The Christian Democratic Appeal (Dutch: Christen-Democratisch Appèl, pronounced [krɪstə(n)deːmoːkraːtis ɑˈpɛl]; CDA) is a Christian-democraticpolitical party in the Netherlands founded in 1977, which participated in all but three governments since then. It was a merger from the Catholic People's Party (which through its antecedents had been part of every government since 1918), the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Union.
The party suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections, losing half of its seats to fall to fourth place in the House of Representatives. From 2010 to 2012 consequently, the CDA was a junior coalition partner in a right-wing minority cabinet with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), supported in parliament by the Party for Freedom (PVV). The CDA had 6 ministers in the first Rutte cabinet along with the 6 VVD cabinet ministers. Some senior offices were held. Sybrand van Haersma Buma leads the CDA in the House of Representatives and has been the new Party leader since May 18, 2012.
Christian democracy is a political ideology which emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching. It was originally conceived as a combination of traditional Catholic beliefs and modern democratic ideas, but over time it grew to incorporate a variety of views from different Christian denominations and from different political thinkers. Christian democracy continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, though throughout Europe the movement has been weakened by growing secularism.
In practice, Christian democracy is often considered centre-right on cultural, social, and moral issues (and is thus a supporter of social conservatism), while advocating a social market economy. In Europe, where Christian democrats defined their views as an alternative to the more leftist ideology of social democracy, Christian democratic parties are moderately conservative and center-right overall, whereas in the very different cultural and political environment of South America they tend to lean to the left in economical issues, and to the right in social issues.