GroenLinks
Political leader	Femke Halsema
Party Chair	Henk Nijhoff
Chair of the First Chamber Parliamentary Party	Tof Thissen
Chair of the First Chamber Parliamentary Party	Femke Halsema
Chair of the European Parliament Delegation	Kathalijne Buitenweg (of the GreenLeft-Green!-delegation)
Founded	March 1, 1989
Merger of	PSP, CPN, PPR and EVP[1]
Seats in the First Chamber
Seats in the Second Chamber
Seats in the European Parliament
Political Ideology	Green Politics freedom-loving left. (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (born 27 March 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament for Green! (in Dutch Groen!; founded as Agalev (see name-section below is a Belgian green Political party. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party. The Political Party Radicals (in Dutch Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR is a former Dutch leftwing Christian and green Political party The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based [2]
Position	Left[2]
Youth Organization	DWARS
Thinktank	Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks
International Affiliation	Global Greens
European Affiliation	European Green Party
European Parliament Group	EGP/EFA
Colours	Green and Red
Headquarters	Partijbureau GroenLinks Oudegracht 312 Utrecht
website	www.groenlinks.nl
See also	Politics of the Netherlands Political parties Elections

GroenLinks (GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green political party. DWARS de GroenLinkse jongerenorganisatie ("Contrary" the GreenLeft Youth Organisation for more information on the name see name section) is the independent The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements The European Green Party (or European Greens or EGP) is the Green Political party at European level. The European Greens European Free Alliance ( The Greens European Free Alliance; Greens EFA; French: Le Groupe Verts Alliance libre européenne Green is a Color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a Wavelength of roughly 520–570- nm. Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Utrecht ( city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary Representative democracy, a Constitutional monarchy and a This article lists political parties in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a Multi-party system with numerous parties in which any one party has little Elections in the Netherlands are held for six territorial levels the European Union (beyond the scope of this article the state the 12 Provinces English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary Representative democracy, a Constitutional monarchy and a A Green party' or ecologist party is a formally organized Political party based on the principles of Green politics. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral

GreenLeft was formed in 1989 as a merger of four leftwing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party. The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. The Political Party Radicals (in Dutch Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR is a former Dutch leftwing Christian and green Political party The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. After disappointing results in the 1989 and 1994 the party fared particularly well during 1994 and 2002. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. The party's leader Paul Rosenmöller was seen as the unofficial leader of the opposition against the Cabinets Kok by the media, fellow politicians and academics, even though it was only the second largest party in the opposition. Paul Rosenmöller ( Den Helder, May 11 1956) is a Dutch Journalist. ^[3][4] In late 2002 Femke Halsema took over the political leadership of the party. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 She emphasizes tolerance, freedom and emancipation as key values of the party.

The GreenLeft describes itself as "green" "social", and "tolerant". Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution ^[5] It places itself in the freedom-loving tradition of the left. ^[2]

Currently the party is represented by seven seats in the Tweede Kamer, four in the Eerste Kamer and two in the European Parliament. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. Party leader, and chair of the Tweede Kamer parliamentary party, is Femke Halsema. The leader or chairperson of a Parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong Party discipline The party is in opposition against the fourth cabinet Balkenende. The party has over 100 aldermen and it participates in the government of sixteen of the twenty largest municipalities in the Netherlands. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. The party's voters are concentrated in larger cities, especially those with a university. A listing of universities and University of applied sciences in The Netherlands: Universities Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

The party has over 21,901 members which are organized in over 250 municipal branches. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. The party congress is open to all members. A party congress is a general conference of a Political party. It is a member of the Global Greens and the European Green Party. The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements The European Green Party (or European Greens or EGP) is the Green Political party at European level.

History

Before 1989

GreenLeft was founded in 1989 as merger of four parties that were at the political left compared to the social-democratic Labour Party, usually the largest left wing party in the Netherlands. The fouding parties where the (destalinized) Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN), the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), which originated in the peace movement, the green Political Party Radicals (PPR), originally a progressive Christian party, and the progressive christian Evangelical People's Party. The Cold War ensued as the USSR and the United States struggled indirectly for influence around the world The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party. The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. A peace movement is a Social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based The Political Party Radicals (in Dutch Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR is a former Dutch leftwing Christian and green Political party The Religious Left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe those who hold strong Religious Beliefs and share Left-wing political The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. These four parties were frequently classified as "small left"; to indicate their marginal existence. In the 1972 elections these parties won sixteen seats (out of 150), in the 1977 elections they were left with only six. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on November 29, 1972 A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 25, 1977. From that moment on, members and voters began to argue for close cooperation. ^[3]

From the 1980s onwards the four parties started to cooperate in municipal and provincial elections. As fewer seats are available in these representations a higher percentage of votes is required to gain a seat. In 1984 the PPR, CPN and PSP formed the Green Progressive Accord that entered as one into the European elections. The European Parliament election of 1984 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1984-1989 term of the European GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. The European Parliament election of 1984 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1984-1989 term of the European They gained one seat, which rotated between the PSP and PPR. Party-members of the four parties also encountered each other in grassroots extraparliamentary protest against nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. For other meanings see Grass roots (disambiguation. A grassroots movement (often referenced in the context of a Political movement Nuclear Energy is released by the splitting (fission or merging together (fusion of the nuclei of Atom (s Although the Netherlands do not have weapons of mass destruction made by itself the country participates in the NATO Nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains More than 80% of the members of the PSP, CPN and PPR attended at least one of the two mass protests against the placement nuclear weapons of 1981 and 1983^[6]

The Evangelical People's Party was a relatively new party, founded in 1981, as a split off from the large Christian democratic Christian Democratic Appeal. Hollanditis was a term coined in 1981 by the American historian Walter Laqueur. The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. The Christian Democratic Appeal ( CDA) (Christen Democratisch Appèl is a Dutch Christian-democratic Political party. Duing its period in parliament 1982-1986 it had trouble positioning itself between the small left paties (PSP, PPR and CPN), the PvdA and the CDA. ^[6]

The increasingly close cooperation between PPR, PSP, CPN and EVP, and the ideological change that accompanied it was not without internal dissent within the parties. The ideological change that CPN made from revolutionary marxism-leninism to "reformism" led to a split in the CPN; and the subsequent founding of the League of Communists in the Netherlands in 1982. Marxism-Leninism is a Communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency amongst the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted Socialist Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a Society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures In 1983, a group of "deep" Greens split from the PPR, to found the the Greens. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. The Greens ( De Groenen) are a Dutch deep green party which has been of only marginal importance in Dutch politics, as it never gained national representation To enter the election of 1986 the CPN and the PPR wanted to form an electoral alliance with the PSP. This led to a crisis within the PSP, in which chair of the parliamentary party Fred van der Spek, who opposed cooperation ,was replaced by Andrée van Es, who favoured cooperation. Van der Spek left the PSP to found his own Party for Socialism and Disarmament (in Dutch: Partij voor Socialisme en Ontwapening, PSO). The 1986 PSP congress, however, rejected the electoral alliance. In Politics, a political convention is a meeting of a Political party, typically to select party candidates

In the elections of 1986 all these four parties lost seats. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 21, 1986. The CPN and the EVP disappeared from parliament. The PPR was left with two and the PSP with one seat. While the parties were preparing to enter in the 1990 elections separately, the pressure to cooperate however also increased. In 1989 the PPR, CPN and PSP entered the European elections with a single list, called the Rainbow. The 1989 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989 Joost Lagendijk and Leo Platvoet, both PSP party board members, initiated an internal referendum in which the members of the PSP declared to support leftwing cooperation (70% in favour; 64% of all members voting). Joost Lagendijk (born 8 June 1957 in Roosendaal, Netherlands) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament Their initiative for leftwing cooperation was supported by an open letter from influential members of trade unions (such as Paul Rosenmöller and Karin Adelmund), of environmental movements (e. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Paul Rosenmöller ( Den Helder, May 11 1956) is a Dutch Journalist. Karin Yvonne Irene Jansen (Karin Adelmund ( Rotterdam, March 18, 1949 &ndash Amsterdam, October 21, 2005) was The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green movements is a diverse scientific social and Political movement for g. , Jacqueline Cramer) and from arts (such as Rudi van Dantzig). Jacqueline Marian Cramer (born April 10 1951 in Alkmaar) is Minister of Housing Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Fourth Balkenende The arts is a broad subdivision of Culture, composed of many expressive disciplines. Rudi van Dantzig ( Amsterdam, August 4 1933) is a Dutch Choreographer, Ballet Dancer and Writer. In the letter they called for the formation of a single progressive paty on the left side of the PvdA. Lagendijk and Platvoet had been taking part in informal meetings between prominent PSP, PPR and CPN-members, who favoured cooperation. Other participants were PPR-chairman Bram van Ojik and former CPN-leader Ina Brouwer. These talks were called "F. C. Sittardia" or Cliché bv. ^[6]

In the spring of 1989 the PSP party board initiated formal talks between the CPN, the PSP and the PPR about a common list for the upcoming general elections. It soon became clear tha the CPN wanted to maintain an independent communist identity and not merge into a new left wing formation. This was reason for the PPR to leave the talks. Negotiations about cooperation were reopened after the fall of the Second cabinet Lubbers and the announcement that elections would be held in the autumn of that year. The Netherlands cabinet Lubbers-2 (1986-1989 was a continuation of the coalition of the right-wing political parties CDA and VVD. This time the EVP was included in the discussion. The PPR was represented for a short while by an informal delegation led by former chair Wim de Boer, because the party board did not want to be seen re-entering the negotiations it had left only a short while earlier. In the summer of 1989 the party congresses of all four parties accepted to enter the elections with a shared program and list of candidates. A party congress is a general conference of a Political party. Additionally the association Green Left (Dutch: Vereniging Groen Links; VGL) was set up to allow sympathizers, not member of any of the four parties to join. Meanwhile the European elections of 1989 were held, in which same group of parties had entered as a single list under the name "Rainbow". The European Parliament election of 1989 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1989-1994 term of the European In practice the merger of the parties had now happened and on November 24 1990 the party Green Left was officially founded. ^[6][3]

1989-1994

1989 election poster showing the old logo in which the pink lines and the blue spaces forming allude to a peace sign.

In the 1989 elections the PPR, PSP, CPN and EVP entered in the elections with one single list called Groen Links. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on September 6, 1989 In the Netherlands, which forms one single electoral district, parties enter in the elections with one list for the whole country. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty The top spot of the list (the lijsttrekker) is taken by the party's political leader, who often becomes chair of the parliamentary delegation. The GreenLeft list of candidates was organized in such a way that all the parties were represented and new figures could enter. The PPR which had been the largest party in 1986 got the top candidate (taken by Ria Beckers) and the number five, the PSP the numbers two and six, the CPN the number three and the EVP number eleven. Maria Brigitta Catherina (Ria Beckers-de Bruijn ( Driebergen, November 2 1938 – Wadenoijen, March 22 2006 was a Dutch The first independent candidate was Paul Rosenmöller, trade unionist from Rotterdam, the number four. Paul Rosenmöller ( Den Helder, May 11 1956) is a Dutch Journalist. In the elections the party doubled its seats in comparison to 1986 (from three to six) but the expectations had been much higher. ^[6] In the 1990 municipal elections the party fared much better however, strengthening the resolve to cooperate. ^[3]

In the period 1989-1991 the merger developed further. A board was organized for the party-in-foundation and a Green Left Council, which was supposed to control the board and the parliamentary party and stimulate the process of merger, all five groups (CPN, PPR, PSP, EVP and the Vereniging Groen Links all had seats as ratio of the number of party members. Originally, the three youth organizations, the CPN-linked General Dutch Youth League, the PSP-linked Pacifist Socialist Young Working Groups and the PPR-linked Political Party of Radical Youth refused to merge under pressure of the government, who controlled their subsidies they did merge to form DWARS. Algemeen Nederlands Jeugd Verbond, a political youth movement in the Netherlands. Pacifist Socialist Young Working Groups (in Dutch: Pacifistisch Socialistische Jongeren Werkgroepen) was the youth wing of the Pacifist Socialist Party DWARS de GroenLinkse jongerenorganisatie ("Contrary" the GreenLeft Youth Organisation for more information on the name see name section) is the independent ^[7] In 1990 some opposition formed against the moderate, green course of the Green Left. Several former PSP-members united in the "Left Forum" in 1992 they would leave the party to join former PSP-leader Van der Spek to found the PSP'92. Similarly former members of the CPN joined the League of Communists in the Netherlands to found the New Communist Party in the same year. The New Communist Party Of The Netherlands ( Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland) is a Dutch communist Political party, founded in 1992 In 1991 the congresses of the four founding parties (PSP, PPR, CPN and EVP) decided to officially abolish their parties. ^[6]

The Green Left had considerable problems with formulating its own ideology. In 1990 the attempt to write the first manifesto of principles failed because of the difference between socialists and communists on the one side and the more liberal former PPR-members on the other side. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal ^[7] The second manifesto of principles which was not allowed the name manifesto of principles was adopted after a lengthy debate and many amendments in 1991. ^[7]

Although the party was internally divided the Green Left parliamentary party was the only party in the Dutch parliament which opposed the Gulf War. ^[7] A debate within the party about the role military intervention led to a more nuanced standpoint than the pacifism of some of its predecessors: the Green Left would support peace-keeping missions as long as they were mandated by the United Nations. Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ^[7]

In the fall of 1990 MEP Verbeek announced that he would, as he had promised, leave the European Parliament after two and a half years to make room for a new candidate. ^[7] He would continue as an independent and remain in parliament until 1994. In the 1994 election, he would run unsuccessfully as top candidate of the Greens. The 1994 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994 The Greens ( De Groenen) are a Dutch deep green party which has been of only marginal importance in Dutch politics, as it never gained national representation ^[8]

In 1992 party leader Ria Beckers left the Tweede Kamer because she wanted to spend more time on her private life. Maria Brigitta Catherina (Ria Beckers-de Bruijn ( Driebergen, November 2 1938 – Wadenoijen, March 22 2006 was a Dutch The Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal ( literally "Second Chamber of the States-General" short Tweede Kamer, is the Dutch Lower house. Peter Lankhorst replaced her as chair ad interim, but he announced that he would not take part in the internal elections. ^[9]

1994-2002

1994 election posters showing the duo Rabbae/Brouwer. The text reads: the GreenLeft counts double.

Before the election of 1994 the GreenLeft organized an internal election on the party's political leadership. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 3, 1994. Two duos entered Ina Brouwer (former CPN)/Mohammed Rabbae (independent) and Paul Rosenmöller (independent)/Leoni Sipkes (former PSP) and five singular candidates (including Wim de Boer (former chair of the PPR and member of the Eerste Kamer), Herman Meijer (former CPN; and future chair of the party) and Ineke van Gent (former PSP and future MP)). Paul Rosenmöller ( Den Helder, May 11 1956) is a Dutch Journalist. The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General Wilhelmina (Ineke van Gent ( Arnhem, 21 june 1957) is a Dutch politician. ^[9] Some candidates ran in duos because they wanted to combine family life with politics. Brouwer, Rosenmöller and Sipkes already were MP for the GreenLeft, Rabbae was new, he had been chair of the Dutch Centre for Foreigners. In the first round the duos ended up a head of the others, but neither had an absolute majority. A second round was need which Brouwer and Rabbae won with 51%. ^[9] Brouwer became the first candidate and Rabbae second, the second duo Rosenmöller and Sipkes occupied the following place followed by Marijke Vos, former chair of the party. Maria Bernadina (Marijke Vos (born in Leidschendam May 4, 1957) is a Dutch Politician. The duo-top candidacy did not communicate well to the votes. The GreenLeft lost one seat, leaving only five, while the PvdA also lost a lot of seats. ^[8]

After the elections, Brouwer left parliament, she was replaced as party leader by Paul Rosenmöller and her seat was taken by Tara Singh Varma. Paul Rosenmöller ( Den Helder, May 11 1956) is a Dutch Journalist. Tarapatie (Tara Oedayraj Singh Varma (born in Springland ( British Guyana) August 29, 1948) is a former Dutch politician and former member of ^[8] The charismatic Rosenmöller became the "unofficial leader" of the opposition against the cabinet Kok because the main opposition party the CDA was unable to adapt well to its new role as opposition party. The Christian Democratic Appeal ( CDA) (Christen Democratisch Appèl is a Dutch Christian-democratic Political party. ^[3][4] Rosenmöller set out a new strategy: the GreenLeft should offer alternatives instead of just rejecting the proposals made by the government. ^[1][10]

In the elections of 1998 the GreenLeft more than doubled its seats to eleven. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 6, 1998. The charisma of the charismatic "unofficial leader" Rosenmöller played an important role in this. ^[10] The party began to speculate openly about joining government after the elections of 2002. ^[11][12]

The 1999 Kosovo War divided the party internally. The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 The Tweede Kamer parliamentary party supported the NATO intervention, while the Eerste Kamer parliamentary party was against the intervention. The North Atlantic Treaty Several former PSP members within the Tweede Kamer parliamentary party began to openly speak out their doubts about the intervention. A compromise was found: the GreenLeft would support the intervention as long as it limited itself to military targets. Prominent members of the founding parties including Marcus Bakker en Joop Vogt left the party over this issue. ^[13]

In 2001 the integrity of former MP Tara Singh Varma came into doubt: it was revealed that she had lied about her illness and that she had made promises to development organisations which she did not fulfill. Development aid or development cooperation (also development assistance, technical assistance, international aid, overseas aid In 2000 she had left parliament because as she claimed, she had only a few months to live before she would die of cancer. The TROS program "Opgelicht" (In English "Framed") revealed that she had lied and the she did not have cancer. TROS (originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting) is a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting. ^[14] Later she apologised on public television and claimed she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Post traumatic stress disorder It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to ^[1]

In the same year the parliamentary party supported the invasion of Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11 of the year. The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7 2001 as the U This invasion led to great upheaval within the party. Several former PSP members within the Tweede Kamer parliamentary party began to openly speak out their doubts about the intervention. Under pressure of internal opposition, led by former PSP members and the party's youth organization DWARS, the parliamentary party changed its position: the attacks should be cancelled. DWARS de GroenLinkse jongerenorganisatie ("Contrary" the GreenLeft Youth Organisation for more information on the name see name section) is the independent ^[14]

Several members of the The Greens, including Roel van Duijn joined the GreenLeft, while maintaining their membership of the Greens. The Greens ( De Groenen) are a Dutch deep green party which has been of only marginal importance in Dutch politics, as it never gained national representation Roeland Gerrit Hugo (Roel van Duijn ( The Hague, 20 january 1943) is a Dutch politician, Political activist and writer ^[14]

2002-now

2002 election posters showing Rosenmöller. The text reads: GreenLeft for a new balance.

The 2002 elections were characterized by change in the political climate. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 15, 2002 The rightwing political commentator Pim Fortuyn entered politics. Wilhelmus Simon Petrus (Pim Fortuyn (pɪm fɔʁtœʏn ( February 19, 1948 – May 6, 2002) was a controversial openly gay charismatic He had anti-establishment message, combined with a call for restrictions of immigration. Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or Although his critique was oriented at the second cabinet Kok, Rosenmöller was one of the only politicians who could muster some resistance against his message. Days before the election Fortuyn was killed by an animal rights-activist. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. Just before the elections Ab Harrewijn, GreenLeft MP and candidate also died. ^[15] Before and after the elections serious threats were made against Rosenmöller, his wife and his children. These events caused considerable stress for Rosenmöller. ^[16] The GreenLeft lost one seat in the election, although it had gained more votes than in the 1998 elections. Before the 2003 elections Rosenmöller left parliament, citing the on-going threats against his life and those of his family as the main reason. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on January 22, 2003 He was replaced as chair of the parliamentary party and top candidate by Femke Halsema. (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 She was unable to keep ten seats and lost two. ^[15]

In 2003 the GreenLeft almost unanimously turned against the Iraq War. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign It took part in the protests against the war, for instance by organising its party congress in Amsterdam at the day of the large demonstration, with an interval allowing its members to join the protest. There have been considerable protests against the Iraq War in the buildup to and following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A party congress is a general conference of a Political party. ^[15]

At the end of 2003 Halsema temporarily left parliament to give birth to her twins. Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex. During her absence Marijke Vos took her place as chair of the parliamentary party. Maria Bernadina (Marijke Vos (born in Leidschendam May 4, 1957) is a Dutch Politician. ^[17] When she returned to parliament, Halsema started a discussion about the principles of her party. She emphasized individual freedom, tolerance, selfrealization and emancipation. Emancipation is a term used to describe various efforts to obtain Political rights or equality, often for a specifically Disenfranchised group or more In one interview she called her party "the last liberal party of the Netherlands"^[18] This led to considerable attention of media and other observers, which speculated about an ideological change. ^[17] In 2005 the party's scientific bureau published the book "Vrijheid als Ideaal" ("Freedom as Ideal") in which prominent opinion-makers explored the new political space and the position of the left within that space. ^[19] During the congress of February 2007 the party board was ordered to organize a party-wide discussion about the party's principles. ^[20]

During the European Elections congress of 2004 the candidacy committee proposed that the chair of the GreenLeft delegation, Joost Lagendijk, should become the party's top candidate in those elections. Joost Lagendijk (born 8 June 1957 in Roosendaal, Netherlands) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament A group of members, led by member of the Eerste Kamer Leo Platvoet submitted a motion "We want to chose". They wanted a serious choice for such an important office. The party's board announced a new electoral procedure. During the congress Kathalijne Buitenweg, also MEP and candidate, announced her candidacy for the position of top candidate. Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (born 27 March 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament for She narrowly won the elections from Lagendijk. This came as a great surprise to all. Especially for Buitenweg who had not written an acceptance speech and read out Lagendijk's. ^[17]

In May 2005 MP Farah Karimi wrote a book in which discussed in detail how she had taken part in the Iranian Revolution, because this information was already known by the party board this did not lead to any upheaval. Farahnaz (Farah Karimi (فرح کريمی Garros ( Iran) 15 November 1960) is a Iranian Dutch politician The Iranian Revolution' (mostly known as the Islamic Revolution, Persian: انقلاب اسلامی Enghelābe Eslāmi was the Revolution that transformed ^[21] In November 2005 the party board asked member of the Eerste Kamer Sam Pormes to give up his seat. Continuing rumors about his involvement with guerrilla-training in Yemen in the 1970s and the 1977 train hijacking by Moluccan youth and allegations of welfare fraud were harmful for the party, or at least so the party board claimed. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The South Moluccas consist of about 150 islands in the Banda Sea. When Pormes refused to step up, the party board threatened to remove him from the party ranks. Pormes fought this decision. The party council of March 2006 sided with Pormes. Party chair Herman Meijer felt forced to give up his position. He was succeeded by Henk Nijhof who was chose by the party council in May 2006. In November 2006 Pormes left the Eerste Kamer, he was replaced by Goos Minderman. ^[22]

2006 election posters showing Halsema. The text reads: Grow along, GreenLeft. The turret is the official working office of the Dutch Prime Minister.

In the 2006 Dutch municipal election the party stayed relatively stable losing only a few seats. The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on March 7 2006. After the elections the GreenLeft took part in 75 local executives, including Amsterdam where MP Marijke Vos became alderwoman. The Government of Amsterdam is the government of the municipality and city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Maria Bernadina (Marijke Vos (born in Leidschendam May 4, 1957) is a Dutch Politician. ^[22]

In preparation of the 2006 elections the party held a congress in October. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after It elected Halsema, again the only candidate, as the party's top candidate. MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg and comedian Vincent Bijlo were last candidates. Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (born 27 March 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament for In the 2006 elections the party lost one seat. ^[22]

In the subsequent cabinet formation an initial exploratory round among the CDA-SP-PvdA failed, Halsema announced that GreenLeft would not be involved in further discussion at that point in time, as the party lost, was too small, and had less in common with CDA than the SP had. Following the 2006 Dutch general election, held on November 22, a process of cabinet formation started involving negotiations about which coalition partners ^[22] Following this decision an internal debate about the political course and the leadership of Halsema erupted. The debate does just concern the series of lost elections and the decision not to participate in the formation talks, but also the elitist image of the party, the new liberal course, initiated by Halsema and the lack of party democracy. Since the last weeks of January 2007 several prominent party members have voiced their doubts including former leader Ina Brouwer senator Leo Platvoet and MEP Joost Lagendijk. Joost Lagendijk (born 8 June 1957 in Roosendaal, Netherlands) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament ^[20] In reaction to this the party board has set up a commission led by former MP and chair of the PPR Bram van Ojik. They will look into the lost elections. Another commission also chaired by Van Ojik was requested in by the congress of February 2006. It will look into the party's principles, organization and strategy.

Name

The name "GroenLinks" (until 1992 spelt "Groen Links" with a space between Groen and Links) is a compromise between the PPR and the CPN and the PSP. The PPR wanted the word "Green" in the name of the party, the PSP and the CPN the word "Left". Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based It also emphasizes the core ideals of the party, environmental sustainability and social justice. ^[6]

In 1984 the common list of the PPR, PSP and CPN for the European election was called Green Progressive Accord (Groen Progressief Akkoord) at that time the PPR did not want to accept the word "left" in the name of the political combination. The European Parliament election of 1984 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1984-1989 term of the European In 1989 the parties had entered in the European elections as the Rainbow (Regenboog), in reference to the Rainbow Group in the European Parliament in which had participated between 1984 and 1989^[3]

Ideology and Issues

Ideology

The party combines green with leftwing ideals. The European Parliament election of 1989 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1989-1994 term of the European The Rainbow Group Federation of the Green Alternative European Links Agalev-Ecolo the Danish People's Movement against Membership of the European Community and the European Free Alliance Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based A Green party' or ecologist party is a formally organized Political party based on the principles of Green politics. This list of Green topics includes people parties organizations and ideas associated with Green politics. Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that New technologies and Social innovation provide the most successful path to Sustainable development Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological Philosophy ( Ecosophy) that considers Humankind an integral part of its environment. Ecofeminism is a social and political movement which attempts to unite Environmentalism and Feminism, with some currents linking Deep ecology and Eco-socialism, Green socialism or Socialist ecology is an Ideology merging aspects of Marxism, Socialism, Green politics Green anarchism is a school of thought within Anarchism which puts an emphasis on Environmental issues. Green conservatism is a term used to refer to conservatives who have incorporated green concerns into their Ideology. Green liberalism is a term used to refer to liberals who have incorporated green concerns into their Ideology. Green libertarianism is a Political philosophy that has developed in the United States. Green syndicalism has been used as a name for the philosophy of the green guild or sustainable trades movement Social Ecology is a philosophy developed by French geographer and anarchist Élisée Reclus and revived by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements The Global Young Greens (GYG is an emerging global organisation supporting and consolidating the efforts of young people working towards Social justice, Ecological sustainability The Federation of Green Parties of Africa is the organization of Green parties in Africa, similar to other continental Green Party groupings like in the Americas The Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas is the organization of Green parties in North America and South America. The Asia-Pacific Green Network is a federation of national Green parties in countries in the Pacific Ocean and Asia, and is a member of the Global Greens The European Green Party (or European Greens or EGP) is the Green Political party at European level. The Federation of Young European Greens AISBL is a federation of green youth organisations from all over Europe (both EU and non-EU The Four Pillars of the Green Party are a foundational statement of Green politics and form the basis of many Worldwide Green parties. The term ecological Wisdom, or Ecosophy, is a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a Society in which Justice is achieved in every aspect of society rather than Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic Nonviolence is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of physical Violence. ^[4] The core ideals of the GreenLeft are codified in the party's program of principles (called "Uitgangspunten van GroenLinkse Politiek")^[2]. The party explicitly places itself in the tradition of leftwing parties that are freedom loving. Four principles form the guiding principles of the party

1. the democratic rechtsstaat, which ensures individual freedom and equal political rights;
2. an ecological balance, in the knowledge that natural resources are limited;
3. a just distribution of power, knowledge, property, labour and income, within the Netherlands, but also on a world scale;
4. the resistance to exploitation and suppression of groups and peoples. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system '''''Rechtsstaat''''' is a concept in Continental European legal thinking originally borrowed from German Jurisprudence, which literally means a "state of law" Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have A right is a legal or moral Entitlement or Permission. Rights are of vital importance in theories of Justice and deontological ethics Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ( natural) form Distribution of wealth is a comparison of the Wealth of various members or groups in a Society, and is one aspect of the Economy and Social structure Political power ( Imperium in Latin is a type of power held by a group in a Society which allows administration of some or all of Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered ^[2]

The party's principles reflect the ideological convergence between the four founding parties which came from different ideological traditions: the Political Party Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party, from a progressive Christian tradition; and the Pacifist Socialist Party and the Communist Party of the Netherlands from a left-socialist and communist tradition. The Political Party Radicals (in Dutch Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR is a former Dutch leftwing Christian and green Political party The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Protestant Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition acceptance The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Over the course of the 1970s and 1980s the parties had come to embrace environmentalism and feminism; they all favoured democratization of society and had opposed the creation of new nuclear plants and the placement of new nuclear weapons in the Netherlands. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions Although the Netherlands do not have weapons of mass destruction made by itself the country participates in the NATO Nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains ^[3]

Halsema, the current political leader of the party, has started a debate about the ideological course of GreenLeft. She emphasized the freedom loving tradition of the left and has chosen freedom as key value. Her course is called left-liberal by herself and observers,^[23] although Halsema herself claims that she does not want to force an ideological change. Social liberalism, also called new liberalism (as it was originally termed high liberalism radical liberalism, modern liberalism, or She claims that she places the GreenLeft in the "freedomloving tradition of the left", as the party's manifesto of principles did as well. ^[24]

Following Isaiah Berlin Halsema distinguishes between positive and negative freedom. Sir Isaiah Berlin, OM (6 June 1909 &ndash 5 November 1997 was a philosopher and historian of ideas regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century ||-||} Positive liberty refers to the opportunity and ability to act to fulfill one's own potential as opposed to Negative liberty, which refers to freedom from The concept of negative liberty refers to freedom from interference by other people ^[25] Negative freedom is according to Halsema the freedom citizens from government influence; she applies this concept especially to the multicultural society and the rechtsstaat, where the government should protect the rights of citizens and not limit them. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified '''''Rechtsstaat''''' is a concept in Continental European legal thinking originally borrowed from German Jurisprudence, which literally means a "state of law" Positive freedom is the emancipation of citizens from poverty and discrimination. Emancipation is a term used to describe various efforts to obtain Political rights or equality, often for a specifically Disenfranchised group or more Halsema wants to apply this concept to welfare state and the environment where government should take more action. This article refers specifically to the Welfare state of the United Kingdom. According to Halsema the GreenLeft is undogmatic party, that has anarchist tendencies. Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas, Greek, plural) is the established Belief or Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i ^[25]

Proposals

The election manifesto for the 2006 elections was adopted in October of that year. For the Roxy Music album see Manifesto (album. A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions often The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after It was titled "Groei Mee" ("Grow with us"). The manifesto emphasizes international cooperation, welfare state reform, environmental policy and social tolerance. ^[5]

The GreenLeft seeks to offer an alternative for the welfare state reform initiated by the Cabinets Balkenende, which were in the eyes of the GreenLeft only oriented towards cutting costs and did not offer the worst off a chance for work, emancipation and participation. Welfare reform is a movement for policy change in countries with a state-administered social welfare systems ^[26] But, unlike the other opposition parties of the left, the party does not want to defend the current welfare state either which the party calls "powerless", because it merely offers the worst off a benefit, but not a perspective for work. ^[26] The party wants to reform the welfare state so it will benefit "outsiders" those who have been excluded from the welfare state until now. This includes groups like migrants, women, people on a short term contract and people with disabilities. To help more people get a job the GreenLeft proposes a participationcontract. The unemployment benefit should be increased and limited to one year. In this period people would have to look for a job or education. If at the end of the year one should not succeed in finding a job, the government will offer one a job for the minimum wage. A minimum wage is the lowest hourly daily or monthly Wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers In order to create more employment they want to implement the green tax shift, which will lower taxes on lower paid labour. Ecotax, short for Ecological taxation, can refer to A policy that introduces taxes intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives This would be compensated by higher taxes on pollution. In order to allow mothers with young children a chance to work, the party wants to make it easier for people to go on leave and make daycare free. Day care or child care is care of a child during the Day by a person other than the child's Parents or Legal guardians typically someone outside In order to increase the perspectives for the underprivileged, it wants to invest in education, especially the VMBO. Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division education is oriented toward the needs and background of the pupil In order to ensure that migrants have a better chance for jobs it wants to deal firmly with discrimination, especially on the labour market. Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning of the Market and dynamics for labour. The party also wants to decrease income differences by making child benefits, government pensions and mortgage interest deductions dependent on ones income. Child benefit (or family allowance children's allowance is a Social security payment disbursed to the parents or guardians of Children Child benefit is means-tested A pension is a steady income given to a person upon Retirement, typically in the form of a guaranteed annuity. ^[5]

International cooperation is an important theme for the party. This includes development cooperation with underdeveloped countries. Development aid or development cooperation (also development assistance, technical assistance, international aid, overseas aid The GreenLeft wants to increase spending on development aid to 1,5% of the Gross National Product. Development aid or development cooperation (also development assistance, technical assistance, international aid, overseas aid It wants to open the European markets to goods from Third World countries, under conditions of fair trade. Fair trade is an organized Social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability In order to ensure free and fair trade it wants to increase the democratize international economic organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank. The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) is an International organization that oversees the Global financial system by following the Macroeconomic The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e The party also wants to canceling the debt of third world countries. Developing countries' debt is External debt incurred by the governments of Third World countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political The GreenLeft is positive about European integration, but critical about the current policies of the European Commission. European integration is the process of political legal economic (and in some cases social and cultural integration of European states including some states that are partly in Europe The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. It favoured the European Constitution, but after it was voted down in the 2005 referendum the GreenLeft advocated a new treaty which emphasized democracy and subsidiarity. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an unimplemented international Treaty intended The Dutch referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was a consultative Referendum that was held on 1 June 2005 to decide if the Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Subsidiarity is an Organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest lowest or least centralized competent authority The party is critical about the war against terrorism. The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U It wants to strengthen the peacekeeping powers of the United Nations and reform the Dutch armed forces to a peace force. Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The military of the Netherlands is composed of four branches all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal Koninklijke Landmacht Finally the GreenLeft favours a liberal immigration policy, including a humane asylum seeker policy. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race It wants to empower victims of human trafficking by giving them a residence permit and it wants to abolish the income demands for marriage migration. Human trafficking is the recruitment transportation harbouring or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery forced labor (including bonded labor or debt bondage and servitude ^[5]

The GreenLeft wants to solve environmental problems, especially climate change, by stimulating durable alternatives. Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences The party wants to use subsidies, taxes and emissions trading to stimulate alternative energy as an alternative for both fossil fuel and nuclear plants. Emissions trading (or emission trading) is an administrative approach used to control Pollution by providing economic Incentives for Alternative energy is typically defined as coming from sources that do not deplete natural resources or harm. Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source Fuels that is Hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions It is opposed to drilling for natural gas in the Waddenzee and it wants to close all nuclear plants in the Netherlands. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, The Wadden Sea ( Vadehavet, Waddenzee, Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee, West Frisian: Waadsee Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions Moreover it wants to stimulate energy saving. Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used It wants to invest in clean public transport, as an alternative for polluting private transport. Investments in public transport can be financed by not expanding highways and imposing a tolls on the use of roads (called "rekening rijden"). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve The party wants to stimulate organic farming through taxes and subsidies, as an alternative for industrial agriculture. Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on Crop rotation, Green manure, Compost, Biological pest control, and mechanical Cultivation Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of Livestock, Poultry, Fish, and Moreover the GreenLeft wants to codify animal rights in the Constitution. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. The Constitution of the Netherlands is the Fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. ^[5]

The GreenLeft values individual freedom and the rule of law. The rule of law, in its most basic form is the principle that no one is above the law The party wants to legalize soft drugs. In the Netherlands the national drug policy has officially four major objectives To prevent drug use and to treat and rehabilitate drug users It also wants to limit the use of AIVD-information in the court room. Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst ( AIVD) formerly known as the BVD ( Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst, Domestic Security Service) is the General A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds Court. In the long term abolish the Dutch monarchy and instead become a republic. The Netherlands has been an independent Monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its ^[5]

Representation and Support

Overview

In this table the election results of the GreenLeft in Tweede Kamer (TK), Eerste Kamer (EK), European (EP) and provincial (PS) elections is represented, as well as the party's political leadership: the "fractievoorzitter", the chair of the parliamentary party and the "lijsttrekker", the party's top candidate in the general election. The Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal ( literally "Second Chamber of the States-General" short Tweede Kamer, is the Dutch Lower house. The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU The States-Provincial ( Provinciale Staten, or PS - commonly known as simply the Staten, or States) is the provincial parliament and legislative Elections in the Netherlands are held for six territorial levels the European Union (beyond the scope of this article the state the 12 Provinces The leader or chairperson of a Parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong Party discipline Lijsttrekker ("list puller" is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a Party list. These posts are normally taken by the party leader. The party's membership and the partijvoorzitter, the chair of the party's organization is represented as well. The party chair has an organizational function and is not part of the political leadership of the party . ^[27]

¹ 32 members of provincial parliaments were elected, but Cheryl Braam was soon no longer let into the North Holland parliamentary party after it became known that she had lied over voting invalid in the First Chamber. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 15, 2002 A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on January 22, 2003 (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after North Holland ( Dutch: Noord-Holland,, West Frisian: Noôrd-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the An indirect election to the Eerste Kamer was held in the Netherlands on 29 May 2007. ^[28]

Members of the Lower House of Parliament

party leader Femke Halsema

After the 2006 elections the party has seven representatives in the lower house of parliament:

1. Femke Halsema, chair of the parliamentary party. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after The Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal ( literally "Second Chamber of the States-General" short Tweede Kamer, is the Dutch Lower house. (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 In parliament since 1998. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 6, 1998. Criminologist, who worked for the Scientific Institute of the social-democratic PvdA, before joining the GreenLeft in 1997. Schools of thought In the mid-18th century criminology arose as social philosophers gave thought to crime and concepts of law ^[29]
2. Kees Vendrik, financial spokesperson, vice-chair. Cornelis Constant Maria (Kees Vendrik ( Nijmegen, 30 january 1963) is a Dutch politician. In parliament since 1998. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 6, 1998. Political economist, who worked for De Balie. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government De Balie is a well-known and internationally respected theatre and a centre for politics culture and media He was a member of the PSP before 1991. The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. ^[30]
3. Wijnand Duyvendak, environmental spokesperson. Anton Johan Wijnand (Wijnand Duijvendak ( Markelo, 30 november 1957) is a Dutch politician. In parliament since 2002. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 15, 2002 Has a background in social movements, was director of Milieudefensie. Milieudefensie ( Dutch for 'environmental defense' is a Dutch environmental organisation founded on 6 January 1971 by a group of scientists in response to ^[31]
4. Mariko Peters, foreign affairs spokesperson. Mariko Peters (1969 Berkeley, United States) is a Dutch politician and member of the Tweede Kamer for the GreenLeft. In parliament since 2006. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after Lawyer, who has been deputy chef de post in Kabul. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person ^[32]
5. Ineke van Gent, social affairs spokesperson. Wilhelmina (Ineke van Gent ( Arnhem, 21 june 1957) is a Dutch politician. In parliament since 1998. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 6, 1998. She worked for the FNV. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging (Dutch Federation Dutch Labour Movement She was a member of the PSP before 1991. The Pacifist Socialist Party (in Dutch Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP was a Dutch left-socialist Political party. ^[33]
6. Naïma Azough, justice spokesperson. Naïma Azough ( April 1, 1972 in Asdif, Morocco) is a Dutch politician for the GreenLeft. In parliament since 2002 with a one year hiatus. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 15, 2002 Journalist. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends ^[34]
7. Tofik Dibi, education and integration spokesperson. Tofik Dibi ( Vlissingen, 19 november 1980) is a Dutch politician for the GreenLeft. In parliament since 2006. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after He studied media studies and was involved in the anti-racism movement. Media studies is a collection of academic programs regarding the content history meaning and effects of various media. ^[35]

Members of the Upper House of Parliament

After the 2007 elections the party has four representatives in the upper house of parliament:

1. Tof Thissen, chair of the parliamentary party. An indirect election to the Eerste Kamer was held in the Netherlands on 29 May 2007. The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General He is MP since 2004. He is spokesperson on education, local government and the economy. In addition to his membership of the Eerste Kamer he is director of Divosa. He was an alderman in Roermond for the GreenLeft. Roermond ( is a city a Municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. Before 1991 he was member of the PSP. ^[36]
2. Britta Böhler is spokesperson on defense, justice and the Environment. Britta Böhler ( Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 17 july 1960) is a German-Dutch lawyer She is MP since 2007. In addition to her membership of the Eerste Kamer she is a human rights lawyer. ^[37]
3. Tineke Strik is spokesperson on home affairs, foreign affairs and social affairs. She is MP since 2007. In addition to her membership of the Eerste Kamer she is a legal researcher. She was an alderwoman in Wageningen for the GreenLeft. Wageningen is a Municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. ^[38]
4. Jan Laurier is spokesperson finance, health and housing. He is MP since 2007. He was an alderman in Leiden for the GreenLeft. "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. Before 1991 he was member of the CPN. The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party. ^[39]

Members of the European Parliament

EP-delegation leader Kathalijne Buitenweg

After the 2004 European Parliament elections the party has two representatives in the European Parliament:

1. Kathalijne Buitenweg is chair of the delegation. Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (born 27 March 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament for MEP since 1999. She is spokesperson on justice and the environment. Before entering the EP she was involved in the anti-racism movement. Previously she has been a member of the PvdA. ^[40]
2. Joost Lagendijk is MEP since 1998. Joost Lagendijk (born 8 June 1957 in Roosendaal, Netherlands) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament He was chair of the delegation between 1998 and 2004. He is spokesperson on foreign affairs and is chair of the delegation to Turkey. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Before entering the EP he worked as a publisher. Before 1991 he was a member of the PSP. ^[41]

Together with Bart Staes from the Belgian party Groen!, they form one transnational delegation. Bart Hubert Wilfried Marcel Staes (born on August 7, 1958 in Izegem) is a Belgian politician and a Member of the European Parliament The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Green! (in Dutch Groen!; founded as Agalev (see name-section below is a Belgian green Political party. GroenLinks MEPs are part of the Greens/EFA. The European Greens European Free Alliance ( The Greens European Free Alliance; Greens EFA; French: Le Groupe Verts Alliance libre européenne ^[42]

Municipal and Provincial Government

Marijke Vos, Alderwoman in Amsterdam

On the municipal level, the party provides 8 mayors (out of 414, as of December 2008),^[1][43] in smaller municipalities such as Bloemendaal, Diemen and Wormerland, these are also appointed by the Minister of the Interior. |||} All provinces of the Netherlands are divided into municipalities ( gemeenten) together 443 (2007 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Bloemendaal ( is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Diemen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands with a population of around 24000 Wormerland is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations ( Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties; BZK is the Dutch Ministry of home affairs The GreenLeft did not perform particularly well in the 2006 municipal elections, losing 14 of its 415 seats, making it the fourth largest party in the Netherlands on the municipal level. The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on March 7 2006. ^[44] In the formation of municipal executives it was more successful and the number of municipal executives the GreenLeft was part of grew from around 70 to around 100. ^[45]

It is part of the municipal executive of several larger cities notably Nijmegen, Utrecht, the Hague, Leiden, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, where former MP Marijke Vos is alderwoman. Nijmegen (ˈnɛɪmeɣən) (obsolete spellings Nijmwegen Nymegen Nieumeghen &mdash Nimwegen in local dialect and in German, Nimègue in French Utrecht ( city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of The Government of Amsterdam is the government of the municipality and city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Maria Bernadina (Marijke Vos (born in Leidschendam May 4, 1957) is a Dutch Politician. The GreenLeft has 70 members of burrough-level legislatives, 53 in Amsterdam and 17 in Rotterdam.

On the provincial level, the GreenLeft provides one Queen's Commissioner (out of 12) in North Holland. The King's Commissioner (Commissaris van de Koning is the head of a Province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten (PS the North Holland ( Dutch: Noord-Holland,, West Frisian: Noôrd-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the Queen's Commissioners appointed by the Minister of the Interior. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations ( Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties; BZK is the Dutch Ministry of home affairs The GreenLeft is part of the North Holland provincial executive. North Holland ( Dutch: Noord-Holland,, West Frisian: Noôrd-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the It holds 51 seats in provincial legislatives. In the following figure one can see the election results of the provincial election of 2007 per province. ^[46] It shows the areas where the GreenLeft is strong, namely the urban areas like North Holland and Utrecht. The party is weaker in rural provinces like Friesland and Zeeland, but also strong in the rural Groningen, where the Communist Party of the Netherlands, one of the founding parties of the GreenLeft was very strong. The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN was a Dutch communist Political party.

Electorate

The GreenLeft tends to do particularly well in larger cities that host a university, such as Amsterdam (where it scored 12,5%), Utrecht (12,2%) and Wageningen (11,8%), Nijmegen (10. The Government of Amsterdam is the government of the municipality and city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Utrecht ( city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. Wageningen is a Municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. Nijmegen (ˈnɛɪmeɣən) (obsolete spellings Nijmwegen Nymegen Nieumeghen &mdash Nimwegen in local dialect and in German, Nimègue in French 4%) and Leiden (10. "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. 0%). ^[50] More women vote for the GreenLeft, than men by a margin of 20%. ^[51] The party is also overrepresented under homosexual voters. Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. ^[52] The party also polls well under migrant voters, especially those from Turkey and Morroco, where its support is twice as high as under the general population. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa ^[53][54]

The voters of the GreenLeft have an eccentric position in their preferences for particular policies. Between 1989 and 2003 they were the most leftwing voters in the Netherlands, often a little more to the left than voters of the SP. The Socialist Party ( SP, Dutch: Socialistische Partij) is a Dutch socialist Political party. ^[55] These voters are in favour of smaller income differences, free choice for euthanasia, opening the borders for asylum seekers, the multicultural society and are firmly against building new nuclear plants. Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions ^[55]

Style and Campaign

The logo of GreenLeft is the name of the party with the word "Green" written in red and the word "Left" written in green since 1994. Green is a Color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a Wavelength of roughly 520–570- nm. Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Additional colours used in the logo are white, yellow and blue. An earlier logo, used between 1989 and 1994, and which can be seen on the poster above showed a variation of a peace sign projected on a green triangle on which "PPR PSP CPN EVP" was written and next to it GreenLeft in green and pink. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party.

Many well-known Dutch people have supported GreenLeft election campaigns. In 1989 choreographer Rudi van Dantzig and writer Astrid Roemer were last candidate. Rudi van Dantzig ( Amsterdam, August 4 1933) is a Dutch Choreographer, Ballet Dancer and Writer. ^[56] In 2006 comedian Vincent Bijlo shared this position with MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg. A Member of the European Parliament ( English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union 's legislative body the European Parliament. Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (born 27 March 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament for ^[57]. Comedienne Sara Kroos,^[58] rapper Raymzter,^[59] astronaut Wubbo Ockels^[60] en soccer player Khalid Boulahrouz^[61][62], business man Harry de Winter,^[61][62] journalist Anil Ramdas,^[61] actrice Kim van Kooten,^[61] commediene Sanne Wallis de Vries,^[61] commedian Herman Finkers,^[61] artist Herman van Veen,^[61] soccer player-columnist Jan Mulder^[61][62] and writer Geert Mak^[62] have also committed their name to (part of) the 2007 GreenLeft election campaign. Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch Physicist and Astronaut. In 1985 he participated in a flight of the space shuttle, making him the first and Khalid Boulahrouz December 28, 1981, in Maassluis, Netherlands is a Dutch footballer of Berber Moroccan Anil Ramdas ( Paramaribo, 16 February 1958) is a Dutch - Suriname Columnist, Correspondent, Essayist Kim van Kooten (born January 26 1974) is a Dutch actress and Screenwriter. Hermenegildus ("Herman" Felix Victor Maria Finkers (born December 9 1954 in Almelo, Overijssel) is a Comedian from the Hermannus Jantinus "Herman" van Veen (born 14 March, 1945) is a Dutch stage performer Actor, Musician and Singer For other Jan Mulders see Jan Mulder Johan (Jan Mulder (born May 4, 1945 in Bellingwolde, Netherlands) was a Dutch Geert Ludzer Mak (born 4 december 1946 in Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch Journalist and Historian.

From 2007 onwards GroenLinks has adopted the idea of a "permanent campaign", which implies that campaign activities are deployed even when there is no immediate connection to an election. ^[63] Permanent campaign activities are intended to create and maintain a base level of sympathy and knowledge about the party program. The introduction of guerrilla gardening in the Netherlands in 2008 was heavily supported by GreenLeft,^[64] as part of the permanent campaign. Guerrilla gardening is political Gardening, a form of Nonviolent direct action, primarily practiced by environmentalists.

Party Bureau of the GreenLeft in Utrecht

Organization

Organizational structure

The highest organ of the GreenLeft is the party congress, which is open to all members. A party congress is a general conference of a Political party. The congress elects the party-board, it decides on the order of the candidates for national and European elections and it has a final say over the party program. The congress convenes at least once every year in spring or when needed. The party board consists out of fifteen members who are elected for a two year term. The chairperson of this board is the only paid position on the board, the others are unpaid. The chairperson together with four other boardmembers (the vice-chair, the treasurer, the secretary, the European secretary and the international secretary) handles the daily affairs and meet every two weeks while the other ten board members meet only once a month. ^[65]

For the months that the congress does not convene, a party council takes over its role. It consists out of 80 representatives of all the 250 municipal branches. The party board and the nationally elected representatives of the party are responsible to the party council. It has the right to fill vacancies in the board, make changes to the party constitution and takes care of the party's finances. ^[65]

GreenLeft MPs face relatively strong regulation: MPs are not allowed to run for more than three terms and a relatively high percentage of the income of MPs is taxed by the party. ^[65]

The GreenLeft has 250 branches in nearly all Dutch municipalities and each province. |||} All provinces of the Netherlands are divided into municipalities ( gemeenten) together 443 (2007 A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional There are multiple municipalities in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where every borough has its own branch and they have federal branches at the municipal level. The Government of Amsterdam is the government of the municipality and city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of A deelgemeente (literally part-municipality) is a subdivision of a gemeente (municipality in Belgium and the Netherlands Branches enjoy considerable independence, and take care of their own campaigns, lists of candidates and programs for elections. Provincial congresses meet at least every year and municipal congresses more often. ^[65]

There are several independent organizations which are linked to the GreenLeft: DWARS, the independent youth organization of the GreenLeft, De Linker Wang ("The Left Cheek"), platform for Religion and Politics, which is a progressive Christian platform, which was formed by former members of the Evangelical People's Party. DWARS de GroenLinkse jongerenorganisatie ("Contrary" the GreenLeft Youth Organisation for more information on the name see name section) is the independent Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Protestant Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition acceptance The Evangelical People's Party (Dutch Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP was a minor progressive Christian Political party in the Netherlands. ^[66] and the Scientific Bureau GreenLeft, the independent political think tank which publishes "de Helling" (Dutch for "the Slope"). A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such ^[67]

The GreenLeft is also active on the European and the global stage. It is a founding member of the European Green Party and the Global Greens. The European Green Party (or European Greens or EGP) is the Green Political party at European level. The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements Its MEPs sit in the European Greens–European Free Alliance group. The European Greens European Free Alliance ( The Greens European Free Alliance; Greens EFA; French: Le Groupe Verts Alliance libre européenne The GreenLeft cooperates with seven other Dutch parties in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, an institute which supports democratic development in developing countries. The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy | NIMD ( Dutch Nederlands Instituut voor Meerpartijendemocratie) is a democracy assistance organisation of ^[68]

Relationships to other parties

The GreenLeft was founded to become a mid-sized party to the left of the PvdA. In the 1994 elections however the Socialist Party (SP) also entered parliament. The GreenLeft now takes a center position in the Dutch left between the socialist SP, which is more to the left, and the social democratic PvdA, which is more to the centre. ^[69] This position is exemplified by the call of Femke Halsema to form a left-wing coalition after the 2006 elections, knowing that such a coalition is only possible with GreenLeft. The electoral alliance between SP and GL in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 elections,^[70] and between the GreenLeft and PvdA in the 2004 European elections are examples of this position. ^[71] In the 2007 First Chamber election it had an electoral alliance with the Party for the Animals. An indirect election to the Eerste Kamer was held in the Netherlands on 29 May 2007. The Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren is a Political party in the Netherlands with two out of the one hundred and fifty seats in parliament. ^[72] More and more however the GreenLeft is seen as the most leftwing and most progressive of the three parties. ^[73][74]

References

External links

• GroenLinks.nl Official Site
• campaign ad
• collection of all blogs of GreenLeft members