ABSTRACT
In September 1989 a new political formation, Green Left (Groen Links), took part in the Dutch national elections. Under this banner the Communist Party of The Netherlands (CPN-Gommunistische Partij van Nederland), the Pacifist-Socialist Party (PSPPacifistisch-Socialistische Partij), the Political Radical Party (PPR-Politieke Partij Radikalen), the Evangelical People’s Party (EVP-Evangelische Volkspartij) and a group of independents joined hands. Though Green Left won six parliamentary seats out of 150, double the number held by the constituent parties before the election, the increase in its share of the vote was not impressive: 4.1 per cent in 1989 compared with 3.3 per cent in 1986. Nevertheless, Green Left was more successful than its ecological rival, The Greens (De Groenen), who scored only 0.4 per cent. After the election, CPN, PSP, PPR, EVP and the independents decided to continue their co-operation and Green Left was officially founded-without The Greens-on 24 November 1990.
