'We warmly congratulate all the newly elected local councillors of GroenLinks-PvdA and our friend and colleague Jesse Klaver, who led an inspiring, hopeful and locally rooted campaign. At a time when much of the debate is dominated by the rise of right-wing populist forces, Greens and progressives are winning elections and building trust at a local level. The victory of GroenLinks-PvdA as the biggest party nationwide adds to a clear pattern of Green wins emerging across Europe’, said Ciarán Cuffe, Co-Chair of the European Green Party.
In November, the Danish member party of the European Green Party, the Green-Left, won the local elections in Copenhagen. Three weeks ago, the Green Party won the by-election for an MP in Greater Manchester. Ten days ago, the German Greens achieved a major regional victory in Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s third most populous state. This starts showing a pattern across Europe showing that people want a progressive future.
"These results show that Green politics is gaining strength at the local level, close to people’s everyday lives. Across Europe, more and more people are looking for affordable housing, clean air, and properly funded public services to improve their everyday lives,” said Vula Tsetsi, Co-Chair of the European Green Party. “Greens are demonstrating that the green transition can lower energy bills, create quality jobs and strengthen local communities. While right-wing and far-right parties continue to try to divide communities and dominate headlines, this result proves that another political dynamic is quietly taking hold: people are choosing practical solutions over fear.’
Background
- GroenLinks-PvdA emerged as the largest party in the Dutch local elections nationwide, the largest party in 42 municipalities, confirming a strong performance in a fragmented political landscape. With 14,6% of the vote, the party of Jesse Klaver finished ahead of VVD and CDA (both 11%) and D66 (9%). In the 2018 and 2022 local elections, the VVD (ALDE) of former Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the largest party.
- GroenLinks-PvdA also performed strongly in major cities, finishing as the largest party in 7 of the 10 biggest cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Groningen, Almere and Nijmegen, and ranking second in Tilburg and Breda.
- The Greens have achieved significant local victories across Europe, gaining mayoral leadership in several European capitals, including Copenhagen (Denmark), Budapest (Hungary), Riga (Latvia) and Zagreb (Croatia).
