In 1905 the VDB won two seats. From 1905 to 1908 the Liberal Union and the VDB formed a liberal minority cabinet led by De Meester. The cabinet was supported by socialist Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). In the 1909 elections the Christian-democratic coalitie regained its majority. The VDB lost two seats, making its total nine. In the elections of 1913 the Christian democrats lost their majority. The VDB lost four seats, because it was not the only liberal party in favour of universal suffrage; the Liberal Union and the League of Free Liberals had also included in their programmes. Furthermore, the socialist SDAP performed exceptionally well in these elections. The leader of the VDB, dr Dirk Bos, tried to form a cabinet with the liberals, free liberals, socialists and free-thinking democrats. The socialists refused to cooperate, because one of their major issues (unilateral disarmament of the Netherlands) could not be realised. A liberal extra-parliamentary cabinet was formed, led by Pieter Cort van der Linden. It implemented universal suffrage and proportional representation.