General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations
The General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations, informally called the General League, was a Catholic political party in the Netherlands. It existed from 1904 to 1926, when it was succeeded by the Roman Catholic State Party. It is one of the ancestors of today's Christian Democratic Appeal.
Before 1904
During the 19th century, Catholics were a disadvantaged minority in the Netherlands. They enjoyed considerable independence in the southern provinces North Brabant and Limburg, where they formed 90% of the population. In the north, however, Catholics were not allowed to organise religious rallies and demonstrations. Until 1848, the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was forbidden in the Netherlands. A mix of Protestantism and nationalism, inspired by the struggle for independence against the Catholic Spanish, was a reason. Until the 1880s, the most important ally of the Catholics were the liberals, who advocated freedom of religion. Catholics supported several liberal governments but were divided between two groups: those for the progressive Herman Schaepman and those for the conservative Bernardus Marie Bahlmann. The progressives favoured a corporatist economy and extension of suffrage, but the conservatives, who represented business interests, opposed both. Meanwhile, the organisation of the Catholics was concentrated on the district or province. The Brabant electoral associations were exceptionally strong.
1904–1926
Finally, on 15 October 1904, the General League was founded as a federation of district and provincial Catholic electoral associations and parliamentarians. The 1905 general election was the first election contested by the League. It retained the same number of seats as previously held by Catholic candidates: 25 (out of 100). That number remained remarkably stable in subsequent elections. The party governed between 1908 and 1913 together with the ARP and the Protestant CHU, in the cabinet led by Theo Heemskerk. Between 1913 and 1918, the party was out of power by a liberal minority cabinet, which was preparing an important constitutional revision to solve the two most pressing political issues of the past three decades: suffrage and equal financing for religious schools. All parties were involved in the process, and in 1917, the changes were implemented.
The name "League" conveyed three things: its federative nature, as it was a federal league of electoral associations, its Roman Catholic ideology, and its opposition to partisan politics – it was a general league. The long name was not abbreviated in an acronym, but just as General League. Before the foundation of the Roman Catholic State Party in 1926 the party was also generally known under that name.
The General League was a Catholic party, which explicitly based itself on the papal encyclical Rerum novarum. In this encyclical, Pope Leo XIII expressed the principles of Catholic social teaching. It called for stronger government intervention in the economy and workers' rights. As a Catholic party, it advocated equal finances for religious and public schools. Furthermore, the party supported religious freedom for Catholics in the Northern provinces, such as the right to hold religious demonstrations. It wanted a separate envoy at the Holy See and a strong Catholic mission in the Dutch East Indies. As a Catholic social party, it was a staunch proponent of a corporatist economy, where employers' organisations, unions, and the state work together for the common good. It supported the implementation of a system of social security, protection to develop national industry, and the improvement of the position of workers. It advocated householder franchise in which only heads of families could vote.
This table shows the General League's results in elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, the chair of the parliamentary party, and the lijsttrekker, the party's top candidate in a general election; these posts are normally taken by the party's leader. It is also possible that the party leader was a cabinet member, if the General League was part of the governing coalition. The "highest ranking" minister is listed.
The General League was supported by Catholics of all classes. In North Brabant and Limburg, it often got more than 90% of the vote, and was comfortably in control of the provincial and municipal councils.
Organisational structure
The party was a loose league of electoral associations, with little party discipline. The weak party organisation was dependent on the party's parliamentary party.
Pillarised organisations
The General League had close links to many other Catholic institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church, and together they formed the Catholic pillar. These organisations included a Catholic labour union, the Catholic employers' organisation, the Catholic farmers' organisation, Catholic Hospitals united in the Yellow-White Cross, and Catholic Schools.
Relationships to other parties
The General League was allied to the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party and Christian Historical Union, in alliance called the Coalition. Their shared issue was the equal financing for religious schools by the government. The relationship with the ARP, which also supported the extension of suffrage and recognised the Catholic religion, was considerably better than with the CHU, which opposed the extension of suffrage and sought to minimise the rights of Catholics.
As a Catholic party in a predominantly Protestant country, it is similar to the German Centre Party or the Swiss Conservative People's Party. All three were committed to the emancipation of Catholics from their disadvantaged position.
