According to Member of Parliament Habtamu de Hoop (GroenLinks-PvdA), the ‘mating dance’ on the left has lasted long enough. According to him, GroenLinks and PvdA should not follow a long -term merger process, but set up a totally new party. For example, it could be called united left, together Vooruit or a new progressive alliance.
That statement made the hope Monday evening In a lecture in Almeloorganized by the local PvdA department. It is a lecture that will stand out in left -wing circles. Habtamu de Hoop (26) speaks out against ‘our fixation on redistribution’, is talking about ‘the Fortuyn complex’ of the PvdA, and says that he feels ‘no nostalgia’ in the old party structure of the PvdA, the party for which He was chosen as the youngest Member of Parliament in 2021.
The statements will stand out all the more because Habtamu de Hoop is seen as a promise, possibly even as a future party leader. Party leader in the Senate Paul Rosenmöller implicitly referred to the hope when he outlined a vision of 2034 during the General Political Reflections in October: “A stable coalition of progressives, social Christians and true liberals, under the leadership, is already opposed to me of the first Frisian black prime minister. ”
Habtamu de Hoop says in a conversation with NRC That his party since the November 2023 elections’ has remained a bit stuck in the blow we received because the PVV became the largest. But sometimes we forget that with 25 seats we achieved a super good result. We can have a little more confidence ”.
What is the Fortuyn complex that you see within your own PvdA?
“There is an older generation of politicians who have a strong feeling that the old PvdA must return from before the Fortuyn revolt of 2002. In that group, guilt feelings about the lost working class that then went to Fortuyn. The party is too often fixed on that, retrieving the world for 2002. If it gets just as difficult, it is always about that. I’m done with that, it bothers me. “
But the question of how the PvdA can win back a lost following seems right to me, especially now that the left is in the defensive.
“Certainly. But then nostalgia doesn’t help. We have to tell a new story where that voter can also recognize. ”
What story do you think should be?
“The left is traditionally strongly fixed on redistribution. And that is what politics is about, the fair distribution of scarcity. But it has become a fixation. It would be much better if we were more at the front, that the costs of living will go down. People immediately notice something about that. ”
There is an older generation of PvdA politicians who feels strong that the old party must return from 2002 before the Fortuyn revolge
Why do you think that the traditional left -wing story of redistribution lives less among voters?
“When I talk to people, I don’t often hear: let the wealthy pay more taxes. In the first place, many people don’t have that much confidence in politics anymore, and wonder if tax money is properly spent. They are concerned about the costs of their own livelihood. People notice that groceries are getting more expensive. That train tickets here are about the most expensive in Europe. It must be less about redistributing, more about those daily costs. “
The left was always against the billionaires and large companies. Does that have to be less?
“It is not either either, but voters mainly want politicians to be at the forefront of the struggle for their interests. They see Geert Wilders doing that. Because he does not deliver, we can recover those voters. “
You want PvdA and GroenLinks to eliminate themselves and set up a new party. Why not a merger?
“For me it really has to be a new movement, not a merger of old organs. It should also not be a process of power to become the largest. It has to revolve around the ideas. We can, like Mathieu Segers, who died in 2023 [hoogleraar aan de Universiteit Maastricht] It said, so to a reconciliation of green climate politics and red politics that wants to fight inequality. I also think that with a new party we can easily involve other organizations in the movement, such as the trade unions. ”
Why didn’t it happen yet?
“The intentions are good and most members want it. In 80 to 90 percent of the municipalities, GroenLinks and PvdA will reach the municipal elections with a joint list of candidates. But we can still tell our common story more proudly. Sometimes we forget to explain why we do it. ”
When I talk to people, I don’t hear often: let the wealthy pay more taxes.
There is a lot of debate about the race from the left. What do you think: should the links focus on socio-economic politics or on cultural issues such as racism, migration and discrimination?
“If you read voters examinations, you will immediately see that people like our socio-economic story. The cultural issues, we are already working on this every day because of this cabinet. As State Secretary Chris Jansen [PVV] Says that he still supports the ‘fewer Moroccans’ ruling of Geert Wilders, then we must continue to draw the moral boundary. But if you ask me where we need to become much more on the agenda, then I think of socio-economic issues such as public housing, existence, public facilities. ”
Suppose the new party will indeed come this year: who should lead it?
“The one who now leads him. Voters now see a cabinet that cannot control, we have people who can. Frans Timmermans is the best example of that. In everything he represents the values of both parties. ”
Do you have the ambition to become a party leader in the future?
“I want to make this political cooperation a success. I see myself as part of a new generation that wants to put a combative energy into it. That is the only goal I have. “
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