PARTIJ VOOR DE VRIJHEID

A conservative, anti-Muslim political party. It started as Group Wilders in Parliament, after its leader Geert Wilders (1963– ) left the liberalVolkspartij voorVrijheid en Democratie (VVD)in 2004. In the November 2006 elections, the PVVentered Parliament with nine seats (out of 150). The party claims the Judeo-Christian and human ist principles as the dominant culture, argues the necessity of an im migrationstop of non-Western asylum seekers, focuses on tax relief, is skeptical toward the European Union (EU), and is against Turkey’s bid for membership in the EU. PATRIOTS. Adherents of a political movement at the end of the 18th century who strove for more democratic participation in local and provincial government. Inspired by the American Declaration of In dependence and the writings of Richard Price, Joseph Priestley, and Thomas Paine, the Patriots criticized the oligarchic regime of the re gentsand the stadtholder, William Vof Orange, and their pro-English foreign policy. During the disastrous Fourth Anglo-Dutch War in 1780–1784, the Patriot movement gained momentum. For a while it appeared to take control, but Prussian military intervention restored William Vto power in 1787, forcing thousands of Patriots into exile in France. After the French Revolution and the declaration of war in 1793, many Patriots returned in 1795 with the conquering French Army. The Batavian Revolution ended the government of the stadtholder, who fled to England. However, the Patriots were not unanimous in their po litical views. Three different factions manifested themselves in the Na tional Assemblyas of 1 March 1796: federalists, who wanted a strong emphasis on the power of the former provinces; unitarians, who de manded a strong central executive; and moderates who sought a bal ance between provincial and central power.