50PLUS
50PLUS (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvɛiftəx plʏs]; abbreviated 50+) is a political party in the Netherlands that advocates pensioners' interests with a centrist political line. The party was founded in 2009 by Maurice Koopman, Alexander Münninghoff and Jan Nagel. Since 2021, Martin van Rooijen has served as party leader.
50PLUS | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | 50+ |
| Leader | Martin van Rooijen |
| Chairman | Jorien van den Herik |
| Leader in the Senate | Martin van Rooijen |
| Founded | 2009 (Onafhankelijke Ouderen en Kinderen Unie, OokU) 9 October 2010 (current name) |
| Preceded by | Party for Justice, Action and Progress |
| Headquarters | Kneuterdijk 2, The Hague |
| Think tank | Wetenschappelijk Bureau 50PLUS |
| Membership (2023) | 2,730 |
| Ideology | Pensioners' interests Populism Soft Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Centre |
| European affiliation | European Democratic Party (2023–present) |
| Colours | Purple |
| Senate | 1 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 150 |
| King's commissioners | 0 / 12 |
| Provincial councils | 8 / 572 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 29 |
| Website | |
| 50pluspartij | |
The party first participated in the 2011 provincial elections, in which it won 9 provincial council seats, allowing it to be represented in the Senate by Nagel. Under lijsttrekker Henk Krol, the party entered the House of Representatives for the first time at the 2012 general election. On 6 May 2021, party leader Liane den Haan, its sole member in the House of Representatives, left to sit as an Independent following an internal dispute.
At the European level, 50PLUS was first affiliated with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), as its sole Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Toine Manders sat with the liberal ALDE group from 2013 to 2014. Following the 2019 European Parliament election, which saw Manders regain his seat, he sat with the conservative European People's Party group. Manders left the party in 2020 to join the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). In 2023, 50PLUS joined the European Democratic Party (EDP).