Editing Christian Democratic Appeal (section)

===Opposition to Purple, 1994–2002===
[[File:Tweede Kamer interpellatie Den Uyl over uitlatingen minister Brinkman in Vrij , Bestanddeelnr 932-9560.jpg|thumb|[[Elco Brinkman]] and [[Ruud Lubbers]] during a debate in 1984.]]
In the run-up to the [[1994 Dutch general election|1994 general election]], Lubbers announced he would retire from Dutch politics and had named [[Elco Brinkman]] his successor. During the campaign, Lubbers appeared to distance himself from Brinkman. Furthermore, the freezing of [[Pensions in the Netherlands|pensions]] they had included in their manifesto proved unpopular with its elderly voters. CDA lost 20 of its 54 seats.<ref name="elections 1982-1994"/> The [[1994 Dutch cabinet formation|1994 cabinet formation]] led to the first [[purple coalition]], the first time since 1918 that CDA or its predecessors were not part of a cabinet. [[Enneüs Heerma]] succeeded Brinkman as parliamentary leader and attempted to be the voice of the opposition and bring the topic of family on the political agenda, but failed in both.<ref name="elections 1994-2001">{{Cite web|url=https://cda-digitaal.dnpp.nl/perioden/1994-2001/verkiezingen-en-regering|title=Verkiezingen en regering 1994 - 2001|language=nl|access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref>

[[Jaap de Hoop Scheffer]] was selected as [[lead candidate]] for the [[1998 Dutch general election|1998 general election]].<ref name="elections 1994-2001"/> The election manifesto "You don't live together alone" ({{langx|nl|Samenleven doe je niet alleen}}) differed from previous ones, focusing on [[communitarianism]] in contrast to the [[individualism]] of the purple coalition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cda-digitaal.dnpp.nl/perioden/1994-2001/programmas|title=Programma's 1994 - 2001 |language=nl|access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref> However, De Hoop Scheffers was relatively unknown compared to his opponents, and the CDA, as a centrist party, struggled to simultaneously target both the left-wing PvdA and the right-wing VVD. It led to another loss of five seats and a continuation of the cabinet without CDA.<ref name="elections 1994-2001"/>