Left-wing voters open to new party, but Timmermans not their first choice
A majority of left-wing voters in the Netherlands are open to the idea of a new progressive political party, but current GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans is not their preferred leader, according to a new poll by RTL Nieuwspanel.
"Two-thirds of voters from left-wing parties are at least interested in a new party," said RTL opinion researcher Gijs Rademaker. "Whether they would actually leave their current parties and vote for it remains unclear."
Timmermans, along with GroenLinks-PvdA lawmaker Habtamu de Hoop, has been advocating for the creation of a broad left-wing alliance. "And as far as I’m concerned, it should happen this year," De Hoop said last week in a speech in Almelo. "United Left, A New Progressive Alliance, Moving Forward Together—call it what you want, but it is long overdue."
A poll of left-leaning voters found that 60 percent support the idea of a new party, while only 16 percent oppose it. However, there is also confusion. "People don’t understand the difference between a merger and a new party," Rademaker said. "And they wonder whether other parties would be allowed to join."
If such a party were to be formed, 23 percent of all voters expressed interest, including 67 percent of left-wing voters.
Despite this interest, prominent PvdA members have expressed resistance. Former Tweede Kamer chair and longtime PvdA member Gerdi Verbeet called the idea "reckless."
"I don’t think we have time to be occupied with ourselves like this," she said. "We need strong plans for new elections. We should be focusing on sharpening our social-democratic vision."
Verbeet is part of the movement Rood Vooruit, which opposes a merger. "There are far more important things right now than a new party. We should be forming a shadow cabinet and presenting concrete alternatives to this government."
Former PvdA chairman Hans Spekman also criticized the proposal. "All I hear is discussion about structure. But what good is that? We need priorities, we need vision," he said. "If we want to be big and strong, we need to focus on solutions. We need to help people find housing."
Spekman warned that a new left-wing party could end up catering mainly to highly educated voters. "You risk creating a gray, homogenous bloc. Meanwhile, the people we should be serving are being ignored."
Although Timmermans has expressed his willingness to lead the new party, he is not the first choice among left-wing voters.
"Voters want Ahmed Aboutaleb," Rademaker said. The former mayor of Rotterdam was seen as a strong candidate by 43 percent of respondents. Rob Jetten and Jesse Klaver were also frequently mentioned. Timmermans placed fourth, with support from 25 percent of interested voters, just ahead of De Hoop.
Spekman dismissed the leadership debate as irrelevant. "I couldn’t care less who leads it," he said. "People don’t want to hear about party structures and negotiations. That’s nonsense. What they want are answers and solutions."
