MPs vote to fly rainbow flag at parliament for first time

The rainbow flag will fly at the Dutch parliament building on Sunday, Coming Out Day, after MPs overturned a decision by managers of parliament to drop the plan.
MPs backed the move by 90 votes to 36 in a vote late on Thursday night, public broadcaster NOS reported.

Parliament’s presidium, which runs its day-to-day affairs, initially agreed to the plan but changed its mind after Christian parties were told about the plan, RTL Nieuws reported on Thursday.

The orthodox Protestant SGP led the objections. “The rainbow flag is not a national flag but a flag of interest groups, which has grown into a symbol of activism,” SGP MP Diederik van Dijk told NOS.

Roll-call vote
Kati Piri, MP for opposition party Pro, then tabled a motion saying parliament should “stand up for the rights of the global LGBTI movement” and ensure “an inclusive working environment” for its staff.

Van Dijk responded by demanding a roll-call vote, in which each MP votes individually rather than by party. That meant MPs who had already gone home on Thursday had to return to The Hague.

Most MPs from D66, the VVD, CDA, PRO, PvdD, SP, ChristenUnie, 50PLUS and Volt voted in favour. The anti-immigration PVV, far-right Forum for Democracy (FVD), Denk and the SGP voted against, while MPs from JA21 and the Markuszower group were absent.

Purple Friday
The vote came on the eve of Purple Friday (Paarse Vrijdag), when schools mark LGBTI acceptance. This year it is being held in October for the first time, having been moved from December at the request of schools.

A record 3,130 schools have signed up, including 2,130 primary schools, compared with 2,890 last year, LGBTI rights organisation COC told news agency ANP.

The COC linked the rise to a survey published last month that found acceptance of homosexuality has slumped among teenagers. Only 22% of secondary school boys and 51% of girls now have a positive view, down from 40% and 78% in 2021.