If there is ever a full merger between PvdA and GroenLinks, a few practical things will have to be arranged first. For example: what should that party be called? And, more importantly, who is going to lead her? I foresee endless nagging about this, because left-wing people don’t easily agree with each other, unless they judge right-wing people.
The naming seems of minor importance, but could well be a minefield where whole limbs are cruelly torn off. Which name comes first: the PvdA or GroenLinks and what is the indicator? The last election or the most recent polls?
Or should there be a new name because ‘PvdA/GroenLinks’ is difficult to pronounce? I brainstormed with myself about a new name, based on the old names. I didn’t get much further than ‘Green PvdA’ and ‘Green together’. Something with ‘red’ maybe? ‘Red-green’ or ‘Green-red’? It reminds me too much of ‘scarlet fever’, which is a highly contagious and dangerous disease.
You won’t win elections with that, so just a new name? “The Party for Equality” (if the PvdA is the largest), “The Environmental Party” (if GroenLinks dominates)? It’s possible, but it’s not pretty.
After much mulling over, I came to the regrettable conclusion that only one name would really be suitable, were it not for the fact that it had already been invented before: New Left. For younger readers: The New Left was an influential renewal movement in the PvdA from 1966 to 1971, including André van der Louw and Han Lammers.
Well, you could make it ‘New Green’, but how do you sell that to a party full of ‘red women’? I can’t figure it out and therefore reluctantly venture into an even more difficult problem: who will be the new party leader? You can think of so many idealistic program points, without an appealing leader you will get nowhere.
From a recent survey by One today among thousands of voters from both parties, this ranking emerged: 1. Ahmed Aboutaleb. 2. Frans Timmermans. 3. Jesse Clover. 4. Attje Chick. 5. Femke Halsema. Both the PvdA and GroenLinks preferred Aboutaleb the greatest. That surprised me, because I suspect that the electoral chances are greater with Timmermans. With his verbal skills and much broader political experience, he seems to me better equipped for a sharp election campaign than the more formal Aboutaleb. Moreover, Timmermans has already proven that he can win elections for the PvdA.
But maybe I also have a soft spot for Timmermans since I’ve noticed that he likes to read literature. This is rare among politicians, even though Aboutaleb was chairman of the jury at the Libris Literature Prize. Timmermans reminds me of Joop den Uyl in this. Recently, when accepting the Peace of Nijmegen Penning, he gave a speech about war and peace in Europe in which he concluded: “Literature, art, culture are not a luxury in this regard, but essential in understanding the human species. and what it is collectively and individually capable of.” As an example he praised the turntableTom Lanoye’s latest novel: “An absolute masterpiece.”
Hopefully we will read a little more in the Netherlands with such a party leader.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of June 10, 2022