Labour leader asserts himself, but is the party divided about strategy?

Friday 17 February 2012

There is no question of deep divisions within the parliamentary Labour party about strategy and the leadership issue, party leader Job Cohen told reporters on Thursday evening.

Cohen's comments came after a meeting of the PvdA's 30 members of parliament, which included discussion of an interview given by Cohen and party chairman Hans Spekman to newspaper Trouw.

In the interview, Cohen and Spekman highlighted the number of similarities between the PvdA and the Socialist Party, leading some commentators to conclude the party planned a shift to the left.

Clumsy

But sources told website nu.nl, many senior members are unhappy with this strategy because it ignores the party's strong social-democratic traditions. In addition, Nos television obtained a leaked email from party stalwart and MP Frans Timmermans in which he said he thought the interview was 'strategically clumsy'.

Although Cohen and others said unity had been restored after last night's meeting, the Telegraaf claims up to 17 MPs have 'had it' with Cohen. 'He is not a leader, has no opinions and the communication is extremely poor,' one MP told the paper.

The PvdA has been hit hard in the opinion polls since the June 2010 general election, and would win around 17 seats if there was an election tomorrow. In particular, Cohen has been criticised for not being high-profile enough.

Socialists

By contrast, support for the SP has increased dramatically and some polls put the party ahead of the ruling Liberals VVD.

The Volkskrant asks which MP could be a possible challenger to Cohen's leadership. 'It could be some time to the next election, so a new leader would be a stop-gap. And it is questionable whether anyone would be prepared to take on that role,' the paper says.

Cohen, the former mayor of Amsterdam, took over from Wouter Bos ahead of the 2010 general election.

© DutchNews.nl

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