Opponents of the left cloud are waging a rearguard action at a double party congress

The sticker ‘Left cloud? Yes please!’ summarized the elated mood at the conferences of PvdA and GroenLinks on Saturday. The text on the sticker, which was mainly worn by young members of both parties in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, makes it clear that the two left-progressive parties want to intensify their cooperation even further and faster. And the sticker also shows that PvdA and GroenLinks would like to become the big “left cloud” in the Senate in the campaign, which VVD Prime Minister Mark Rutte was in last weekend. The Telegraph warned against.

Party celebrities and enthusiastic members emphasized all day Saturday in the Brabanthallen how “historic” the joint left-wing congresses were. Although both parties also had their own programme, many joint substantive sessions took place and party leaders Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks) and Attje Kuiken (PvdA) stood together on one stage at the end of the day to kick off the campaign for the Provincial Council elections . Their goal: to become the largest together on 15 March, so that PvdA and GroenLinks can steer Rutte-IV’s policy even more strongly to the left with a joint party in the Senate.

At the conferences, people have already thought about and voted on how the close cooperation should take further shape afterwards. RoodGroen, the initiative of members from both parties who want to deepen cooperation, received overwhelming support at both congresses – from more than 80 percent of the members – for a motion instructing PvdA and GroenLinks to write a joint program for the European parliamentary elections next year. year. There was almost equal support for the motion that calls for a member referendum in both parties on a joint list in the next parliamentary elections should Rutte-IV fall prematurely.

Read also: PvdA and GroenLinks are less enthusiastic about a merger in the provinces than in The Hague

Cargo bike socialism

Critics in both parties fear that the ever-increasing cooperation is the inevitable stepping stone to a party merger. At the PvdA, concerned members said they fear that voters who have turned their backs on the party will never return in a merger with the GroenLinks, which is known as elitist. A member from Dordrecht said that he could not campaign with the “cargo bike socialism of Jesse Klaver”. Party leader in the province of Utrecht Hans Adriani warned of “a sprinter towards a merger”. “We must not squander 100 years of social democracy for short-term electoral gain.”

The only climate the VVD is really concerned about is the climate in the wine cellar

Jesse Clover party leader GroenLinks

Critical voices also sounded at GroenLinks. Amsterdam city council member Jenneke van Pijpen does not want the cooperation process to be pushed through too quickly and too much by the party leadership. “We need an open debate that is not hampered by national agreements.” Her motion that GroenLinks should remain ‘an independent party’ locally and that local departments should not be forced to cooperate also received a large majority. Yet the critics of further cooperation seem to be fighting a rearguard action. The proponents received greater applause each time at both congresses.

In their speeches, Kuiken and Klaver eagerly responded to Prime Minister Rutte’s wish to turn the campaign into a duel between the VVD and their parties. Kuiken denounced the flawed content of Rutte’s interview The Telegraph. “When the prime minister gives an interview, you expect him to have ideas for future generations. Failing that, you read newspaper pages full of scaremongering about links.” Klaver said that he would like to make the campaign “a two-way battle”, but wants to conduct a real “battle of ideas”. “A battle between capital and labour, market forces and cooperation. When the VVD talks about climate, it is ‘greenwashing’. The only climate the VVD is really concerned about is the climate in the wine cellar.”

Read also: Rutte pulls out his beloved trick again: the conflict

Due to the poor sound on stage, the buzz of the members quickly drowned out Dolf Jansen’s speeches and cabaret. After a long conference day, many PvdA and GroenLinks members were especially looking forward to the joint left-wing drink. Klaver concluded: “You are having a good time, and that is exactly what is needed.”

ttn-32