A red-green procession runs in a long line from the Rotterdam Zuidplein metro station towards Ahoy. Busily talking to each other, the group of hundreds of people moves towards the event location, red and green jackets walking shoulder to shoulder. No pop concert or sports competition will take place there today, but the very first joint congress of GroenLinks-PvdA, the two left-wing parties that are participating in the House of Representatives elections with one electoral list. “A historic day,” it sounds everywhere. Or: “A magical moment.”
Many members have done their best to incorporate left-wing cooperation into their outfits, with buttons or scarves with the text ‘Together we can do it’. Former Member of Parliament for GroenLinks Ineke van Gent, who is chairing the conference, put on a red suit for the occasion, topped off with green shoes and a green top. The foyer is covered with posters with images of party leader Frans Timmermans and number two Esmah Lahlah.
The atmosphere is not completely relaxed. The war between Israel and Hamas, with many thousands of dead and wounded in the past week, hangs like a pall over the congress. „From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, shouts a woman in front of the entrance, waving a large Palestinian flag. Some members wear the black and white checked ‘arafat scarf’ all day long. The congress starts with a poignant minute’s silence to commemorate the victims in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Division on violence in the Middle East
In terms of content, the flare-up of violence in the Middle East in the past week has caused division within the two parties. A group of critical members had written an angry letter to the party leadership and a sharp motion was tabled. They criticized the first reaction of party leader Timmermans last week to the bloody attacks by Hamas on Israel. Why had Timmermans not also expressed his concern about the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza, who have been oppressed by the Israeli government for years? And why is Israel not pressured to respect human rights?
To prevent the congress in Ahoy from being dominated by the Palestinian issue and exposing discord in left-wing cooperation, the party leadership had consulted with the authors of the motion until the last minute. It resulted in an amended motion that was already embraced in advance by the boards and parliamentary factions of both parties. The call to condemn both Hamas’ terror and Israel’s retaliation was adopted with more than 96 percent of the votes.
The leadership of the ‘United Left’ was very concerned about radiating unity in the young and here and there still fragile left-wing cooperation. You saw this in the presence of prominent leaders from both parties, past and present. For die-hard members of GroenLinks and PvdA, it must have been an uncomfortable sensation to see them walking brotherly and sitting next to each other.
Former GroenLinks leader Bram van Ojik, for example, who co-wrote the election manifesto and defended it on stage. His old rival at the PvdA, Diederik Samsom, until recently Frans Timmermans’ right-hand man in Brussels. Timmermans resigned as European Commissioner this summer to become party leader for the left-wing combination.
Critical public figures
Critical prominent figures had also come to the conference. Former Green Left MEP Judith Sargentini had submitted a few amendments in an attempt to tighten the asylum paragraph in the joint election manifesto – they were not accepted by the members. GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver welcomed Hans Spekman in his short speech. The former chairman of the PvdA has always been an open opponent of the left-wing cooperation project. Klaver: “I’m glad you’re here, Hans.”
At the end of the double members’ meeting, the election manifesto was accepted with equal unanimity. Members of both parties managed to amend the program on two notable points. The minimum wage should not be increased “step by step” to 16 euros per hour, as stated in the draft election manifesto, but “immediately”. The House of Representatives factions are not in favor of this, but a majority of 64 percent adopted this amendment.
In addition, a narrow majority (53 percent) of the Congress voted, amid loud applause, to abolish the monarchy and “introduce a parliamentary republic.” Next week, D66 will also hold its election conference and the same amendment will be put to the vote there.
Also read the interview with Frans Timmermans: ‘It would be good for everyone if the VVD did not govern’
In his closing speech, Timmermans emphasized the need for a more ambitious climate policy. He advocated a Dutch Green Deal, based on the extensive program of measures to stop global warming that he initiated as European Commissioner. Timmermans also linked his climate agenda to social themes, such as guaranteeing social security. He also emphasized that the traditional spearheads of GroenLinks and PvdA go together very well. According to the party leader, there is no question of “the greens versus the reds”. “The social struggle and the fight for the climate go hand in hand.”