“We can win the election” says Klaver after PRO merger endorsed

The two main left-wing Dutch parties, Labour (PvdA) and GroenLinks, have formally merged after delegates overwhelmingly backed the final step at the weekend.

The new party, Progressief Nederland (PRO), is the culmination of a process that began in the wake of the 2021 general election results, when the two parties managed just 17 of the 150 seats between them.

Nearly 90% of members of both parties voted to merge at a conference a year ago and GroenLinks-PvdA have run joint lists of candidates at the last two elections and for the provincial elections in 2022, which determined the make-up of the Senate.

The final step was the dissolution of the two parties and the creation of PRO, which was backed by 96% of GroenLinks members and 97% of the PvdA at the inaugural conference in Den Bosch on Saturday.

Leader Jesse Klaver said: “If we keep pressing and stay true to ourselves, I am convinced that Progressief Nederland can become the largest party in parliament at the next elections.”

Leading polls

GL-PvdA won 20 seats in the general election last October as it was overtaken by both the progressive liberal D66 and the right-wing VVD in the last weeks of the campaign. It also finished behind the far-right PVV, led by Geert Wilders.

Former European commissioner Frans Timmermans stepped down as leader on election night, admitting he had failed to convince voters to back the party’s message.

The party also still has to resolve its position in the European parliament, where GroenLinks are part of the Green group while PvdA members sit with the Social Democrat faction.

Klaver told TV politics show Buitenhof that the new party would keep up the pressure on the D66-led minority government to ditch its proposed spending cuts.

“We are working very closely with the trade unions and we’re not afraid of compromise or co-operation, but we’re not signing up to the plans of this cabinet,” he said.

Social security

“If you look at their plans for social security, you see how money is being taken away – you could almost say stolen – from the funding pots that have been filled by workers and employees for moments when things go wrong, such as when people become sick or unemployed.

“People are being told when they’re unable to work that they’ll be hundreds of euros worse off. That’s unfair, it goes against everything we stand for in the Netherlands and we’ll will do everything we can to prevent it.”

Latest opinion polls indicate PRO would win between 22 and 28 seats in parliament if an election were held today, with around 15% of the vote. That would be enough to make it the largest party in the fragmented Dutch system.

The VVD are in second place with around 14%, while the PVV would take 13% and Rob Jetten’s party D66 have slipped back to 12%.