View source for Middle Class Party

{{for|the Australian party of the 1940s|Middle Class Party (Australia)}}
{{Politics of the Netherlands}}
The '''Middenstandspartij''' (in Dutch: ''Middenstandspartij'', MP) was a [[Politics of the Netherlands|Dutch]] [[political party]] representing [[middle class]] interests. It played only a marginal role in Dutch politics.

==Party History==
The MP was founded by [[Abraham Staalman]] a businessman from Amsterdam. The [[1918 Dutch general election|1918 elections]] were the first election in the Netherlands which used a system of [[proportional representation]]. With about 12,500 votes (1% of the votes) the MP won one seat, as did several other one or two person parties. After the elections the election law became more restrictive. Between 1918 and 1921, the MP cooperated in the neutral parliamentary party, with four other one or two seat parties, namely the [[Peasants' League]], the [[Economic League (Netherlands)|Economic League]], the [[Neutral Party]] and the [[Alliance to Democratise the Forces]]. The parliamentary party was led by former minister [[Willem Treub]]. In 1921 several of these parties, including the Middle Class Party merged into the [[Liberal State Party]], together with two larger liberal parties.

The Middle Class Party continued as an independent part of this new party, with a separate list for the elections (some times combined with the Neutral Party). In [[1929 Dutch general election|1929]], this special position was abolished and Staalman left the Liberal State Party to found the [[Middenpartij voor Stad en Land|Middle Party for City and Country]],<ref>Vossen, Koen, ''Vrij Vissen in het Vondelpark. Kleine politieke partijen in Nederland 1918-1940'', Wereldbibliotheek, Amsterdam</ref> which won one seat in the 1929 elections. In 1971, the [[New Middle Party]] entered in the elections, which saw itself as a continuation of the Middle Class Party.

==Ideology & Issues==
The MP was a typical special interest party. Its main goal was to represent the interests of the middle class, those "stuck between the proletariat and capital". It advocated [[progressive taxation]], reduced government interference and bureaucracy, recognition of [[employers' organization]]s and equal pension-rights for businessmen and workers.

==Leadership & Support==
This table show the MP's results in elections to the [[House of Representatives of the Netherlands|House of Representatives]] and [[Senate of the Netherlands|Senate]], as well as the party's political leadership. The fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election; these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Year
! [[House of Representatives of the Netherlands|HoR]]
! [[Senate of the Netherlands|S]]
! [[Lijsttrekker]]
! [[Fractievoorzitter]]
|-
|[[1918 Dutch general election|1918]]
|1
|0
|[[Abraham Staalman]]
|Abraham Staalman
|-
|1919
|1
|0
|''no elections''
|Abraham Staalman
|-
|1920
|1
|0
|''no elections''
|Abraham Staalman
|}

==Electorate==
The party drew most of its support from [[Amsterdam]], where Abraham Staal was a well-known figure. The party also had a seat in the city's municipal council.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Defunct political parties in the Netherlands}}

[[Category:Defunct political parties in the Netherlands]]