Editing Christian Union (Netherlands) (section)

===Precursors===
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond logo (1996).svg
| width1 = 130
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = Reformatorische Politieke Federatie logo (1992).svg
| width2 = 120
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = The predecessors of the CU. the [[Reformed Political League]] and the [[Reformatory Political Federation]]
}}
Along with the larger [[Anti-Revolutionary Party]] (ARP), the Netherlands has a long tradition of small orthodox or conservative Protestant (i.e., mostly [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]]) parties in parliament, including the [[Reformed Political Party]] (SGP), founded in 1918. After a group of [[Reformed Churches in the Netherlands|Reformed Churches]] members formed the [[Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated)|Reformed Churches (Liberated)]] over a religious disagreement, the [[Reformed Political Alliance]] (GPV) split off from the ARP in 1948.<ref name="rd">{{Cite news |last=Vroegindeweij |first=Gerard |date=4 January 2025 |title=Een kwarteeuw ChristenUnie: van de marge naar de macht en weer terug |trans-title=A quarter century Christian Union: From the fringes to power and back |url=https://www.rd.nl/artikel/1090693-een-kwarteeuw-christenunie-van-de-marge-naar-de-macht-en-weer-terug |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 January 2025 |work=[[Reformatorisch Dagblad]] |language=nl}}</ref> It took until [[1963 Dutch general election|1963]] for the party to enter parliament. In the [[1981 Dutch general election|1981 election]], the [[Reformatory Political Federation]] (RPF) entered parliament. It had split off from the ARP six years earlier over the formation of the [[Christian Democratic Appeal]] (CDA).

{{Politics of the Netherlands}}
The RPF explicitly stated in its manifesto of principles that it sought to unite all reformed parties in the Netherlands.<ref name="rd"/> However, the GPV and SGP were somewhat less receptive. The GPV was only open to a specific current in reformed Protestantism, namely the Reformed Churches (Liberated), and did not wish to cooperate with non-'liberated' reformed: it had rejected on religious grounds the entry of the group that in the 1970s was to become the RPF. The SGP had rejected cooperation with these parties because they had female members; the SGP consistently rejected female suffrage until 2006. The RPF, GPV and SGP were [[Testimonial party|testimonial parties]], which chose to voice their concerns about government policy, while acknowledging that they were not big enough to force their opinion upon others.

In 1984, however, the three parties cooperated in the [[1984 European Parliament election in the Netherlands|European election]] and presented a common list in order to enter the [[European Parliament]]. In the [[1989 Dutch general election|1989 general election]] they formed an [[electoral alliance]] in order to enhance their chances of obtaining seats. In 1995 informal talks were opened between the three parties. The GPV had opened itself to non-liberated members, but the SGP not to women. The discussions with the SGP were broken off and the GPV and RPF continued together. For a long time the GPV was not willing to enter a major internal debate with the RPF, which also performed better electorally; it had won three seats in the [[1998 Dutch general election|1998 election]], while the GPV received only two. From 1998 the two parliamentary parties cooperated with each other, held common meetings and appointed common spokespersons. In 1999 a group called "Transformatie" (Transformation) was set up by young people from both parties in reaction to the slow cooperation process: they tried to intensify the debate about cooperation. In the same year the cooperation talks were formalised and intensified, leading to the foundation of the Christian Union.