make our country great". The party is strongly opposed to further integration within the European Union and the EU becoming a Federal Superstate. JA21 wants to strengthen the Netherlands' autonomy by ending influence of the EU on domestic affairs by putting "Dutch interests first" and supporting the right to national self-determination. It also supports a referendum on Dutch membership of the Eurozone, a revision of Dutch membership of EU treaties and the Schengen Agreement, and a renegotiation of Dutch membership of the EU. JA21 is also opposed to the potential accession of Turkey to the European Union. The party also wants to opt out of the EU asylum pact, regain full control over Dutch borders and expel illegal immigrants. JA21 also opposes cuts to the police budget and calls for tougher prison sentences against those who attack emergency workers and repeatedly offend. It also calls for compulsory measures for immigrants to learn Dutch, wants an end to foreign funding of mosques and Islamic schools, and states that people with dual nationality should be stripped of their Dutch citizenship if they join a foreign terrorist group. The party also supports foreign investment and maintaining free trade agreements with other nations in order to stem flows of migration and wants good relations with the United Kingdom following Brexit. JA21 also supports internet freedom and wants to protect the right to online privacy by preventing the government and big tech companies from mining personal data or breaching privacy laws. In terms of culture, the party has expressed opposition to modern architecture and supports restoring historic buildings to their original specifications. In 2022, JA21 campaigned against "de-colonisation" of Dutch history, instead arguing for the protection of national cultural heritage and for free museum admission for Dutch nationals. JA21 is also strongly pro-Israel and following the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and attacks on Israel called for those who support Hamas to be expelled from the Netherlands or prosecuted under Article 131 of the Dutch Criminal Code.

On its website, JA21 lists its beliefs as:

Immigration: in favor of copying the Danish immigration policy
Democracy: in favor of giving more power to the electorate through binding referendums
Pensions: against EU control over Dutch pensions
Security: in favor of a strong army and police, and a zero-tolerance policy for extremism
European Union: Dutch interests first, against the transfer of resources from Northern to Southern Europe; against Eurofederalism
Health care: in favor of putting the interests of patients before the interests of health insurers
Income: in favor of tax and welfare system reforms to create incentives to work
Media and culture: in favor of depoliticizing the Dutch public broadcasting system, and more money for cultural heritage
Education: against ideological homogeneity and identity politics in schools
Entrepreneurship: in favor of support for small businesses; against government deals with multinational corporations
Climate: against costly climate laws and agreements
COVID-19 pandemic: in favor of science-based policy, for public health and the economy
Culture and identity: oppose de-colonisation of Dutch history and education and preserve national heritage