Groen (political party)
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Groen (lit. 'Green',
Party history
Before 1979
Many of the founders of political party Agalev came from or were inspired by the social and environmental movement Agalev. This movement was founded by the
1979–1999
In reaction to these broken promises, a debate erupted within Agalev on whether to set up a political party or to remain independent of politics. In the same year the party contested several municipal elections to no avail. A national level Agalev Working Group was founded to coordinate the new party. It also set up a separate association that could enter in elections. It participated in the 1979 European elections. Although the party won 2.3% of the votes, it won no seats.
In the
The party won two additional seats in the
1999–now
In the
On the national level, the greens, both Ecolo and Agalev were able to enact legislation on several key green issues: the cabinet decided to opt out of
The
Before the 2004 elections Dua announced that if the party was supported by less than 280.000 votes, the independent green political project would end. The party gained enough support to meet this limit, although it lost half of it seats in Flanders compared to the 2000 elections. The party won seats in every provincial district except Limburg, where the support to cooperate with SP.A and Spirit was greatest.
In the
The regional (for Flemish Parliament) and European elections of June 2009 were generally devoted to promote the concept of a green economy as an answer to the national and global economic crisis. The results of the election were below the expected and stranded on a status quo. Chairwoman Mieke Vogels chose to give up her presidency and was succeeded by Wouter Van Besien in October 2009.
On 11 January the Party unveiled its new logo and announced the dropping of its trademark exclamation point from the end of the party's name, after 8 years of usage. The new party slogan is "Works for all" to highlight the party's desire to look after the needs of all of society, not just its traditional voter base.
2010 federal election
Electoral arrondissement | Main candidate | |
---|---|---|
Chamber of Representatives
|
Antwerp | Meyrem Almaci |
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde | Tinne Van der Straeten | |
East Flanders | Stefaan Van Hecke | |
Leuven | Eva Brems | |
Limburg | Toon Hermans | |
West Flanders | Wouter De Vriendt | |
Senate |
Freya Piryns |
Party chairperson
Name | From | Until | Vice-chairperson | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vera Dua | 15 November 2003 | 10 November 2007 | not applicable |
2 | Mieke Vogels | 10 November 2007 | 25 October 2009 | Wouter Van Besien (from 17 May 2008) |
3 | Wouter Van Besien | 25 October 2009 | 15 November 2014 | Björn Rzoska (until 19 January 2013) Elke Van den Brandt (from 19 January 2013) |
4 | Meyrem Almaci | 15 November 2014 | 11 June 2022[5] | Jeremie Vaneeckhout (until 19 October 2019) Dany Neudt (from 19 October 2019) |
5 | Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji | 11 June 2022[6] | Incumbent | to be announced |
Name
- 1982–2003: Agalev
- 2003–2012: Groen!
- 2012–present: Groen
The party was founded as Agalev, which meant Anders Gaan Leven (English: to start living differently). This conveyed the green message that humans need to choose alternative lifestyles that are more sustainable. When the party registered at the election authority, it was forced to supply a meaning for each initial. The party thus ran under the name Anders Gaan Arbeiden, Leven, En Vrijen (English: going to work, live and have sex differently), improvised and not entirely serious, but legally correct.
After the 2003 election defeat the party renewed its political profile. This also involved a name change to Groen! (English: Green!). The name conveyed a closer alliance to the
In January 2012 the party underwent another name change by removing the exclamation mark from the end of its name.
Ideology and issues
As a traditional green party, the three core values of Agalev were ecology, peace and participatory democracy. In the early years the party specifically sought to overcome traditional cleavages (liberal-socialist, Catholic-secular and Flemish-Belgian). Since the 1980s the ideals of diversity and social justice have also taken a prominent role. In its current political program it connected these three values by the concept of quality of life.
Representation
In this table the election results of Agalev/Groen!/Groen in House of Representatives, Senate and European elections is represented, as well as the results of regional elections for Flanders and Brussels. The party's political leadership is represented as well. If it was part of the governing federal coalition, then its minister is listed.
Year | Belgian Chamber
|
Belgian Senate
|
European Parliament | Flemish Parliament | Brussels Parliament
|
Federal Cabinet
|
*
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | extra-parliamentary | unknown |
1980 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | extra-parliamentary | unknown |
1981 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox
|
1982 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1983 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1984 | 2 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1985 | 4 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1986 | 4 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1987 | 6 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1988 | 6 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | Leo Cox |
1989 | 6 | 3 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Leo Cox / Johan Malcorps |
1990 | 6 | 3 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Johan Malcorps |
1991 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Johan Malcorps |
1992 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Johan Malcorps |
1993 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Johan Malcorps |
1994 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | Johan Malcorps |
1995
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Johan Malcorps / Wilfried Bervoets |
1996 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Wilfried Bervoets |
1997 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Wilfried Bervoets / Jos Geysels |
1998 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Jos Geysels |
1999
|
9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
2000 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
2001 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
2002 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
2003
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 1 | extra-parliamentary | Jos Geysels / Dirk Holemans / Vera Dua |
2004 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extra-parliamentary | Vera Dua |
2005 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extra-parliamentary | Vera Dua |
2006 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extra-parliamentary | Vera Dua |
2007
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | opposition | Vera Dua / Mieke Vogels |
2008 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | opposition | Mieke Vogels |
2009 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Mieke Vogels / Wouter Van Besien |
2010
|
5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien |
2011 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien |
2012 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien |
2013 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien |
2014 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien |
2015 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | opposition | Meyrem Almaci |
2016 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | opposition | Meyrem Almaci |
2017 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 3 | opposition | Meyrem Almaci |
Members of the European Parliament
After the
Municipal government
Green! participates in several municipal governments. The party is especially strong in university cities like Leuven and Ghent.
Electorate
The support of Green! has strongly fluctuated recently. It draws most of its support from Flemish voters who do not feel bound to the strong social organizations and
Green!'s support is distributed in the following way between the electoral districts in the 2014 general election:
Province | Votes (%) 2011 | Result (seats) 2011 | Votes (%) 2014 | Result (seats) 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Antwerp
|
7.7% | 2 | 9.9% | 2 |
Flemish Brabant | 9.8% | 1 | 8.7% | 1 |
Limburg | 4.8% | 0 | 6.0% | 0 |
East Flanders | 7.4% | 1 | 9.1% | 2 |
West Flanders | 6.3% | 1 | 7.9% | 1 |
Electoral results
Chamber of Representatives
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 2,435 | 0.0 | 0 / 212
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
1978 | 5,556 | 0.1 | 0 / 212
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
1981 | 138,575 | 2.3 | 2 / 212
|
2 | Opposition |
1985 | 226,758 | 3.7 | 4 / 212
|
2 | Opposition |
1987 | 275,437 | 4.5 | 6 / 212
|
2 | Opposition |
1991 | 299,550 | 4.9 | 7 / 212
|
1 | Opposition |
1995
|
269,058 | 4.4 | 5 / 150
|
2 | Opposition |
1999
|
434,449 | 7.0 | 9 / 150
|
4 | Coalition |
2003
|
162,205 | 2.5 | 0 / 150
|
9 | Extra-parliamentary |
2007
|
265,828 | 4.0 | 4 / 150
|
4 | Opposition |
2010
|
285,989 | 4.4 | 5 / 150
|
1 | Opposition |
2014
|
358,947 | 5.3 | 6 / 150
|
1 | Opposition |
2019 | 413,836 | 6.1 | 8 / 150
|
2 | External support (2020) |
Coalition (2020–) |
Senate
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 3,270 | 0.1 | 0 / 106
|
|
1978 | 0 / 106
|
|||
1981 | 121,016 | 2.0 | 1 / 106
|
1 |
1985 | 229,206 | 3.8 | 2 / 106
|
1 |
1987 | 299,049 | 4.9 | 3 / 105
|
1 |
1991 | 314,360 | 5.1 | 5 / 70
|
2 |
1995 | 223,355 | 3.7 | 1 / 40
|
4 |
1999 | 438,931 | 7.1 | 3 / 40
|
2 |
2003 | 161,024 | 2.5 | 0 / 40
|
3 |
2007 | 241,151 | 3.6 | 1 / 40
|
1 |
2010 | 251,605 | 3.9 | 1 / 40
|
0 |
Regional
Brussels Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Government | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D.E.C. | Overall | |||||
1989
|
4,821 | 1.1 (#12) | 1 / 75
|
Opposition | ||
1995 | 3,906 | 1.0 (#11) | 0 / 75
|
1 | Opposition | |
1999[a] | 13,223 | 21.8 (#4) | 3.1 (#8) | 0 / 75
|
0 | Opposition |
2004 | 6,132 | 9.8 (#5) | 1.4 (#10) | 1 / 89
|
1 | Opposition |
2009 | 5,806 | 11.2 (#5) | 1.3 (#10) | 2 / 89
|
1 | Coalition |
2014 | 9,551 | 17.9 (#5) | 2.1 (#9) | 3 / 89
|
1 | Opposition |
2019 | 14,425 | 20.6 (#1) | 3.1 (#7) | 4 / 89
|
1 | Coalition |
Flemish Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 267,155 | 7.1 (#6) | 7 / 124
|
Opposition | |
1999 | 451,361 | 11.6 (#5) | 12 / 124
|
5 | Coalition |
2004 | 308,898 | 7.6 (#5) | 6 / 124
|
6 | Opposition |
2009 | 278,211 | 6.8 (#7) | 7 / 124
|
1 | Opposition |
2014 | 365,779 | 8.7 (#5) | 10 / 124
|
3 | Opposition |
2019 | 428,696 | 10.1 (#5) | 14 / 124
|
4 | Opposition |
European Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
D.E.C. | Overall | ||||
1979 | 77,986 | 2.3 (#5) | 0 / 24
|
||
1984 | 246,712 | 7.1 (#5) | 1 / 24
|
1 | |
1989 | 446,539 | 12.2 (#4) | 1 / 24
|
0 | |
1994 | 396,198 | 10.7 (#5) | 1 / 25
|
0 | |
1999 | 464,042 | 12.0 (#6) | 7.5 | 2 / 25
|
1 |
2004 | 320,874 | 8.0 (#5) | 4.9 | 1 / 24
|
1 |
2009 | 322,149 | 7.9 (#6) | 4.9 | 1 / 22
|
0 |
2014 | 447,391 | 10.6 (#5) | 6.7 | 1 / 21
|
0 |
2019 | 525,908 | 12.4 (#5) | 7.8 | 1 / 21
|
0 |
- SP
Elected politicians
Current
Chamber of Representatives
| ||
---|---|---|
Constituency | Name | Notes |
Antwerp | Meyrem Almaci | |
Antwerp | Kristof Calvo | |
East Flanders | Stefaan Van Hecke | |
Leuven | Eva Brems | |
West Flanders | Wouter De Vriendt | |
Senate
| ||
Type | Name | Notes |
Directly elected | Freya Piryns | |
Community Senator | Mieke Vogels | |
European Parliament | ||
Type | Name | Notes |
Directly elected | Bart Staes | |
Flemish Parliament | ||
Type | Name | Notes |
Antwerp | Imade Annouri | |
Antwerp | Wouter Van Besien | |
Antwerp | Ingrid Pira | |
Brussels-Capital Region
|
Elke Van den Brandt | |
East Flanders | Elisabeth Meuleman | |
East Flanders | Björn Rzoska | |
Limburg | Johan Danen | |
Flemish Brabant | An Moerenhout | |
West Flanders | Bart Caron |
Provincial councilors
- 2012–2018:
- Greet Bockx
- Tom Caals
- Koen Kerremans
- Diederik Vandendriessche
- Loes Van Cleemput
- Karin Van Hoffelen
- Yasmina Beldjoudi
- Inge De Bal
- Elisabet Dooms
- Jan Fiers
- Rik Franck
- Riet Gillis
- Stephan Boogaerts
- Luc Debraekeleer
- Luc Robijns
- Tie Roefs
- Sarah Sneyers
- Bernadette Stassens
- Erik Torbeyns
- Alex Colpaert
- Herman Lodewyckx
- Gerda Schotte
- Maarten Tavernier
Past
Chamber of Representatives
- 1987–1991 (6):
- 1991–1995 (7):
- Magda Aelvoet (until 20 July 1994) → Lodewijk Steenwegen
- Luc Barbé
- Wilfried De Vlieghere
- Vera Dua
- Jos Geysels
- Hugo Van Dienderen
- Mieke Vogels (until 11 January 1995) → Peter Luyten
- 1995–1999 (5):
- 1999–2003 (9):
- Eddy Boutmans (until 12 October 1999) → Leen Laenens
- Anne-Mie Descheemaeker
- Kristien Grauwels
- Simonne Leen
- Fauzaya Talhaoui
- Jef Tavernier (until 28 August 2002) → Liliane De Cock
- Peter Vanhoutte
- Lode Vanoost
- Joos Wauters
- 2007–2010 (4):
- 2010–2014 (5):
Brussels Parliament
- 1989–1995 (1):
- 1999–2004 (1):
- Adelheid Byttebier (until 6 June 2003; replaced Mieke Vogels as Flemish minister) → Anne Van Asbroeck (SP.A)
- 2004–2009 (1):
- 2009–2014 (2):
- Bruno De Lille (became Brussels-Capital Region state secretary) → Elke Van den Brandt
- Annemie Maes
European Parliament
- 1984–1989 (1):
- 1989–1994 (1):
- 1994–1999 (1):
- 1999–2004 (2):
- Patsy Sörensen
- Bart Staes (left Spirit for Groen! in July 2002)
- Luckas Vander Taelen (until 2002) → Jan Dhaene (left Groen! for SP.A in January 2004)
- 2004–2009 (1):
- 2009–2014 (1):
Flemish Parliament
- 1995–1999 (7):
- 1999–2004 (12):
- Magda Aelvoet (until 12 July 1999; became federal minister) → Ann De Martelaer
- Veerle Declercq
- Jos Geysels
- Eloi Glorieux
- Dirk Holemans
- Johan Malcorps
- Frans Ramon
- Ludo Sannen (until 26 May 2003; replaced Vera Dua as Flemish minister) → Flor Ory (until 17 February 2004) → Ludo Sannen
- Jos Stassen
- Ria Van Den Heuvel
- Jo Vermeulen
- Vera Dua (became Flemish minister) → Isabel Vertriest (until 26 May 2003) → Vera Dua
- 2004–2009 (6):
- 2009–2014 (7):
- Bart Caron
- Elisabeth Meuleman
- Dirk Peeters
- Hermes Sanctorum
- Luckas Vander Taelen
- Mieke Vogels
- Filip Watteeuw (until 31 December 2012)
Provincial councilors
- 1985–1991:
- Province of Brabant Johan Hamels
- 2006–2012:
Organization
Organizational structure
The highest organ of Green is the
In contrast to other parties, Green MPs face relatively strong regulation: the party does not allow multiple offices per person, while it is traditional for Belgian MPs to be both mayor of municipality and federal MP for instance; furthermore MPs are not allowed to run for more than two terms; to ensure
By Belgian standards Green has relatively few members, ranging from 2,000 to 6,500. This is only about 1% of the Green voters. Generally Belgian parties have about 10% of their voter base as members.
The party's youth organization,
International organisations
Green is a member of the
Relationships to social organisations
Green is ideologically and historically linked to the environmental movement Agalev, which was founded by the Jesuit
Relationships to other parties
The party has relatively good relations with the
International comparison
Internationally, Groen is comparable to the larger European Green parties, especially the German
See also
- Francophone) green party
- Green party
- Green politics
- List of environmental organizations
References
- ^ "Open VLD heeft de meeste leden en steekt CD&V voorbij". deredactie.be. 30 October 2014.
- ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Flanders/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Politieke fracties". Benelux Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- OCLC 1256593260.
- ^ "Meyrem Almaci stopt als voorzitter van Groen: "Het is nu aan andere mensen, dat zal Groen deugd doen"" [Meyrem Almaci quits as president of Groen: "Up to other people now, which will benefit Groen"]. vrtnws. 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "Groen heeft nieuw voorzittersduo: Jeremie Vaneeckhout en Nadia Naji halen het in de eerste stemronde" [Groen has new presidential duo: Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji win already in first round of elections]. vrtnws. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
External links
Media related to Groen (party) at Wikimedia Commons