# JA21

JA21 (Dutch:, backronym for Juiste Antwoord 2021, lit. 'Correct Answer 2021' or 'Right Answer 2021') and statutorily called the Conservative Liberals under Dutch party registration law is a conservative-liberal and right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands, active in the House of Representatives and Senate. It currently has representation at all levels of Dutch government.
It was founded on 18 December 2020 by Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga after they left Forum for Democracy (FVD) on 26 November 2020. The party first participated in elections in the 15–17 March 2021 general election. At the European level, it is affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

## History
### Background

In November 2020, there was a series of disputes within the Forum for Democracy (FvD) party following allegations of racism, antisemitism and homophobia against its youth wing the Jongerenorganisatie Forum voor Democratie (including glorification of Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant by members of the youth wing), as well as controversial statements made by party leader Thierry Baudet. These followed earlier controversies surrounding the youth-wing which had happened in April that year. The incidents prompted several candidates and members of the FvD to criticise what they saw as the party's slow and unwilling attitude to address the problem. The conflict escalated and a number of prominent spokespeople of the FvD such as Joost Eerdmans, Annabel Nanninga, Nicki Pouw-Verweij and Eva Vlaardingerbroek resigned from the party in protest, with Pouw-Verweij arguing in an interview with De Telegraaf that Baudet and the FvD had become radicalized and more focused on conspiracy theories.
After resigning from the FvD, Eerdmans and Nanninga announced they would start afresh with a new party to contest the 2021 Dutch general election. JA21 was official founded on 18 December 2020 by Eerdmans and Nanninga who also recruited several former FvD members, staffers and representatives with Eerdmans serving as party leader. Eerdmans had prior political experience having previously been a member of parliament for the Pim Fortuyn List and served as deputy mayor of Rotterdam. At its launch, JA21 described itself as a "proper" right-wing party aiming 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). In 2021, Eerdmans declared JA21 to be a "right-wing, no-nonsense party" of "common sense" that would appeal to those "for whom the VVD is too left-wing, the PVV too right-wing and the FvD too idiotic by now" and that JA21 would stick to the "original points" of the FvD. Eerdmans furthermore stated that he wanted JA21 to inspire a return of Fortuynism to Dutch politics, which he defined as a decisive, no-nonsense and straightforward approach to decision making.
According to Eerdmans, the name JA21 would 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').

### Rise of the party

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.
During the 2021 Dutch general election in March, JA21 received 246,620 votes and elected three MPs to the House of Representatives. In the 2023 Dutch provincial elections, the party won 22 provincial seats enabling it to qualify for representation in the Senate.
In 2023, there were some unrest within the party from members who complained of lack of internal democracy. As a result, the party lost two of its three MEPs and two of its three members of the House of Representatives who joined the Farmer-Citizen Movement. During the 2023 Dutch general election, JA21 retained one seat in parliament.

## 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

## Representation
### Members of the House of Representatives

* Joost Eerdmans

### Members of the Senate

* Annabel Nanninga
* Karin van Bijsterveld [nl]
* Ruben Baumgarten

### Members of the States Provincial

| Province | Seats |
| Drenthe | 5 / 41 |
| Flevoland | 5 / 41 |
| Friesland | 1 / 43 |
| North Brabant | 3 / 55 |
| North Holland | 5 / 55 |
| South Holland | 7 / 55 |
| Utrecht | 6 / 47 |

## Election results
### House of Representatives

| Election | Lead candidate | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
| 2021 | Joost Eerdmans | List | 245,859 | 2.37 | 3 / 150 | New | Opposition |
| 2023 | Joost Eerdmans | List | 71,345 | 0.68 | 1 / 150 | 2 | Opposition |

### Senate

| Election | List | Votes | Weight | % | Seats | +/– |
| 2023 | List | 24 | 8,289 | 4.63 | 3 / 75 | New |

### European Parliament

| Election | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
| 2024 | List | 40,570 | 0.65 | 0 / 31 | New | – |