GroenLinks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids GroenLinks GroenLinks
Abbreviation	GL
Leader	Jesse Klaver
Chair	Katinka Eikelenboom
Leader in the Senate	Paul Rosenmöller (GL–PvdA)
Leader in the House of Representatives	Frans Timmermans (GL–PvdA)
Leader in the European Parliament	Bas Eickhout
Founded	24 November 1990 (1990-11-24) (as a party)
Merger of	Rainbow: PSP, CPN, PPR and EVP
Headquarters	Partijbureau GroenLinks Sint Jacobsstraat 12, Utrecht
Think tank	Bureau de Helling
Youth wing	DWARS
Membership (2024)	40,621
Ideology	Green politics Social democracy
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	GroenLinks–PvdA
Regional affiliation	Socialists, Greens and Democrats
European affiliation	European Green Party
International affiliation	Global Greens
European Parliament group	Greens–European Free Alliance
Colours	Green      Red
Provincial councils	49 / 570
European Parliament	3 / 29
King's Commissioners	0 / 12
Benelux Parliament	2 / 21

GroenLinks (which means "GreenLeft" in Dutch) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It focuses on protecting the environment and promoting social fairness.

The party was formed on 1 March 1989. It was created by combining four different left-wing parties. These parties were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party. They all shared similar ideas about being progressive and left-leaning. Before merging, they worked together in a group called Rainbow for the 1989 European Parliament election.

After some tough elections in 1989 and 1994, GroenLinks did very well in 1998 and 2002. This was when Paul Rosenmöller was their leader. He was seen as a strong voice against the government at the time. The party's number of seats in parliament changed over the years. It went from 10 seats down to 4 in 2012, then up to 14 in 2017, and back to 8 in 2021.

Since the 2021 election, GroenLinks has been working closely with the Labour Party (PvdA). They formed an alliance called GroenLinks–PvdA. In the 2023 general election, they ran together and now have a combined group of 25 seats in parliament.

GroenLinks describes itself as "green," "social," and "tolerant." Many of its voters live in bigger cities, especially in places with universities.

Understanding GroenLinks: History and Beginnings

How GroenLinks Started: Before 1989

GroenLinks was created in 1989. It was a merger of four smaller parties that were more to the left than the main Labour Party (PvdA). The founding parties were:

• The Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN).
• The Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), which came from the peace movement.
• The Political Party of Radicals (PPR), a Christian party that cared about green politics.
• The Evangelical People's Party (EVP), another progressive Christian group.

These parties were often called "small left" because they were not very big. In the 1970s, they started working together more often. This was because they wanted to have a bigger impact.

From the 1980s, these four parties began to cooperate in local elections. In 1984, the PPR, CPN, and PSP formed the Green Progressive Accord for the European elections. They won one seat, which they shared. Members of these parties also joined forces in protests against nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Many members of the PSP, CPN, and PPR took part in big protests in 1981 and 1983.

The EVP was a newer party, started in 1981. It struggled to find its place among the other parties.

Working together closely led to some disagreements within the original parties. Some members left to form new groups. For example, some CPN members formed the League of Communists in the Netherlands. In 1986, all four parties lost seats in the general election. The CPN and EVP even lost all their seats in parliament. This made the pressure to cooperate even stronger.

In 1989, the PPR, CPN, and PSP ran together in the European Parliament election under the name "Rainbow." Many members of the PSP voted to support this cooperation. Important people from trade unions, environmental movements, and the arts also supported the idea of a single progressive party.

Formal talks began in 1989. This time, the EVP was included. In the summer of 1989, all four parties agreed to run in the upcoming general elections with a shared plan. They also created the "GroenLinks Association" for new supporters. The party GroenLinks was officially founded on 24 November 1990.

Building the Party: 1989–1994

1989 election poster showing the old logo. The pink lines and blue spaces form a peace sign.

In the 1989 elections, the PPR, PSP, CPN, and EVP ran as "Groen Links." They doubled their seats from three to six. However, they had hoped for even more. In the 1990 local elections, the party did much better, which encouraged them to continue working together.

Between 1989 and 1991, the merger became stronger. A new board was set up for the party. The youth groups of the original parties also merged to form DWARS. In 1991, the four founding parties officially decided to end their separate existence.

GroenLinks faced challenges in defining its own beliefs. In 1990, an attempt to write the party's first main document failed. This was because of differences between the socialists and communists on one side, and the more liberal former PPR members on the other. A second document was finally approved in 1991 after much discussion.

Even though the party had internal disagreements, GroenLinks was the only party in the Dutch parliament that opposed the Gulf War. This led to a debate within the party about military action. They decided to support peacekeeping missions only if they were approved by the United Nations.

In 1992, party leader Ria Beckers left parliament. She wanted more private time.

Growing as an Opposition Party: 1994–2002

1994 election posters showing the duo Rabbae/Brouwer. The text says: "GroenLinks counts double."

Before the 1994 general election, GroenLinks held an internal election for its leaders. Two pairs of candidates ran: Ina Brouwer with Mohammed Rabbae, and Paul Rosenmöller with Leoni Sipkes. Brouwer and Rabbae won. Brouwer became the main candidate. However, the idea of having two main candidates was not clear to voters. GroenLinks lost one seat, ending up with five.

After the election, Brouwer left parliament. Paul Rosenmöller became the new party leader. He became known as the "unofficial leader" of the opposition. This was because the largest opposition party was struggling in its new role. Rosenmöller decided that GroenLinks should offer its own solutions, not just reject government ideas.

In the 1998 general election, GroenLinks more than doubled its seats to eleven. Rosenmöller's leadership was a big reason for this success. Many new faces joined parliament, including Femke Halsema, a talented politician. The party started to think about joining the government after the 2002 elections.

The 1999 Kosovo War caused disagreements within the party. The parliamentary group in the House of Representatives supported the NATO action. However, the Senate group was against it. A compromise was reached: GroenLinks would support the action if it only targeted military sites. Some founding members left the party because of this issue.

In 2001, the party supported the invasion of Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11. This also caused a lot of debate within the party. Under pressure from members, the party changed its stance.

Recent Years: 2002–Present

The 2002 general election was a time of big changes in Dutch politics. A new politician, Pim Fortuyn, gained popularity with an anti-establishment message. He was sadly assassinated days before the election. GroenLinks leader Paul Rosenmöller also faced threats. These events put a lot of stress on Rosenmöller. GroenLinks lost one seat in the election.

Before the 2003 general election, Rosenmöller left parliament due to the threats against his family. Femke Halsema became the new leader. The party lost two more seats.

In 2003, GroenLinks strongly opposed the Iraq War. They took part in protests against the war.

Halsema began a discussion about the party's core beliefs. She highlighted individual freedom, tolerance, and emancipation. She even called her party "the last liberal party of the Netherlands" in an interview. This led to a lot of talk about a possible change in the party's direction. In 2008, the party adopted a new set of principles.

In 2008, a GroenLinks politician, Wijnand Duyvendak, resigned. This happened after he admitted to breaking into a government building years ago to steal plans for nuclear power plants. Jolande Sap replaced him.

In 2009, Judith Sargentini was elected as the new main candidate for the European elections.

On 18 April 2010, the party chose its candidates for the 2010 general election. Femke Halsema was re-elected as party leader. The party won 10 seats. Halsema resigned after talks to form a government failed. Jolande Sap took over as leader.

In the 2012 general election, GroenLinks lost six seats, ending up with only four. Sap resigned, and Bram van Ojik became leader. He then passed the role to Jesse Klaver in 2015. Under Klaver, GroenLinks grew in popularity. They reached a high of 14 seats in the 2017 general election. The party tried to form a government with other parties, but talks failed.

GroenLinks lost seats in the 2021 general election. They then decided to work even more closely with the Labour Party. In 2023, both parties agreed to run together as GroenLinks–PvdA in the general elections.

Party Identity: Name and Logo

The name "GroenLinks" (meaning "GreenLeft") was a compromise. The PPR wanted "Green" in the name, while the CPN and PSP wanted "Left." The name shows the party's main goals: protecting the environment and promoting social fairness.

Before 1989, the parties used other names for their joint lists. In 1984, they were called the Green Progressive Accord. In 1989, they used the name Rainbow.

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  Logo from 1989 to 1994

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  Current logo

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  Variant logo

What GroenLinks Believes In: Ideology and Goals

Core Beliefs of GroenLinks

GroenLinks combines green and left-wing ideas. Their main beliefs are written in their "Party for the Future" program. The party sees itself as part of the freedom-loving tradition of the left. Its key principles include:

• Protecting the Earth, its ecosystems, and treating animals with respect.
• Sharing natural resources fairly among all people and future generations.
• Ensuring a fair distribution of income and equal chances for everyone to work, get care, education, and enjoy free time.
• Building a diverse society where everyone can take part freely. The party values openness and community.
• Making international laws stronger to ensure peace and respect for human rights.

These beliefs show how the four founding parties came together. They came from different backgrounds, including progressive Christian, socialist, and communist traditions. By the 1970s and 1980s, all these parties had started to care about environmentalism and feminism. They all wanted more democracy and opposed new nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons in the Netherlands.

Former party leader Femke Halsema started a discussion about the party's direction. She emphasized freedom as a key value. She described her approach as "left-liberal." She believes in two types of freedom:

• Negative freedom: This is freedom from government control. She applies this to a diverse society and the legal system, where the government should protect citizens' rights.
• Positive freedom: This is freedom from poverty and discrimination. She applies this to the welfare state and the environment, where the government should take more action.

Halsema believes GroenLinks is a party that doesn't stick to old, strict rules.

What GroenLinks Wants to Achieve

The party's plan for the 2010 elections was called "Prepared for the Future." It focused on international cooperation, improving the welfare system, environmental policies, and social tolerance.

GroenLinks sees itself as a "social reform party." It wants to improve government finances and help people who are often left out of the job market. This includes young migrants, single parents, temporary workers, and people with disabilities.

Unlike some other parties, GroenLinks doesn't just want to keep the current welfare system. They believe it doesn't do enough to help those in need find work and participate in society. They want to change the system to benefit "outsiders."

To create more jobs, GroenLinks suggests a "participation contract." This means people receiving unemployment benefits would agree to do volunteer work, get training, or gain work experience. They would be paid at least the minimum wage. The party also wants to lower taxes on lower-paid jobs and increase taxes on pollution. This would encourage cleaner energy. They want to invest in education, especially vocational training. To help migrants find jobs, they want to fight discrimination in the workplace. The party also wants to reduce income differences. They support changes to government pensions.

International cooperation is very important to GroenLinks. They want to increase spending on development aid to help poorer countries. They want to open European markets to goods from developing countries, but only if they follow fair trade rules. They also want more international control over financial markets. GroenLinks supports European integration but is critical of some current European policies. They want to strengthen the peacekeeping powers of the United Nations.

GroenLinks wants to solve environmental problems like climate change. They want to encourage alternative energy through taxes and emissions trading. They want to close all nuclear plants in the Netherlands. They also want to tax coal use to discourage new coal power plants. The party wants to encourage energy saving. They want to invest in clean public transport instead of expanding highways. They also want to encourage organic farming and protect animal rights in the Constitution.

GroenLinks values individual freedom and the rule of law. They want to protect privacy online. They also want to change copyright laws to allow non-commercial use of content. In the long term, they want to abolish the monarchy and create a republic. They also support liberal immigration and asylum policies.

In their 2021 election plan, GroenLinks stated they want to introduce a basic income for all Dutch citizens within eight years.

How GroenLinks Performs in Elections

Results in the House of Representatives

Election	Lead candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1989	Ria Beckers	362,304	4.1 (#6)	6 / 150	3	Opposition
1994	Ina Brouwer	311,399	3.5 (#6)	5 / 150	1	Opposition
1998	Paul Rosenmöller	625,968	7.3 (#5)	11 / 150	6	Opposition
2002		660,692	7.0 (#5)	10 / 150	1	Opposition
2003	Femke Halsema	495,802	5.1 (#6)	8 / 150	2	Opposition
2006		453,054	4.6 (#6)	7 / 150	1	Opposition
2010		628,096	6.7 (#7)	10 / 150	3	Opposition
2012	Jolande Sap	219,896	2.3 (#8)	4 / 150	6	Opposition
2017	Jesse Klaver	959,600	9.1 (#5)	14 / 150	10	Opposition
2021		537,584	5.2 (#7)	8 / 150	6	Opposition
2023	Frans Timmermans	1,643,073	15.8 (#2)	13 / 150	5	TBD

Results in the Senate

Election	Votes	Weight	%	Seats	+/–
1991				4 / 75	1
1995				4 / 75
1999				8 / 75	4
2003		10,866	6.7 (#4)	5 / 75	3
2007		9,074	5.6 (#6)	4 / 75	1
2011		10,757	6.5 (#7)	5 / 75	1
2015	30	9,520	5.6 (#7)	4 / 75	1
2019	65	19,363	11.2 (#4)	8 / 75	4
2023	55	17,313	9.67 (#3)	7 / 75	1

Results in the European Parliament

Election	List	Vote	%	Seats	+/–	Notes
1994	List	154,362	3.74 (#6)	1 / 31	1
1999	List	419,869	11.85 (#4)	4 / 31	3
2004	List	352,201	7.39 (#4)	2 / 27	2
2009	List	404,020	8.87 (#6)	3 / 25	1
				3 / 26
2014	List	329,906	6.98 (#8)	2 / 26	1
2019	List	599,283	10.90 (#5)	3 / 26	1
				3 / 29

Results in Provincial Councils

Election	Votes	%	Seats	Change	Involved in Executives
1991			36 / 758
1995			34 / 758	2
1999			50 / 764
2003			37 / 564		1 / 12
2007			33 / 564	4	2 / 12
2011		6.30% (7th)	34 / 566	1	2 / 12
2015	324,572	5.35% (7th)	30 / 570	4	2 / 12
2019	783,006	10.76% (4th)	61 / 570	31	8 / 12
2023	694,678	8.96% (3rd)	51 / 533	10	5 / 11

Results in Municipalities

GroenLinks has 9 mayors out of 351 in Dutch municipalities. In the 2022 Dutch municipal elections, GroenLinks won 522 seats. This was the most seats the party had ever won at the local level.

GroenLinks in Parliament

Senate group leader Paul Rosenmöller

European Parliament delegation leader Bas Eickhout

Members of the European Parliament

Here are the current members of the European Parliament from GroenLinks since the 2019 European Parliamentary election:

• Bas Eickhout (main candidate)
• Tineke Strik
• Kim van Sparrentak

Who Votes for GroenLinks?

A survey from 2006 showed that more women vote for GroenLinks than men. The party is also popular among gay voters. It also gets a lot of support from migrant voters, especially those from Turkey and Morocco.

GroenLinks voters have unique views on certain policies. Between 1989 and 2003, they were considered the most left-wing voters in the Netherlands. They support sharing wealth, welcoming asylum seekers, and a diverse society. They are also strongly against building new nuclear plants.

GroenLinks has the second-highest number of vegan or vegetarian voters among Dutch political parties. Surveys in 2021 showed that 8.4% to 16.9% of GroenLinks voters do not eat meat. The Party for the Animals had the highest percentage of vegan/vegetarian voters.

Party Style and Campaigns

The GroenLinks logo has the word "Green" in red and "Left" in green. This has been the design since 1994. Before that, from 1989 to 1994, the logo featured a peace sign on a green triangle.

Many well-known Dutch people have supported GroenLinks campaigns. For example, in 1989, choreographer Rudi van Dantzig and writer Astrid Roemer were "last candidates" (a symbolic position on the election list). In 2006, comedian Vincent Bijlo and MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg held this position. Other famous supporters have included singers, poets, journalists, actors, and athletes.

Since 2007, GroenLinks has used a "permanent campaign" approach. This means they do campaign activities even when there isn't an election coming up. The goal is to keep people interested and informed about the party's ideas.

In 2008, GroenLinks strongly supported the introduction of guerrilla gardening in the Netherlands. This was part of their ongoing campaign efforts.

Former party office of GroenLinks in Utrecht

How GroenLinks is Organized

Party Structure

The highest decision-making body of GroenLinks is the party congress. All members can attend. The congress elects the party board and decides on candidates for elections. It also has the final say on the party's main plan. The congress meets at least once a year.

The party board has fifteen members. The chairperson is the only paid position. The board handles daily tasks and meets regularly.

When the congress is not meeting, a party council takes over its role. This council has 80 representatives from the party's local branches. The party board and elected representatives are accountable to this council.

GroenLinks has rules for its Members of Parliament (MPs). For example, MPs cannot serve more than three terms. Also, a part of their income goes to the party.

GroenLinks has 250 local branches across the Netherlands. These branches have a lot of freedom to run their own campaigns and choose their candidates. The total number of GroenLinks members has been growing steadily. In January 2007, they had 23,490 members.

There are also several independent groups connected to GroenLinks:

• DWARS: The party's youth organization.
• De Linker Wang ("The Left Cheek"): A group for religion and politics, formed by former members of the Evangelical People's Party.
• Scientific Bureau GroenLinks: The party's independent research group, which publishes "De Helling."
• PinkLeft: An LGBT organization for GroenLinks members.

GroenLinks is also active internationally. It helped create the European Green Party and the Global Greens. Its members in the European Parliament are part of The Greens–European Free Alliance group. GroenLinks also works with other Dutch parties to support democracy in developing countries.

Working with Other Parties

GroenLinks started as a medium-sized party to the left of the Labour Party (PvdA). When the Socialist Party (SP) entered parliament in 1994, GroenLinks found itself in the middle of the Dutch left. It is between the more left-leaning SP and the more central PvdA.

This position is shown by Femke Halsema's call for a left-wing government after the 2006 elections. GroenLinks has formed alliances with both the SP and the PvdA in different elections. For example, they worked with the SP in 1998, 2002, and 2006. They worked with the PvdA in the 2004 European elections. More and more, GroenLinks is seen as the most progressive of the three parties on social and cultural issues.

Images for kids

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  2006 election posters showing Halsema. The text reads: Grow along, GroenLinks. The turret is the official working office of the Dutch Prime Minister.