PvdA and GroenLinks are entering the elections for the House of Representatives together. A large majority of members of both parties voted in favor of this. Unique for national politics, but in many Brabant municipalities, the cooperation of PvdA and GroenLinks is already the most normal thing in the world. In no less than 23 of the 56 municipalities in Brabant, the PvdA and GroenLinks are in the same party or are part of the same local party.
For a long time this was also the case in the city council of Geldrop-Mierlo. PvdA and GroenLinks participated as one list with one political group. But in 2014 they broke up. There are different stories about what exactly happened.
According to the PvdA, the parties have opted for this together. At GroenLinks we hear something different. After the 38 seats in the national elections in 2012, PvdA Geldrop-Mierlo is said to have thought in a victory rush that it no longer needed GroenLinks. That turned out differently. Together they had 4 seats. GroenLinks was left with 2 and the PvdA with 1.
Let’s forget about it
However, this has not led to distrust, it seems. “Leave the past where it belongs. What happened is no longer important,” it sounds from both parties. That really seems to be the case: the two left-wing parties work closely together in the city council.
“We have regular consultations,” says GroenLinks party chairman Paul Kuijken. “The mutual atmosphere is also pleasant.” PvdA chairman Richard van de Burgt: “That is of course not the same as being part of the same party, but the council members really look out for each other.”
Reunite?
Both voted for a joint parliamentary group. But do they also want to get back together in Geldrop-Mierlo? Kuijken of GroenLinks: “We have spoken about it without obligation and of course we are thinking about it, but we have not reached that point yet. Now that we know that so many members are in favor of the collaboration, we should talk about it in the coming months to have.”
His PvdA colleague: “The next elections will be in two years’ time and by then we will have decided. Whether that will be a joint group or whether it will continue as two cooperating parties remains to be seen.”
Which will certainly play a role: PvdA and GroenLinks now each have 3 seats in Geldrop-Mierlo. Together they are the same size as the largest party Democratic Grouping Geldrop. The parties have two years to think about this.
The parliamentary elections in November are closer. Will they campaign together in Geldrop-Mierlo? “As far as I’m concerned, yes,” says Van de Burgt of the PvdA. That also seems logical to Kuijken: “It would seem very strange if we didn’t work together. Our campaign teams should start sparring with each other.”
The map below shows in which municipalities PvdA and GroenLinks are together in a fraction or party.