PvdA and GroenLinks in Brabant: only together in provincial government

If PvdA and GroenLinks in the province of Noord-Brabant enter the council after the provincial elections, they will only do so together. This was announced by the leaders of the two parties on Friday. In the ongoing administration of the province, they want to jointly "form a solid and social green bloc," they said.

By joining forces, the two parties also hope to emerge from the elections as the largest bloc. "Together we now have 8 seats in the provincial council. We expect to win, so it is realistic and hopeful to become the largest party together," said Jade van der Linden, party leader of GroenLinks. The VVD is currently the largest party in Noord-Brabant with 10 seats, followed by the CDA with 9 seats.

GroenLinks and PvdA are currently part of the council in Noord-Brabant, along with VVD, CDA and D66. They describe closer cooperation after the March 15 elections as a logical next step. "In more than half of the Brabant municipalities, GroenLinks and PvdA already form a joint group in the city council," reported PvdA party leader Ward Deckers. "And at the national level, too, the Senate factions will be merged after the elections."

PvdA and GroenLinks seem to be growing closer. Earlier this week, several prominent politicians from the PvdA and GroenLinks had become members of both parties, including Job Cohen and Diederik Samsom of the PvdA and Bram van Ojik of the GroenLinks. This with the aim of strengthening cooperation and bringing a merger closer.

From a provincial point of view, the cooperation between the two parties is even greater in Zeeland than in North Brabant. In that province, the parties go together on one electoral list. But apart from Zeeland, North Brabant is "as far as I know, the only province where PvdA and GroenLinks have agreed to only go to college together or not", says Deckers.

From a provincial perspective, the cooperation between the two parties is even greater in Zeeland than in Noord-Brabant. In this province, the parties run together on one election list. But apart from Zeeland, Nooord-Brabant is "as far as I know, the only province where PvdA and GroenLinks have agreed to only run together or not at all," Deckers said.

An overview by the NRC showed that, except for Zeeland, there were no concrete plans for a merger between the factions of the two parties in the other 11 provinces. According to the newspaper, provincial politicians are still very skeptical or even opposed.

In an interview last week, the VVD leadership sharply criticized the "left cloud," as Mark Rutte called the cooperation with the Senate. "The prime minister's panic is justified," responded Green Left leader Jesse Klaver.