Dutch ALDE member party Democraten 66 held their Congress virtually on Saturday 28 November where they adopted their electoral manifesto ahead of the parliamentary elections in the Netherlands scheduled for March 2021

The 112^th Congress, broadcast online via Youtube, also featured topical roundtable discussions on current affairs and coronavirus, and on building an inclusive society with input from MEP Samira Rafaela. But the main event was the adoption of the party’s electoral programme entitled ‘Een nieuw begin’ ('A new beginning').

In her speech to conclude the Congress, party leader Sigrid Kaag said: “There is no more time for delay, we no longer have the luxury for hesitant politicians who run away when it comes down to it. The corona crisis could be a turning point. We have the technology. We have the conviction and the people. We have the opportunity to drastically improve our way of life. And we know what we can achieve.”

“I'm not talking about easy slogans that glorify the past, such as 'The Netherlands belongs to us again' for example. Or: 'The Netherlands must remain the Netherlands'. Those are the slogans of a politics without a future. A politics that lives on fear, but offers people no perspective,” she said.

“That must come to an end now. Too much is at stake in these elections. The question is not whether the Netherlands can still remain the Netherlands. The question is whether the Netherlands can become the Netherlands again.”

Greetings were received from representatives of ALDE Party members, including from Annie Lööf, leader of Centerpartiet, Sweden; Sofie Nielsen Carlsen, leader of Radikale Venstre, Denmark; Sir Ed Davey, leader of the UK Liberal Democrats; and Predrag Kojović, leader of Naša stranka, Bosnia Herzegovina.

Photo credit: D66