GroenLinks-PvdA union unveils new name: Progressief Nederland (PRO)

Starting in June, GroenLinks and the PvdA will merge under the name Progressief Nederland, with the short name PRO. The two parties, currently the largest opposition bloc in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, made the announcement on Thursday.

“Being progressive means striving for a fair and just society,” party leader Jesse Klaver said while unveiling the new name. “Our movement’s mission is progress, not just for a select few or the richest, but for everyone.”

Klaver emphasized that the absence of references to the social-democratic, green, or leftist origins in the new name does not signal a shift in the party’s political stance. “We remain where we belong: proudly left of center.” The party’s new logo will include a green rose.

The name Progressief Nederland had been circulating in The Hague for a few days. Last week, BNR speculated, based on website activity and social media, that this might be the new party name, although GroenLinks-PvdA had not officially confirmed it.

The leaders of PvdA and GroenLinks say the new party will be the largest in the Netherlands, with 103,000 members. Membership rose sharply in recent years, in part because some people joined both parties ahead of the merger. A spokesperson confirmed that any duplicate counts have now been removed.

Klaver believes PRO has the potential to become the largest party in the next lower house election. “If we work hard and, above all, remain true to ourselves.” GroenLinks-PvdA is already the biggest party in the Senate, in part due to the breakup of the BBB Senate faction, and also holds the largest number of Dutch seats in the European Parliament.

While GroenLinks-PvdA remained the biggest party nationally in last week’s municipal elections, it lost a significant number of council seats. This comes after a tough result in last autumn’s lower house election, where the left-wing alliance dropped five seats.