The New Middle Party is a Dutch

Politics of the Netherlands

The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...

 small business

Small business

A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

-interest political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

. The NMP is a marginal party and was only successful during the 1971 elections.

History

The NMP was founded in 1970. It entered in the 1971 elections

Dutch general election, 1971

The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on April 28, 1971.-National summary:turnout: 79.1%...

, and won two seats. Several months after the elections one of its MPs, De Jong, came into conflict with the party's chair, Te Pas, because he was involved in law suits over corruption. De Jong continued as independent MP. In the 1972 election

Dutch general election, 1972

The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 29, 1972.-National summary:...

 the party won no seats.

The party continues to exist and unsuccessfully competed in the 2002 election

Dutch general election, 2002

The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....

.

Name

The party saw itself as the continuation of the pre-war Middle Class Party, as such it styled itself as "New Middleclass Party" or "New Middle Party".

Ideology & Issues

The NMP is a party for businesspeople

Businessperson

A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...

 and shopkeepers. It also appeals to forgotten groups like the elderly, unmarried and disabled. It wants to spread taxes and benefits more equally between social groups. It is fiscally conservative

Fiscal conservatism

Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...

 and seeks to reduce bureaucracy

Bureaucracy

A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

 and government debt

Government debt

Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...

. Meanwhile it wants to protect the value of old age pensions and increase spending on healthcare. Furthermore it wants to end "car bullying", that is taxes on petrol, driven kilometers and car-purchases. It advocates limited migration into the EU and cutting spending on development cooperation.

Representation

This table show the NMP's results in elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.

Year	HoR	S	Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of...	Fractievoorzitter
1971	2	0	Albert te Pas	Albert te Pas

Electorate

The NMP was supported in the 1971 elections by floating voters, especially those who supported a similar party, the Farmers' Party

Farmers' Party (Netherlands)

The Farmers' Party was a Dutch agrarian political party, with a strong conservative outlook and a populist appeal. The BP was the first anti-establishment party elected into the Dutch House of Representatives after the Second World War.-Foundation:The precise foundation date of the BP is not known...

 during the 1967 elections

Dutch general election, 1967

A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on 15 February 1967.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...

.

International Comparison

As a protest party of the middle class the NMP is comparable to the Norwegian

Progress Party (Norway)

The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...

 or Danish progress parties

Progress Party (Denmark)

The Progress Party is a political party in Denmark, which was founded in 1972. Its founder, the former lawyer Mogens Glistrup, gained huge popularity in Denmark after he appeared on Danish television, showing that he paid 0 % in income tax...

, they were however far more successful.