Communist Party of the Netherlands
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Communist Party of the Netherlands Communistische Partij Nederland | |
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Grael | |
Colours | Red |
The Communist Party of the Netherlands (Dutch: Communistische Partij Nederland, Dutch pronunciation: [kɔmyˈnɪstisə pɑrˈtɛi ˈneːdərlɑnt], CPN) was a communist party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1909 as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and merged with the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party in 1991, forming the GroenLinks. Members opposed to the merger founded the New Communist Party of the Netherlands.
History
Foundation
In 1907,
1909–1922
In the 1910s, the SDAP paid much attention to attacking the newly formed SDP. The mobilization for World War I, which the SDAP supported and the SDP opposed, further strengthened the differences between the parties. In the 1917 general election the SDP was still unable to win any seats. In May 1918, the left wing founded the journal De Internationale, uniting four opposition groups within the SDP, with groups in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague plus the Zimmerwald Left Propaganda Union. This group did not favour the parliamentarianism of the majority.
The Russian Revolution fractured most European parties between their revolutionary and reformist factions; this had already happened in the Netherlands, but it profoundly changed the SDP. Previously a party of orthodox Marxist intellectuals with little working class support, the SDP saw an influx of members coming from the free socialist organisations, primarily the NAS.[4]: 149
The SDP entered the election again in
As the
In 1920, prominent
1922–1945
Before the
After the mutiny on the
On 15 May 1940, immediately after the German occupation, the party decided to organize an underground movement. In July 1940, the Nazi occupation force banned the CPN; the party continued illegally. In 1940, together with the much smaller anti-Stalinist communist Revolutionary Socialist Party, the only pre-war organisation that had protested against the anti-Semitic measures by the German occupiers, it founded a resistance movement called Raad van Verzet ("Resistance Council"). It published a resistance newspaper called De Waarheid (The Truth). Both took part in the February strike in 1941, the largest act of resistance in the Netherlands.
1945–1963
After the war, the party was led by Paul de Groot, who had a strong grip on the party's organization. In 1945 the CPN was offered one ministry in the Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet, mainly because of the CPN's role in the Dutch Resistance. The CPN refused, demanding a second ministry. In the 1946 general election, the CPN received nearly 11% of the vote and won 10 seats in the House of Representatives. The CPN also won seats in the Senate for the first time. This electoral success was linked to the role of the CPN in the Resistance.
The following period was characterized by decreasing popularity for Communism, the rise of internal divisions, and the methodical isolation of the CPN by other parties.
With the rise of the Cold War, the party began to lose popularity. The 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état tainted the reputation of Communism. In the 1948 general election, the party lost two seats. In 1949, a group of Frisian Communists were removed from the party ranks; they founded the Socialist Union, but they were unable to play a significant role in Dutch politics. In the 1952 general election, the party lost two additional seats. In 1956, the CPN lost votes again; however, because of the expansion of parliament it won an additional seat. The party supported the Russian intervention against the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After the invasion, the party office, in Felix Meritis in Amsterdam, was attacked by opponents of the invasion.
Meanwhile, internal dissent against the strict leadership of De Groot was rising. In 1958, the Bruggroep ("Bridge group") left the CPN in a conflict over the role of the Communist Eenheidsvakcentrale (Unity Trade Union). Leaders of the Bruggroep were prominent Resistance figures like Gerben Wagenaar and Henk Gortzak. The General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) claimed to be behind the split, while the CPN leadership claimed that the dissenters were agents working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The Bruggroep founded a new party, the Socialist Workers' Party (SWP). In 1957, the Pacifist Socialist Party was founded. The PSP united former members of the CPN, including members of the Socialist Union, and the Labour Party (PvdA), and other left-wing independents. In the following 1959 general election the CPN lost all but three seats, while the PSP won two seats, and the SWP was unable to win any seats. Many SWP members, like Gortzak, later joined the PSP.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the CPN was methodically isolated by other parties. Civil servants were forbidden to become members of the CPN and it was not allowed separate time on public radio or television. The party's unequivocal support for decolonization of the Dutch East Indies isolated the party in parliament. Because of its anti-NATO and European Economic Community stances the party was blocked from the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Nuclear Energy committees in parliament. The AIVD kept close tabs on the party. All other parties in parliament were deeply anti-communist, especially the social democratic PvdA.
In the
1967–1989
Before the 1967 general election De Groot was replaced by Marcus Bakker. De Groot was made an honorary member of the CPN. The party won another seat, making the total five. The CPN condemned the Soviet intervention against the Prague Spring. In 1971 yet another seat was added, and in 1972 the party had seven seats. The 1977 general election saw a conflict between the social democrat Joop den Uyl and the Christian democrat Dries van Agt. Many CPN sympathizers voted for the social democratic PvdA and the CPN lost all but two seats. In 1978, under pressure from new young members, De Groot lost his honorary membership. In the 1981 general election, the placement of American nuclear weapons is a major issue. The CPN, which prominently led one of the campaigning groups, The Committee against the N-bomb, was rewarded with another seat.
In the 1982 elections, the party got its first
Dissolution
In 1989, the party merged with three other small left-wing parties, namely the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), the left-wing Christian Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the Evangelical People's Party (EVP) to form the GroenLinks.[11] In 1991, the party officially disbanded; the VCN was joined by other former members of the CPN, who left because they disagreed with the new course, and founded the New Communist Party of the Netherlands (NCPN), which still exists today.
There is no influence left of the old Marxist wing of the CPN in GroenLinks. The "new" generation has been very prominent: Ina Brouwer led the party in the 1994 general election and one of the party's senators Jos van der Lans was a member of the CPN. The former party chair who was very influential in the formulation of the new liberal course, Herman Meijer, was one of the gay rights activists who joined the CPN in the 1970s.
Name
The CPN changed its name two times. It was founded as Sociaal-Democratische Partij (Social-Democratic party; SDP). It followers were commonly known as "Tribunists" after their main organ.
Ideology and issues
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Ideological development
The SDP was founded as an orthodox Marxist party advocating an
After the
In the 1960s, the party did not choose sides in the conflict between the People's Republic of China and the USSR. Nevertheless, a
Social policy
The Communist Party has always been an advocate of the interests of the working class as shown by their advocacy of higher wages and lower prices. They also campaigned for
The CPN advocated a strong role of the state in the economy. They believed the state should supply cheap housing, free and neutral education and health care insurance. They felt that important industries should be nationalized in the short term and in the long term the entire
Foreign policy
The Communist movement emerged from other strands of the
Domestic issues
The party also emphasised the radical democratisation of the Dutch political system. It opposed
In the 1970s and 1980s the party began to embrace
Representation
This table shows the CPN's results in elections to the House of Representatives, Senate, provincial councils, and the European Parliament Also shown is the party's political leadership: the parliamentary leader and the lead candidate; these posts are normally taken by the party leader. The total membership of the CPN is also given.
Year | HoR | S | SP | EP | Parliamentary leader | Lead candidate | Membership |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1918 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | David Wijnkoop | unknown |
1919 | 3 | 0 | 8 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | no elections | unknown |
1920 | 3 | 0 | 8 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | no elections | unknown |
1921 | 3 | 0 | 8 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | no elections | unknown |
1922 | 2 | 0 | 8 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | David Wijnkoop | unknown |
1923 | 2 | 0 | 7 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | no elections | unknown |
1924 | 2 | 0 | 7 | n/a | David Wijnkoop | no elections | unknown |
1925 | 1 | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser | Lou de Visser | unknown |
1926 | 1 | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1927 | 1 | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1928 | 1 | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1929 | 1+1* | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser David Wijnkoop |
Lou de Visser David Wijnkoop |
unknown |
1930 | 1+1* | 0 | 7 | n/a | Lou de Visser David Wijnkoop |
no elections | unknown |
1931 | 2 | 0 | 10 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1932 | 1 | 0 | 10 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1933 | 4 | 0 | 10 | n/a | Lou de Visser | Lou de Visser | unknown |
1934 | 4 | 0 | 10 | n/a | Lou de Visser | Lou de Visser | unknown |
1935 | 4 | 0 | 12 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1936 | 4 | 0 | 12 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1937 | 4 | 0 | 12 | n/a | Lou de Visser | Lou de Visser | unknown |
1938 | 4 | 0 | 12 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1939 | 4 | 0 | 12 | n/a | Lou de Visser | no elections | unknown |
1940 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1941 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1942 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1943 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1944 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1945 | out of session | no elections | unknown | ||||
1946 | 10 | 4 | 58 | n/a | Paul de Groot | Paul de Groot | 50,000 |
1947 | 10 | 4 | 58 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 53,000 |
1948 | 8 | 4 | 58 | n/a | Paul de Groot | Paul de Groot | 53,000 |
1949 | 8 | 4 | 58 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 34,000 |
1950 | 8 | 4 | 31 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 27,392 |
1951 | 8 | 3 | 31 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1952 | 6 | 3 | 31 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1953 | 6 | 2 | 31 | n/a | Paul de Groot | Paul de Groot | 17,000 |
1954 | 6 | 2 | 24 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1955 | 6 | 2 | 24 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 15,463 |
1956 | 7 | 4 | 24 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1957 | 7 | 4 | 24 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 12,858 |
1958 | 7 | 4 | 18 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | 12,317 |
1959 | 3 | 4 | 18 | n/a | Paul de Groot | Paul de Groot | 11,262 |
1960 | 3 | 2 | 18 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1961 | 3 | 2 | 18 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1962 | 3 | 2 | 13 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1963 | 4 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Paul de Groot | Paul de Groot | unknown |
1964 | 4 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1965 | 4 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1966 | 4 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Paul de Groot | no elections | unknown |
1967 | 5 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | Marcus Bakker | unknown |
1968 | 5 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | unknown |
1969 | 5 | 1 | 13 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | unknown |
1970 | 5 | 1 | 27 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | unknown |
1971 | 6 | 3 | 27 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | Marcus Bakker | unknown |
1972 | 7 | 3 | 27 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | Marcus Bakker | unknown |
1973 | 7 | 3 | 27 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | 10,147 |
1974 | 7 | 4 | 19 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | unknown |
1975 | 7 | 4 | 19 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | unknown |
1976 | 7 | 4 | 19 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | 11,550 |
1977 | 2 | 2 | 19 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | Marcus Bakker | 13,082 |
1978 | 2 | 2 | 5 | n/a | Marcus Bakker | no election | 15,298 |
1979 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | Marcus Bakker | no election | 14,979 |
1980 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Marcus Bakker | no election | 15,510 |
1981 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Marcus Bakker | no election | 15,014 |
1982 | 3 | 2 | 14+5** | 0 | Ina Brouwer | Ina Brouwer | 14,370 |
1983 | 3 | 2 | 14+5** | 0 | Ina Brouwer | no election | 14,370 |
1984 | 3 | 2 | 14+5** | 1 | Ina Brouwer | no election | 13,868 |
1985 | 3 | 2 | 14+5** | 1 | Ina Brouwer | no election | 11,594 |
1986 | 0 | 2 | 4+4** | 1 | Kees IJmkers*** | Ina Brouwer | 9,000 |
1987 | 0 | 2 | 4+4** | 1 | Fenne Bolding*** | no elections | 8,500 |
1988 | 0 | 2 | 4+4** | 1 | Fenne Bolding*** | no elections | 7,000 |
* separate CPH-Central Committee party.
** estimate of the seats in combined CPN/PSP/(PPR) lists.
*** chair of the parliamentary party in the Senate.
Municipal and provincial government
Although the CPN was particularly strong in several provinces, especially Groningen, it never cooperated in any provincial executive.
The party supplied only one
The following table shows the results of the provincial election of 1962 by province. It shows the areas where the CPN was strong, namely North Holland and to a lesser extent Groningen and South Holland. The party was very weak in rural and Catholic Limburg and Brabant.
Province | Result (seats) |
---|---|
Groningen | 2 |
Friesland | 1 |
Drenthe | 1 |
Overijssel | 1 |
Gelderland | 0 |
Utrecht | 0 |
North Holland | 6 |
South Holland | 2 |
Zeeland | 0 |
North Brabant | 0 |
Limburg | 0 |
Electorate
The support for the SDP, which was founded before the introduction of
Organization
Organizational structure
The party was organized on the principle of
Between 1946 and 1980, the party's headquarters was in Felix Meritis in Amsterdam.
Linked and pillarized organisations
The party had a small, but strong communist
International organisations
Since 1918 the party was a member of the
Relationships to other parties
For a long time the Communists were methodically isolated, partially because of its revolutionary ideology and partially because of the antagonistic style of its politics. The communists used this style to prevent its electorate from moving to its competitors.
The relationship between the
The relationship between left-wing splinter groups and the communists was notoriously bad. The CPH ignored the Revolutionary Socialist Party during its four-year term in the 1930s. The Pacifist Socialist Party, which was partially composed of those expelled from the CPN, was denounced as a party of agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.[citation needed] The CPN methodically voted against proposals of the PSP, even when they supported them.[citation needed] In the 1980s the PSP and the CPN grew closer as they both campaigned against nuclear armament and both began to embrace New Left and libertarian politics[citation needed]. In 1984 they formed a common list for the European Election together with the green Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the Greens. In the 1989 the CPN, PSP and PPR were joined by the left-wing Christian Evangelical People's Party in the formation of the GroenLinks.
Relationships with the other parties whether liberal or Christian democratic were very poor.
International comparison
The CPN is one of the few Communist parties to be formed before the Russian Revolution. It lies between the Northern European Communist Parties, like the Communist Party of Sweden and the Southern European communist parties, like the Italian Communist Party. Like its Italian counterparts, and unlike its Swedish counterparts it was methodically isolated in parliament. Like its Swedish counterparts, but unlike its Italian counterparts, it gained around 5% of the vote. Like its Italian counterpart it was closely linked to Moscow until the 1960s. In the 1970s it became involved in New Left politics, like its Swedish counterpart.
References
Citations
- ^ S2CID 143491792.
- ^ Horstmeier, Carel (2000). "The relations between the Dutch and Russian Communists 1907–1920" (PDF). NRAC. p. 1. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ van Ravesteyn, Willem (1948). "De wording van het communisme in Nederland 1907–1925". P. N. Van Kampen en zoon nv. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ a b Vossen, Koen (2003). Vrij vissen in het Vondelpark, kleine politieke partijen in Nederland 1918–1940 [Free fishing in the Vondelpark, small political parties in the Netherlands 1918–1940] (PhD thesis) (in Dutch). University of Amsterdam/Wereldbibliotheek.
- ^ Noordegraaf, Herman (2015) [1990]. "John William Kruyt". Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland. International Institute for Social History.
- ^ JSTOR 45343323.
- ^ Poeze 2008, p. xvi.
- ^ Jarvis 1987, p. 43.
- ^ Mellink, Albert F. (1987). "VISSER, Louis Leonardus Hendrikus de". BWSA (in Dutch). Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (IISG). Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-78168-050-6.
- ISBN 978-1-134-84403-6.
- ^ "Glossary of Organisations: Tr". Marxists.org. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ Koole, R. Politieke Partijen in Nederland [Political Parties in the Netherlands] (in Dutch). p. 260.
- ^ "The Right Side: Dutch Communists 50 Years after Stalin". Radio Netherlands Archvies. 12 September 2003.
Bibliography
- Jarvis, Helen (1987). "Tan Malaka: Revolutionary or Renegade?" (PDF). Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. 19 (1): 41–55. ISSN 0007-4810. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- Frits Kool, "Communism in Holland: A Study in Futility," Problems of Communism, vol. 9, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1960), pp. 17–24.
- Poeze, Harry A. (2008). Tan Malaka, Gerakan Kiri, dan Revolusi Indonesia. Vol. 1. translated by Hersri Setiawan. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-461-697-0.
- Gerrit Voerman, "From Lenin's Comrades in Arms to 'Dutch Donkeys': The Communist Party in the Netherlands and the Comintern in the 1920s," in Tim Rees and Andrew Thorpe (eds.), International Communism and the Communist International, 1919-43. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998.