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Pacifist Socialist Party

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The Pacifist Socialist Party ( Dutch : Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij , PSP ) was a democratic socialist Dutch political party . It is one of the predecessors of GroenLinks .

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136-711: In 1955, a group of "politically homeless" activists had formed. The group mainly consisted of former members of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN). They had left the PvdA over the military intervention against the Indonesian independence movement and the Labour party's support for NATO . Many of them had a background in the orthodox Marxist wing of

272-586: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in

408-648: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish

544-607: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and

680-554: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved

816-465: A breakthrough, the electorate returned to their pillars. Lead by Willem Drees in the 1946 general election , it won 29 seats, two less than its predecessors had won in 1937 . During the 1946 cabinet formation , the first Beel cabinet was formed with the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and the PvdA ( Roman/Red ). In 1948, some of the left-liberal members, led by former VDB leader Pieter Oud , left

952-464: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between

1088-630: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of

1224-462: A deepened collaboration. A merger has also been discussed. The Wiardi Beckman Foundation has voiced its opposition to this. Despite the fact that the two parties (PvdA and GroenLinks) separately participate in a European Political Group, Groenlinks as a member of Greens–European Free Alliance and PvdA as a member of the Party of European Socialists , the parties campaigned together as GroenLinks-PvdA for

1360-422: A democratic socialist society where government planning and workers' self-management played an important role: The PSP advocated an anti-militarist and socialist foreign policy: On the national level, the party advocated radical democratization of society and protection of civil rights: The PSP wanted to radically feminize society, liberate other oppressed groups and democratize society: This table shows

1496-495: A diverse group: progressive Christians, orthodox Marxists , Trotskyists , liberal pacifists and some anarchists . Many of them were active in the developing peace movement . The party was sceptic of both the Eastern bloc and Western bloc . They were oriented at a third camp between Stalinist communism and western capitalism. In 1956, the group asked the PvdA to put two candidates of these politically homeless on their list for

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1632-450: A large majority in parliament. Under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war and 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. In 1965, a conflict in the centre-right cabinet made continuation of

1768-512: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,

1904-461: A national election since 1998 . Ahead of the 2021 general election , Asscher resigned from the party leadership due to his part in the childcare benefits scandal . He was replaced as leader and lead candidate by Lilianne Ploumen , who became the party's first permanent female leader. Following the election, the PvdA participated unsuccessfully in the 2021 Dutch cabinet formation in conjunction with Green Left . Ploumen later left, claiming she

2040-456: A new international network for social democratic political parties, at its founding event on 22 May 2013. 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

2176-563: A new moderate social democratic party, Democratic Socialists '70 (DS'70). 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 smaller progressive parties such as the Democrats '66 (D'66) and the Political Party of Radicals (PPR). The alliance was called

2312-542: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to

2448-463: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until

2584-401: A progressive outlook on ethical questions and promises of political reform. Kok became a very popular Prime Minister; he 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 seat counts, at the expense of D66;

2720-609: A republican constitution. In the same year the CPN-dissenters of the SWP joined the PSP. The PSP held on to its four seats in the 1967 election . In 1969 Gortzak, previously leader of the SWP returned as MP: now for the PSP. The 1970s were characterized by internal conflicts between moderate and more radical members of the PSP. The most important reason for this was the radicalization within the PvdA. A new, more radical, generation had gained power in

2856-459: A society based on trust, unity and justice – this reflected the party's pacifism. Secondly, an economic renewal, which sought to replace a society based on classes by a classless society. This reflected the party's socialism. The PSP furthermore advocated a democratic political system and a democratic economy, it rejected the use of violence to solve international conflicts and it proposed a federal world state in which wealth would be shared by both

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2992-452: A very short period. Meanwhile, Wouter Bos , Undersecretary in the Second Kok cabinet, was elected leader of the PvdA in a ballot 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

3128-754: Is a social democratic political party in the Netherlands . The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers' Party , the Free-thinking Democratic League and the Christian Democratic Union . Prime Ministers from the Labour Party have been Willem Drees (1948–1958), Joop den Uyl (1973–1977) and Wim Kok (1994–2002). From 2012 to 2017, the PvdA formed the second-largest party in parliament and

3264-519: Is a pun as it means both strongly against violence as strong counter-violence) and Disaster (Dutch: RamPSPoed , which spells PSP). In 1991 the PSJG merged into DWARS GreenLeft youth, which continued publishing Disaster until 1995. In the 1980s the scientific institute of the PSP cooperated strongly with the scientific institutes of the PPR and CPN. They published De Helling together since 1985. The Rode Draad

3400-634: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit.   ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save

3536-516: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and

3672-751: The 2024 European Parliament election . PvdA has seven members in the Senate. PvdA has formed a parliamentary group with GroenLinks in the Senate. Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)

3808-597: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from

3944-645: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. Direct US military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but

4080-777: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between

4216-555: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and

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4352-651: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem

4488-638: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating

4624-450: The New Left , changed the party. The New Left 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

4760-608: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with

4896-451: The Second Kok cabinet was formed. Kok retired from politics, leaving the leadership of the party to his preferred successor Ad Melkert . The PvdA was expected to perform very well in the 2002 general election ; however, the political rise of Pim Fortuyn frustrated these hopes. The PvdA lost the 2002 election, and the party's parliamentary representation fell from 45 seats to 23. The loss

5032-540: The Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), the social liberal Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and the progressive Protestant Christian Democratic Union (CDU). They were joined by individuals from Catholic resistance group Christofoor, as well as some of the more progressive members of the Protestant Christian Historical Union (CHU). The founding convention was chaired by NVB member Willem Banning . Despite its ambitions to force

5168-600: The Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had merged into the PvdA. The former members of the CPN had left their party over the Stalinist course of the CPN. There was also a group of these politically homeless that had never been members of parties, while others had been member of pre-war parties such as the Independent Socialist Party . These politically homeless individuals were

5304-587: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against

5440-561: The 1963 elections. In the mid-1960s, the Vietnam War became an important issue. The PSP was heavily involved in opposition against the American intervention. It was the first party to pay attention to the war and it was involved in the organisation of demonstrations, rallies and teach ins . The monarchy also became an issue as Crown Princess Beatrix would marry Claus von Amsberg in 1966. The PSP used this opportunity to voice its support for

5576-533: The 1980s, the party began to cooperate more with the PPR, which had broken with the PvdA, and the CPN, which had destalinized . It cooperated mainly in municipal and provincial elections and legislatures, because a higher percentage of votes is necessary to gain seats in such elections. At the 1984 European Parliament election , the PPR, CPN and PSP formed the Green Progressive Accord that entered with one joint list. They won one seat, which rotated between

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5712-511: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated

5848-467: The CDA. Kok became Deputy Prime Minister to CDA leader Ruud Lubbers . The PvdA accepted the major economic reforms of the previous Lubbers cabinets, 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 ,

5984-515: The CPN's internal conflicts – in 1958 three MPs had left the CPN and formed their own parliamentary party, led by Henk Gortzak , called the Bridge Group (Dutch: Brug-groep ) and unsuccessfully competed in the 1959 elections. The group subsequently founded the Socialist Workers' Party (Dutch: Socialist Werkerspartij ; SWP). This internal dissent had caused the CPN to fall to only one seat in

6120-452: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought

6256-539: The German occupation authorities. They came to the consensus that the pre-war fragmentation of Dutch political life, known as " Pillarisation ", should be overcome after the war in a so-called Breakthrough . These people formed the Dutch People's Movement (NVB) immediately after the war ended in 1945. The new movement promoted the foundation of the Labour Party on 9 February 1946 through a merger of three pre-war parties, namely

6392-576: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group

6528-405: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing

6664-423: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of

6800-403: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,

6936-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign

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7072-414: The PSP and PPR. Party members also met each other in grassroots extraparliamentary protest against nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. The cooperation led to internal conflicts. Before the election of 1986 the CPN and the PPR wanted to form an electoral alliance with the PSP. This led to a crisis within the party: chair of the parliamentary party , Fred van der Spek who opposed cooperation was replaced by

7208-409: The PSP fluctuated; the changing appeal of the PvdA and the CPN played a role, as did the events of the Cold War. The rise of youth movements, like Provo, and the Vietnam war boosted the electorate of the party in the 1960s. Internal conflicts in the PSP and radical course of the social-democratic PvdA cost the PSP votes in the 1970s. The mass demonstrations against the placement of nuclear weapons boosted

7344-438: The PSP initiated talks with the PPR and the CPN. Their initiative was supported by an open letter from members of trade unions , environmental movements and the arts which called for one progressive formation left of the PvdA. After long negotiations, which were pressured by the fall of the Second cabinet Lubbers and the subsequent earlier elections, the party entered in the 1989 elections as part of GreenLeft. Andrée van Es

7480-414: The PSP was involved in the nascent environmental, squatting, women's and students' movements. Both the moderates and the most radicals left the party. Until 1974, a Trotskyist group, the Proletarian Left, led by Erik Meijer , now MEP for the Socialist Party operated within the party because they wanted to use the PSP to electrify the masses. In 1974 nearly all of them (except for their leader Meijer) left

7616-416: The PSP's results in elections to the House of Representatives (HoR), Senate (S), European Parliament (EP), States-Provincial (SP) and municipalities (M), as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election. These posts are normally taken by the party's leader. The membership of PSP and

7752-409: The Progressive Accord (PAK). In the 1971 and 1972 general 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, DS'70, became a coalition partner in the First Biesheuvel cabinet . In the 1972 elections, neither

7888-544: The Progressive Accords together with left-liberal Democrats 66 and the PPR. The PSP rejected as it felt these accords would be neither socialist nor pacifist. This decision let to considerable upheaval within the party. In the 1980s as the PvdA became more centrist, the PSP rejected the PvdA even more. Partij van de Arbeid The Labour Party ( Dutch : Partij van de Arbeid [pɑrˈtɛi vɑn də ˈʔɑrbɛit] , abbreviated as PvdA [ˌpeːveːdeːˈjaː, -deːˈʔaː] or P van de A [ˌpeː vɑn də ˈʔaː] )

8024-416: The PvdA after concluding it had become too socialist for their liking. Together with the Freedom Party , they formed the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a conservative liberal party. Between 1948 and 1958, the PvdA led centre-left coalition governments with the KVP, and combinations of VVD, ARP and CHU, with the PvdA's Willem Drees as prime minister. The KVP and the PvdA together had

8160-525: The PvdA and its allies nor 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 composed of members of the three progressive parties, 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

8296-427: The PvdA and too moderate on important issues. After 1981 the PPR broke its links with the PvdA and became more oriented toward PSP and CPN. In the 1980s the four parties began to cooperate in municipal and European elections, because fewer seats can be won there. In 1989 this intensive cooperation led to the formation of a new party, the GreenLeft . The party was originally sympathetic to the Labour Party PvdA . Before

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8432-459: The PvdA in 1950. In 1958, it entered in the provincial elections and it won two seats in the North Holland provincial legislative . In the 1959 elections the party won two seats in the House of Representatives . In the early years, the party became known for its parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition against the rising Cold War , and especially the placement of nuclear weapons . The socialist revolution in Cuba and uprisings against

8568-405: The PvdA suffered the biggest defeat in Dutch electoral history, receiving only 5.7% of the votes and losing 29 of its 38 seats. Asscher did not resign from his post, claiming the defeat was his predecessor's responsibility. The party experienced a degree of revival in 2019, obtaining the most votes in that year's European Parliament election . This marked the first time the PvdA had finished first in

8704-418: 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 ,

8840-407: The PvdA. They wanted to form a majority cabinet with only leftwing parties. To achieve this they formed the Progressive Accord with the new left-liberal Democrats 66 and the progressive Christian PPR . The PSP also participated in these talks but broke off, because the majority of the PSP congress thought this alliance was neither pacifist nor socialist. The cooperative minority clashed strongly with

8976-438: The PvdA–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. This so-called purple government was a political novelty, because it was the first since 1918 without any ministers from the CDA or its predecessors. The First Kok cabinet continued the Lubbers-era economic reforms, but combined this with

9112-428: The South African system of Apartheid led to considerable debate within the party between groups who opposed all violence and groups who opposed repressive violence (from the ruling class) and supported liberating violence (against the ruling class). In 1961, the party threw off its principled pacifism and advocated the minimization of violence. Extra-parliamentary action against colonialism also became more important;

9248-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under

9384-453: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but

9520-405: 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 8 May 2016. In December 2016, Samson was defeated by Lodewijk Asscher in a party leadership election. In the 2017 general election ,

9656-406: 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 eight, defying initial predictions that the Socialist Party would overtake it. Following the election the party entered a governing coalition with

9792-522: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in

9928-842: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,

10064-495: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine

10200-491: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in

10336-618: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along

10472-470: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began

10608-568: 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

10744-416: The following figure one can see the election results of the provincial election of 1962 per province. It shows the areas where the PSP was strong, namely the urban areas like North Holland and South Holland. The party was weaker in rural Catholic provinces like Limburg and North Brabant, but also strong in the rural traditional socialist strongholds such as rural Groningen and Friesland. The party's electorate

10880-413: The former colonizing powers and their former colonies. In the 1970s and 1980s, new issues were incorporated into the PSP's ideology: women's liberation , gay rights , and environmentalism . These radical principles are reflected in the party's concern for a democratic socialist economy, a pacifist foreign policy, a directly democratic political system, and a feminization of society. The PSP advocated

11016-619: The governance of the second and third Balkenende cabinet , the Socialist Party and 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. The PvdA has strong ties with GreenLeft . In the 2021 Dutch cabinet formation , the parties unsuccessfully combined. Prominent members including Frans Timmermans and Marjolein Moorman have called for

11152-478: The government impossible. The three confessional parties turned toward the PvdA. Together they formed the Cals cabinet , with KVP leader Jo Cals as prime minister. This cabinet too was 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

11288-441: The government, Wouter Bos announced he would leave politics to spend more time with his wife and two daughters. The then-mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen , took his place as leader of the PvdA. In the 2010 general election , the PvdA won 30 seats, a loss of three, and was narrowly overtaken by the VVD. After the election, a 'purple-plus coalition' was considered, which would have required the participation of GroenLinks , in addition to

11424-517: The idea of a voting bloc on the left. It did, however, join the fourth Balkenende cabinet on 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 . After withdrawing from

11560-491: 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 a government, based on a very narrow majority, with the VVD. The PvdA was left in opposition. In the 1981 general election ,

11696-421: The incumbent CDA–VVD cabinet lost its majority. The CDA remained the largest party, but it was forced to co-operate with the PvdA and D'66 (the PPR had left the alliance, after losing in the 1977 election). In the new cabinet led by Van Agt, Den Uyl returned to cabinet 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

11832-510: The indexation of benefits and the minimum wage to the cost of living. The PvdA also faced economic decline and was riddled with personal and ideological conflicts. The relationship between Prime Minister Den Uyl and the KVP Deputy Prime Minister Dries Van Agt was particularly problematic. These conflict culminated when the cabinet fell just before the 1977 general election . The PvdA came first in that election, but

11968-711: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near

12104-421: The isolationist majority. In the 1971 elections , the party lost two of its four seats, while the PvdA won seats. In 1972, the party's political leader, Hans Wiebenga (1917–2005) was replaced by the younger Bram van der Lek , who emphasized the environment as an important issue. He was unable to win seats in the 1972 elections . As party leader he would embrace extra-parliamentary protest of all kinds of groups:

12240-497: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive

12376-467: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and

12512-463: 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 , in which D66 had co-operated. During

12648-526: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised

12784-570: The municipal branches. The party board consisted of 10 members: a party chair , general secretary, treasurer, political secretary, parliamentary secretary, international secretary, youth secretary, education secretary, the secretary for propaganda and a chair for the committee for radio and television. The PSP published its own magazine which was called Liberation (Dutch: Bevrijding ) between 1957 and 1966 and 1978 and 1991 and Radical: Weekly for Socialism and Peace (Dutch: Radikaal: Weekbad voor Socialisme en Vrede ) between 1967 and 1977. It

12920-561: The next elections, one on a 'safe' electable position on their candidate list and one that would need to be elected by preference votes. These candidates would have an independent position in parliament. The PvdA, although originally sympathetic to the idea rejected this. Thus the group felt forced to found its own party and it founded the Action group for the formation of a Party on Anti-militarist and Socialist principles in November 1956. It would chart

13056-446: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered

13192-508: 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 lead candidate of the House of Representatives candidate list, who is the political leader of the party, and the party chairman, who leads

13328-842: The party chair is also represented. (a): elected on combined PSP/PvdA/PPR lists (b): elected on combined PSP/CPN, PSP/PPR or PSP/CPN/PPR lists (estimate) (c): PSvO split from the PSP (d): cooperating in GreenLeft parliamentary parties . The PSP had a provincial stronghold in North Holland, which gave the party more than half of its vote. It had some municipal strongholds in the Zaanstreek and Amsterdam , but also in some cities, where it had particularly strong branches, such as Midwoud , Bussum , Hoorn and Goirle . Because of its isolated position it did not supply many aldermen , though between 1974 and 1975 its supplied one Amsterdam alderman. In

13464-443: The party congress by Andrée van Es , who favoured cooperation. Van der Spek founded his own Party for Socialism and Disarmament (Dutch: Party voor Socialisme en Ontwapening ; PSvO). The 1986 PSP congress however still rejected cooperation. In the elections of 1986 nuclear weapons were no longer an issue: the party was left with only one seat. The membership of the party rapidly declined. The pressure to cooperate increased. In 1989,

13600-548: The party organisation, are selected by such a referendum. In 2002, Wouter Bos won the PvdA leadership election . As of 2024, PvdA has 43,675 members. They are organised in over 500 municipal branches. Rood is the party periodical. It appears eight times a year. The Young Socialists is the youth organisation of the PvdA. It is a member of Young European Socialists and the International Union of Socialist Youth . They publish

13736-416: The party supported New Guinean and Algerian independence. In the 1963 elections , the party performed particularly well. It doubled its seats to four. This success can be attributed to several developments: the rising opposition to the Cold War, the party's appeal to the developing students' movement and especially the anarchist Provo movement, for whom the PSP was the only acceptable party, and finally

13872-401: The party to found what later became the group Socialist Alternative Politics . In 1975 the moderate so called progressive cooperatives left the party. Many members of them joined the PvdA. Starting in 1975, the party membership exhibited strong growth and doubled in the next five years. Nevertheless, the 1977 elections were disastrous: the party lost all but one seat – this is attributed to

14008-419: The party was founded, the group of politically homeless activists had asked to have an independent candidate on their lists. During the 1960s the relation deteriorated, as the PSP rejected the PvdA's moderate course and the PvdA the PSP's radical course. In 1971 the PvdA, which had become more leftwing under pressure of a new generation of party members, opened the door to the PSP. It wanted the PSP to cooperate in

14144-474: The party's support in the early 1980s. The highest organ of the PSP was the congress , formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convened once every year. It appointed the party board and decided the order of the Senate, House of Representatives and European Parliament candidate lists and had the final say over the party program. For the months that the congress did not convene, a party council took over its role. It consisted out of representatives of all

14280-422: The party, as was MEP Joost Lagendijk . The party's ideology was based on pacifism , socialism , and democracy . These three values were united by human rights . In war, capitalism, and dictatorship human rights are infringed. In its 1957 manifesto of principles, the PSP advocated two major societal renewals: Firstly, a spiritual renewal, which sought to replace a society based on fear, division and power with

14416-530: The periodical Lava . 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. During the period of strong pillarisation the PvdA had strong links with

14552-470: The political competition between the social-democratic prime minister Joop den Uyl and his Christian democratic competitor Dries van Agt , which caused many PSP-sympathizers to vote for Den Uyl. The internal dissent within the party also damaged its popular appeal. After one year Van der Lek left parliament, and he was replaced by Fred van der Spek . In the early 1980s, the placement of American nuclear weapons became an important political issue. The PSP

14688-484: The possibilities of a new political party. On 26 January 1957, the PSP was founded by the Action group. The first year was devoted to the organisation of the party and the preparation for the elections which were expected to be in 1960. The party sought to expand its membership, its branches and its electoral support. The founders were joined by members of the Socialist Union, a group which had split unsuccessfully from

14824-633: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after

14960-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook

15096-441: 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. The PvdA lost the race for Prime Minister to the CDA after suffering a loss of nine seats in the 2006 general election . The PvdA now held only 33 seats, losing many votes to the Socialist Party (SP). The PvdA had previously distanced themselves from

15232-606: The social democratic broadcasting organisation VARA Broadcasting Association , the Dutch Association of Trade Unions , and the paper Het Vrije Volk . 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 ,

15368-873: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with

15504-511: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated

15640-587: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War

15776-456: The upcoming 2023 general election with a common policy programme and joint electoral list. The PvdA began as a traditional social democratic party, committed to building a welfare state . During the 1970s, it included new issues in its programme such as environmental conservation, Third World development and women's liberation. During the 1990s it moderated its programme to include Third Way economic and social positions, including reform of

15912-741: The vote. The party is a member of the European Party of European Socialists and the global Progressive Alliance . In the European Parliament , where the Labour Party has four seats, it is part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats . During the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II , a group of prominent Dutchmen of all democratic political ideologies were interned as hostages in Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel by

16048-506: The welfare state and privatisation of public enterprise. The party adopted a new programme of principles in 2005, expressing a centre-left ideology. Its core issues are employment , social security and welfare as well as investing in public education , health care and public safety . The highest organ of the PvdA is the Congress , formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convenes once every year. It appoints

16184-577: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of

16320-461: Was at "cold war" with the Communist Party of the Netherlands as many former communists had joined the PSP's ranks. The PSP was highly critical of the CPN's Stalinist course. After 1981 the CPN, which had destalinized and PSP, began to cooperate more closely. The Christian left Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party were also dismissed by the PSP as too supportive of

16456-458: Was blamed on the uncharismatic new leader Melkert, the perceived arrogance of the PvdA and the inability to answer 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

16592-451: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended

16728-433: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing

16864-863: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of

17000-656: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of

17136-401: Was formed. The VVD and the CDA together had a majority in the 1982 general election and retained this in the 1986 general election . The PvdA was left in opposition. During this period the party began to reform. Den Uyl retired from politics in 1986, appointing former trade union leader Wim Kok as his successor. After the 1989 general election , the PvdA returned to cabinet together with

17272-438: Was involved in the organisation of national demonstrations against nuclear weapons and more than 80% of the members of the PSP attended one of the two mass protests against the placement nuclear weapons of 1981 and 1983. In the 1981 election the PSP was rewarded for its principled opposition: it won three seats. In the subsequent 1982 election it kept its seats. The party membership nearly reached 10,000 in this period. Since

17408-468: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by

17544-464: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted

17680-616: Was printed at the PSPs own printing company also called Liberation. The PSPs youth was organised in the Pacifist Socialist Young Working Groups (Dutch: Pacifistisch Socialistische Jongeren Groepen , PSJG) between 1977 and 1991. Between 1985 and 1991 the PSJG became more independent as it saw itself as the youth organisation of both the PSP and the PSvO which had split from the party. It published Keihard Tegengeweld (the title

17816-626: Was published since 1985 it was a magazine for municipal and provincial councillors the PSP, PPR and CPN. For a long time the party refused to cooperate with other parties and preferred a position of testimonial party , which resembles the position of the Dutch orthodox Protestant parties, like the Political Reformed Party . The PSP's members of parliament, although isolated because of their radical position, were often respected across all parties for their principled position, commitment, rhetoric abilities and demeanour. Between 1956 and 1981 it

17952-445: Was second on the list. In 1991, the PSP dissolved itself into GreenLeft. In 1992, a group of former PSP-members who had refused to join GreenLeft formed the PSP'92. The PSP made a considerable mark on GreenLeft, although it has moderated its pacifism and socialism. Especially the progressive, tolerant and non-dogmatic ideals of the PSP still play an important role. MPs Kees Vendrik , Ineke van Gent and Leo Platvoet were active within

18088-592: Was the secondary partner in the Second Rutte cabinet with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . The party fell to nine seats in the House of Representatives at the 2017 general election , making it the seventh-largest faction in the chamber—its worst showing ever. However, the party rebounded with a first-place finish in the 2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands , winning six of 26 seats, with 19% of

18224-470: Was unsuited for the leadership. Ploumen was replaced as parliamentary leader by Attje Kuiken . Following the 2023 Senate election in 30 May 2023, PvdA and GroenLinks deepened their co-operation by forming a joint parliamentary group in the senate, becoming the second-largest group behind the Farmer–Citizen Movement . On 17 July 2023, the party and Green Left announced that they would contest

18360-549: Was very heterogeneous, although most voters could be seen as intellectuals , students, scientists, artists, while most socialist parties are oriented at workers. The party was a refuge for people who no longer felt at home in the social-democratic PvdA and the Communist Party of the Netherlands. It was supported by progressive Christians, especially Mennonites . Most of its voters lived in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. The electorate of

18496-518: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as

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