Labour Party (Netherlands)

1945–1965

The Labour Party (PvdA) was founded on 9 February 1946, through a merger of three parties: the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), the social-liberal Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and progressive-Protestant Christian Democratic Union (CDU). They were joined by individuals from Catholic resistance group Christofoor and the Protestant parties Christian Historical Union (CHU) and Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP).

The founders of the PvdA wanted to create a broad party, breaking with the historic tradition of Pillarisation. This desire to come to a new political system was called the Doorbraak. The party combined socialists with liberal democrats and progressive Christians. However, the party was unable to break Pillarisation. Instead the new party renewed the close ties that SDAP had with other socialist organisations (see linked organisations). In 1948 some liberal members, led by former VDB leader Pieter Oud, left the PvdA because they were unhappy with the socialist course of the PvdA. Together with the Freedom Party, they formed the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a conservative-liberal party.

Between 1946 and 1958, the PvdA formed coalition governments with the Catholic People's Party (KVP), and combinations of VVD, ARP and CHU. The KVP and the PvdA together had a large majority in parliament. Since 1948, these cabinets were led by PvdA Prime Minister Willem Drees. Under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war, began to build its welfare state and Indonesia became independent.

After the cabinet crisis of 1958, the PvdA was replaced by the VVD. The PvdA was in opposition until 1965. The electoral support of PvdA voters began to decline.

1965–1989

In 1965 a conflict in the KVP-ARP-CHU-VVD cabinet made continuation of the government impossible. The three confessional, Christian-influenced parties turned towards the PvdA. Together they formed the Cals cabinet. This cabinet was also short lived and conflict ridden. The conflicts culminated in the fall of the Cals cabinet over economic policy.

Meanwhile, a younger generation was attempting to gain control of the PvdA. A group of young PvdA members, calling themselves the New Left, changed the party. The New Left wanted to reform the PvdA: they believed the party should become oriented towards the new social movements, adopting their anti-parliamentary strategies and their issues, such as women's liberation, environmental conservation and Third World development. Prominent New Left members were Jan Nagel, André van der Louw and Bram Peper. One of their early victories followed the fall of the Cals cabinet. The party Congress adopted a motion that made it impossible for the PvdA to govern with the KVP and its Protestant allies. In response to the growing power of the New Left group, a group of older, centrist party members, led by Willem Drees' son, Willem Drees, Jr. founded the New Right. They split in 1970, after it was clear that they had lost the conflict with the New Left, and founded a new moderate Social Democratic party, Democratic Socialists '70 (DS70).

Under the New Left, the PvdA started a strategy of polarisation, striving for a cabinet based on a progressive majority in parliament. In order to form that cabinet the PvdA allied itself with the social-liberal party Democrats 66 (D66) and the progressive Christian Political Party of Radicals (PPR). The alliance was called the Progressive Accord (PAK). In the 1971 and 1972 elections, these three parties promised to form a cabinet with a radical common programme after the elections. They were unable to gain a majority in either election. In 1971, they were kept out of cabinet, and the party of former PvdA members, DS70, became a partner of the First Biesheuvel cabinet.

In the 1972 elections, neither the PvdA and its allies or the KVP and its allies were able to gain a majority. The two sides were forced to work together. Joop den Uyl, the leader of the PvdA, led the cabinet. The cabinet was an extra-parliamentary cabinet and it was composed of members of the three progressive parties and members of the KVP and the ARP. The cabinet attempted to radically reform government, society and the economy, and a wide range of progressive social reforms were enacted during its time in office, such as significant increases in welfare payments and the indexation of benefits and the minimum wage to the cost of living.

However, it also faced economic decline and was riddled with personal and ideological conflicts. Especially, the relationship between Prime Minister Den Uyl and the KVP Deputy Prime Minister, Van Agt was very problematic. The conflict culminated just before the 1977 elections, the cabinet fell. The 1977 general election were won by the PvdA, but the ideological and personal conflict between Van Agt and Den Uyl prevented the formation of a new centre-left cabinet. After very long cabinet formation talks, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), itself a new Christian democratic political formation composed of KVP, CHU and ARP, formed government with the VVD, based on a very narrow majority. The PvdA was left in opposition.

In the 1981 general election, the incumbent CDA-VVD cabinet lost their majority. The CDA remained the largest party, but it was forced to co-operate with the PvdA and D66 (the PPR had left the alliance, after losing the 1977 elections). In the new cabinet led by Van Agt, Den Uyl returned to cabinet, now as Deputy Prime Minister. The personal and ideological conflict between Van Agt and Den Uyl culminated in the fall of the cabinet just months after it was formed. The VVD and the CDA regained their majority in the 1982 general election and retained it in the 1986 general election. The PvdA was left in opposition. During this period, the party began to reform. In 1986, Den Uyl left politics, appointing former trade union leader Wim Kok as his successor.

1989–2010

After the 1989 general election, the PvdA returned to cabinet together with the CDA. Kok became Deputy Prime Minister to CDA leader Ruud Lubbers. The PvdA accepted the major economic reforms the previous Lubbers cabinets made, including privatisation of public enterprises and reform of the welfare state. They continued these policies in this cabinet. The cabinet faced heavy protest from the unions and saw major political conflict within the PvdA itself.

In the 1994 general election, the PvdA and CDA coalition lost its majority in parliament. The PvdA, however, emerged as the biggest party. Kok formed a government together with the conservative-liberal VVD and social-liberal D66. The so-called purple government was a political novelty, because the Christian Democrats had been in government since 1918. The first Kok cabinet continued the economic reforms, but combined this with a progressive outlook on ethical questions and promises of political reform. Kok became a very popular prime minister. Kok was not a partisan figure but combined successful technocratic policies with the charisma of a national leader. In the 1998 general election, the cabinet was rewarded for its stewardship of the economy. The PvdA and the VVD increased their seats, at the cost of D66.

The PvdA was expected to perform very well in the 2002 general election. Kok left politics leaving the leadership of the party to his preferred successor Ad Melkert. But the political rise of Pim Fortuyn frustrated these hopes. The PvdA lost the 2002 elections, and the party's parliamentary representation fell from 45 seats to 23. The loss was blamed on the uncharismatic new leader Melkert, the perceived arrogance of the PvdA and the inability to answer to the right-wing populist issues Fortuyn raised, especially immigration and integration. Melkert resigned as party leader and was replaced by Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven. The PvdA was kept out of cabinet. The government formed by CDA, VVD and the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) fell after a very short period.

Meanwhile, Wouter Bos, Undersecretary in the second purple cabinet, was elected leader of the PvdA in a referendum among PvdA members, being elected closely to Jouke de Vries. He started to democratise the party organisation and began an ideological reorientation. In the 2003 general election, Wouter Bos managed to regain almost all seats lost in the previous election, and the PvdA was once again the second largest party in the Netherlands, only slightly smaller than the CDA. Personal and ideological conflicts between Bos and the CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende prevented the formation of a CDA-PvdA cabinet. Instead, the PvdA was kept out of government by the formation of cabinet of the CDA, the VVD, and D66, the latter being former allies of PvdA. In the 2006 municipal elections, the renewed PvdA performed very well. The PvdA became by far the largest party nationally, while the three governing parties lost a considerable number of seats in municipal councils.

It was expected that the PvdA would do well in the upcoming 2006 general election, but the party lost the race for Prime Minister to the CDA after suffering a loss of 9 seats. The PvdA now held only 33 seats, losing many votes to the Socialist Party (SP). The PvdA had previously distanced themselves from the idea of a voting bloc on the left. It did, however, join the fourth Balkenende cabinet o 22 February 2007, in which Wouter Bos became minister of Finance. In the aftermath of the lost elections, the entire party executive stepped down on 26 April 2007. On Saturday 20 February 2010, the Labour Party withdrew from the government after arguments over the Dutch role in Afghanistan.

2010–present

After withdrawing from the government, Wouter Bos announced he would leave politics to spend more time with his wife and two daughters. Then mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, took his place as leader of the PvdA. In the 2010 election, the PvdA won 30 seats, a loss of three, and were narrowly overtaken by the VVD. After the election, a "Purple Coalition" was considered - it would have required a fourth party in addition to the VVD, PvdA and D66 - but talks broke down and the PvdA entered opposition.

Cohen resigned as leader in February 2012. Diederik Samsom was subsequently elected the party leader. In the 2012 general election, the Labour Party won 38 seats, a gain of 8, defying initial predictions that the Socialist Party would overtake them. Following the election the party entered a governing coalition with the VVD under Mark Rutte, with Labour's Lodewijk Asscher becoming Deputy Prime Minister.

Opinion polls suggested that popular support for the PvdA fell into a gradual decline in the years after the 2012 election. The party was polled as low as 5% by Peil on May 8, 2016.

Ideology and issues

The PvdA began as a traditional social-democratic party, committed to building a welfare state. During the 1970s, it radicalised its programme and included new issues, such as women's liberation, environmental conservation and Third World development. During the 1990s, it moderated its programme, including reform of the welfare state and privatisation of public enterprise. In 2005, the party adopted a new programme of principles, expressing a centre-left ideology. Its core issues are employment, social security and welfare, and investing in public education, public safety and health care.

Representation

¹: In combined PvdA/PPR groups (estimate).

Members of the cabinet

Ten members of the second Rutte cabinet (2012-):

Lodewijk Asscher (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment)

Ronald Plasterk (Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations)

Bert Koenders (Minister of Foreign Affairs)

Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Minister of Finance)

Jet Bussemaker (Minister of Education, Culture and Science)

Lilianne Ploumen (Minister without portfolio, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation)

Sharon Dijksma (Undersecretary for Infrastructure and the Environment)

Martin van Rijn (Undersecretary for Health, Welfare and Sport)

Jetta Klijnsma (Undersecretary for Social Affairs and Employment)

Martijn van Dam (Undersecretary for Economic Affairs)

Members of the House of Representatives

After the 2012 election, the party had 38 representatives in the House of Representatives. In November 2014, two members left the party, a third left November 2016:

Members of the Senate

Following the 2015 Senate election, the party has 8 representatives in the Senate:

Members of the European Parliament

PvdA MEPs sit as part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the parliamentary group of the Party of European Socialists.

After the 2014 European Parliament elections, the party has 3 representatives in the European Parliament:

Paul Tang, leader of the PvdA delegation

Agnes Jongerius

Kati Piri

Provincial government

Three of the twelve King's Commissioners are members of the PvdA (Drenthe, Flevoland and Groningen). The party cooperates in eight States Deputed (Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Gelderland, Flevoland, North Holland, Limburg and Zeeland).

Municipal government

100 of the 379 mayors of the Netherlands are members of the PvdA (September 2010). The best known of them is Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam. The party cooperates in many municipal executives, among others the big four (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht). The PvdA obtained 799 seats in the 2014 municipal elections.

Electorate

Historically, the PvdA was supported by the working class. Currently the party is supported relatively well by civil servants, migrants, and the working class. The party has historically been very strong in the major cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and in the northern provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe.

Leadership

Leaders

2016- Lodewijk Asscher

2012–2016 Diederik Samsom

2010–2012 Job Cohen

2002–2010 Wouter Bos

2001-2002 Ad Melkert

1986-2001 Wim Kok

1966-1986 Joop den Uyl

1962-1966 Anne Vondeling

1958-1962 Jaap Burger

1946-1958 Willem Drees

Party chairs

2012- Hans Spekman

2007-2012 Lilianne Ploumen

2007 Ruud Koole (Ad interim)

2005-2007 Michiel van Hulten

2001-2005 Ruud Koole

2000-2001 Mariëtte Hamer (Ad interim)

1999-2000 Marijke van Hees

1998-1999 Ruud Vreeman (Ad interim)

1997-1998 Karin Adelmund

1996-1997 Ruud Vreeman (Ad interim)

1992-1997 Felix Rottenberg (Co-chair with Ruud Vreeman)

1991-1992 Frits Castricum (Ad interim)

1987-1991 Marjanne Sint

1986-1987 Stan Poppe (Ad interim)

1979-1986 Max van den Berg

1974-1979 Ien van den Heuvel-de Blank

1971-1974 André van der Louw

1969-1971 Anne Vondeling

1965-1969 Sjeng Tans

1961-1965 Ko Suurhoff

1960-1961 Hein Vos (Ad interim)

1955-1960 Evert Vermeer

1953-1955 Hein Vos (Ad interim)

1946-1953 Koos Vorrink

Parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives

2016- Attje Kuiken

2012–2016 Diederik Samsom

2012 Jeroen Dijsselbloem

2010–2012 Job Cohen

2008-2010 Mariëtte Hamer

2007-2008 Jacques Tichelaar

2002–2007 Wouter Bos

2002 Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven

1998-2002 Ad Melkert

1998 Jacques Wallage

1998 Wim Kok

1994-1998 Jacques Wallage

1994 Wim Kok

1989-1994 Thijs Wöltgens

1986-1989 Wim Kok

1982-1986 Joop den Uyl

1981-1982 Wim Meijer

1978-1981 Joop den Uyl

1973-1978 Ed van Thijn

1967-1973 Joop den Uyl

1965-1967 Gerard Nederhorst

1962-1965 Anne Vondeling

1952-1962 Jaap Burger

1951-1952 Leendert Antonie Donker

1951 Jaap Burger (Ad interim)

1946-1951 Marinus van der Goes van Naters

Organisational structure

The highest organ of the PvdA is the Congress, formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convenes once every year. It appoints the party board, decides the order of candidates on electoral lists for the Senate, House of Representatives and European Parliament and has the final say over the party programme. Since 2002, a referendum of all members has partially replaced the Congress. Both the lijsttrekker of the House of Representatives candidate list, who is the political leader of the party, and the party chairman, who leads the party organisation, are selected by such a referendum. In 2002, Wouter Bos won the PvdA leadership election.

Members

The PvdA currently has 62,000 members. They are organised in over 500 municipal branches.

Linked organisations

The Young Socialists in the PvdA is the youth organisation of the PvdA. It is a member of Young European Socialists and the International Union of Socialist Youth. They publish the periodical Lava.

Rood is the party periodical. It appears eight times a year.

The scientific institute (or think tank) of the PvdA is the Wiardi Beckman Foundation. It publishes the periodical Socialisme & Democratie.

The PvdA participates in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.

International organisations

The PvdA is a full member of the Party of European Socialists and was formerly an observer member of the Socialist International until December 2014, having previously downgraded their membership in December 2012. The PvdA joined the Progressive Alliance, a new international network for social-democratic political parties, at its founding event on 22 May 2013.

Pillarised organisations

During the period of strong pillarisation the PvdA had strong links with the social-democratic broadcasting organisation VARA Broadcasting Association, the Dutch Association of Trade Unions, and the paper Het Vrije Volk.

Relationships to other parties

Historically, the PvdA has co-operated in cabinets with the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Political Party of Radicals (PPR), Catholic People's Party (KVP), Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union (CHU) and ChristianUnion (CU) parties and the liberal parties Democrats 66 (D66) and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Between 1971 and 1977, PvdA was allied with D66 and the PPR. After 1977 until 1989, it was closely allied to D66. Since 2003, the relationship between the PvdA and D66 has considerably worsened, at first because PvdA was in opposition to the Second Balkenende cabinet which D66 had co-operated in.

During the governance of the second and third Balkenende cabinet, the Socialist Party and the GreenLeft were calling for closer cooperation with the PvdA, calling to form a shadow government against the Balkenende cabinet, PvdA leader Bos held this off.