Socialist Party (Netherlands)

The Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP ) is a democratic socialist and social democratic political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1971 as the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist (KPN/ML, Communistische Partij van Nederland/Marxistisch–Leninistisch), the party has since moderated itself from Marxism–Leninism and Maoism towards democratic socialism and social democracy.

Positioned to the political left of the Labour Party, the party has been part of the parliamentary opposition since it was formed. After the 2006 Dutch general election, the SP became one of the major parties of the Netherlands winning 25 out of 150 parliamentary seats, an increase of 16 seats. In the 2010 Dutch general election, the parliamentary presence of the socialists decreased to 15 seats. In the 2012 Dutch general election, the party maintained those 15 seats. Following the 2017 and 2021 general elections, the SP fell back to the nine seats it held before 2006. After the 2023 Dutch general election, the SP delegation shrank from nine seats to five.

Foundation until 1994
The Socialist Party was founded in October 1971 as a Maoist party named the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist (KPN/ML). This KPN/ML was formed following a split from the Communist Unity Movement of the Netherlands (Marxist–Leninist). The issue that provoked the split from KEN(ml) was an intense debate on the role of intellectuals in the class struggle. The founders of KPN/ML, with Daan Monjé in a prominent role, belonged to the proletarian wing of the KEN(ml), who did not want an organisation dominated by students and intellectuals. In 1972, the KPN/ML changed its name to the Socialist Party (Dutch: Socialistiese Partij). Even in its early years, while adhering to Maoist principles such as organising the masses, the SP was very critical of the Chinese Communist Party, condemning its support for UNITA in Angola with the brochure "Antwoord aan de dikhuiden van de KEN" ('Answer to the thick skins of the KEN').

The SP started to build a network of local parties, with strong local roots. The SP had its own General Practitioners' offices, provided advice to citizens and set up local action groups. This developed within front organisations, separate trade unions, environmental organisations and tenant associations. This work resulted in a strong representation in several municipal legislatures, notably in Oss. Also in some States-Provincial, the SP gained a foothold, especially in the province of North Brabant.

Since 1977, SP attempted to enter the House of Representatives, but the party failed in 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1989. In 1991, the SP officially scrapped the term Marxism–Leninism because the party had evolved to the point that the term was no longer considered appropriate.

After 1994
In the 1994 general election, the party's first members of parliament, namely Remi Poppe and Jan Marijnissen, were elected. Its slogan was "Vote Against" (Dutch: Stem tegen). In the 1990s, the major party of the Dutch left, the Labour Party (PvdA), moved to the centre, making the SP and the GroenLinks viable alternatives for some left-wing voters. In the 1998 general election, the party was rewarded for its opposition to the purple government of the first Kok cabinet and more than doubled its seats to five. In the 1999 European Parliament election, Erik Meijer was elected into the European Parliament for the SP.

In the 2002 general election, the SP ran with the slogan "Vote in Favor" (Dutch: Stem Voor). The party nearly doubled to nine seats. This result was kept in the 2003 general election. Leading up to the latter election, the SP was predicted to win as many as 24 (16%) seats in the polls. However, these gains failed to materialise as many potential SP voters chose to cast strategic votes for the Labour Party which stood a good chance of winning the elections. In the 2004 European Parliament election, its one seat was doubled to two.

In the 2005 referendum on the European Constitution, the SP was the only left-wing party in parliament to oppose it. Support for the party grew in opinion polls, but it fell slightly after the referendum.

The 2006 municipal elections were a success for the SP which more than doubled its total number of seats. This can in part be explained by the party standing in many more municipalities, but it can also be seen as a reaction to the so-called "right-wing winter" in national politics as the welfare reforms of the right-wing second Balkenende cabinet were called by its centre-left and left-wing opponents. In a reaction to these results, Marijnissen declared on election night that the "SP has grown up".

After the untimely end of the second Balkenende cabinet and the minority government of the third Balkenende cabinet, the SP gained 16 seats in the parliament after the 2006 general election, nearly tripling its parliamentary representation. With 25 seats, the SP became the third largest party of the Dutch parliament. In the 2006–2007 cabinet formation, the SP was unable to work out its policy differences with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and remained in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet which comprised the CDA, the PvdA and the Christian Union parties.

In the 2007 provincial elections, the SP gained 54 provincial legislators more than in the 2003 provincial elections and made it to a total of 83 provincial legislators. As a result of the provincial elections, the SP has increased its representatives in the Senate of the Netherlands (upper house) to 11 from the 4 it had previously.

In the 2010 general election, the SP fared worse than in the previous election, with a loss of 10 seats, a gain of 15 and only 9.9% of the overall vote. The party's popularity rose after the election, with polls throughout 2012 indicating it could challenge the ruling VVD with a seat count reaching into the 30s. The SP's popularity peaked in early August, a month before the election, with polls from Peil, Ipsos, and TNS NIPO indicating it would become the largest party with a result as high as 37 seats. However, PvdA's popularity surged in the final weeks, and the SP's lead collapsed. The party ultimately placed fourth on 15 seats, with a slight decrease in its vote share compared to 2010.

In the 2017 general election, the SP lost one seat and finished sixth.

Name
The party was founded as the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist (KPN/ML) in 1971. In 1972, it adopted the Socialist Party name (Dutch: Socialistiese Partij), with the spelling using -iese instead of -ische. This was due to the Dutch spelling reforms at the time. However, these spelling reforms failed and the party changed its name to Socialistische Partij in 1993.

Ideology
The SP has been described as democratic socialist, social democratic, left-wing populist, far-left and Eurosceptic, and is an advocate of Dutch republicanism. The party labels itself as socialist, and in its manifesto of principles, it calls for a society where human dignity, equality and solidarity are most important. Its core issues are employment, social welfare and investing in health care, public education and public safety. The party opposes privatisation of public services and is critical of globalisation. It has taken a soft Eurosceptic stance. The SP is also opposed to capitalism, as noted in what the SP calls its three main tasks:

"In a world dominated by the interests of capital, human dignity, equality and solidarity are under pressure. Our goal is to build a modern socialist society in which we put these values into practice. To achieve this, the SP has three main tasks: 1.	 Providing fundamental criticism of capitalism and organizing people against it

2.	 Presenting our alternatives for the short and long term and fighting for them

3.	 Collaborate with everyone who endorses our values, locally, nationally and internationally.

Capitalism leads to exploitation of people and division in society; pollution of the environment and depletion of the earth. The preservation of life is under pressure due to the overexploitation of current capitalism. This leads to destruction of the environment, to wars and flows of refugees. Our way of life must change to save nature and thus humans. More and more people are coming to the realization that the capitalist market economy does not work."

According to Cas Mudde, the party has an "old left" platform that combines left-wing economic stances with "left-conservative" positions on some social issues — the party proposes a temporary stop on migrant workers, and it also rejects "identity politics". The party program is heavily focused on Dutch blue collar workers, recalling a 'historical homeland' of Dutch workers that was destroyed by privatisation, deregulation and neoliberalism; in the same vein, the party is critical of the EU, calling its policies 'false internationalism' and accusing it of being in the service of big corporations and neoliberalism. The party's opposition to mass migration is explained by its focus on the protection of the working class; the SP argues that the Dutch working class must be protected by preventing an inflow of cheap labour into the Netherlands; party's slogan on immigration is "Class struggle instead of race struggle". The Socialist Party is also heavily regarded as a textbook example of a left-wing populist party.

Leadership

 * Leaders
 * Daan Monjé (22 October 1971 – 1 October 1986)
 * Hans van Hooft Sr. (1 October 1986 – 20 May 1988)
 * Jan Marijnissen (20 May 1988 – 20 June 2008)
 * Agnes Kant (20 June 2008 – 5 March 2010)
 * Emile Roemer (5 March 2010 – 13 December 2017)
 * Lilian Marijnissen (13 December 2017 – 9 December 2023)
 * Jimmy Dijk (since 13 December 2023)
 * Chairmen
 * Hans van Hooft Sr. (22 October 1971 – 20 May 1988)
 * Jan Marijnissen (20 May 1988 – 28 November 2015)
 * Ron Meyer (28 November 2015 – 14 December 2019)
 * Jannie Visscher (since 14 December 2019)
 * Secretaries
 * Tiny Kox (20 January 1994 – 24 May 2003)
 * Paulus Jansen (24 May 2003 – 20 June 2005)
 * Hans van Heijningen (20 June 2005 – 20 January 2018)
 * Lieke Smits (20 January 2018 – 14 December 2019)
 * Arnout Hoekstra (since 14 December 2019)
 * Parliamentary leaders in the Senate
 * Jan de Wit (13 June 1995 – 19 May 1998)
 * Bob Ruers (19 May 1998 – 10 June 2003)
 * Tiny Kox (10 June 2003 – 25 January 2022)
 * Rik Janssen (since 25 January 2022)
 * Parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives
 * Jan Marijnissen (17 May 1994 – 20 June 2008)
 * Agnes Kant (20 June 2008 – 5 March 2010)
 * Emile Roemer (5 March 2010 – 13 December 2017)
 * Lilian Marijnissen (13 December 2017 – 9 December 2023)
 * Jimmy Dijk (since 13 December 2023)
 * Lijsttrekker in general elections
 * Remi Poppe – 1977
 * Hans van Hooft Sr. – 1981, 1982, 1986
 * Jan Marijnissen – 1989, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006
 * Emile Roemer – 2010, 2012, 2017
 * Lilian Marijnissen - 2021, 2023

Members of the European Parliament
The party currently has no members of the European Parliament since the 2019 European Parliamentary election.

Local and provincial government
Former SP leader Emile Roemer was the first party member who became both mayor and commissioner (he was acting mayor of Heerlen and Alkmaar, and has been King's Commissioner of Limburg since 1 December 2021). The SP is part of the provincial executive (Gedeputeerde staten) in six out of twelve provinces. The SP is also part of several municipal executives (College van burgemeester en wethouders), notably in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Organisation
As of 2016, the SP has 41,710 members and has grown considerably since it entered parliament in 1994, making it the third largest party in terms of its number of members. Like other parties in the Netherlands, the SP has seen a decline in membership in recent years.

Organisational structure
The highest body within the SP is the party council, formed by the chairs of all local branches and the party board. It convenes at least four times a year. The party board is elected by the party congress which is formed by delegates from the municipal branches. The congress decides on the order of the candidates for national and European elections and it has a final say over the party program.

At the party congress which was held on 28 November in 2015, Ron Meyer was elected as the secretary of the party board. Previously, he was working for the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV). Ron Meyer was elected along with 10 other party board members.

Lilian Marijnissen became the leader of the party on 13 December 2017.

The SP is a constant active force in extra-parliamentary protest. Many of its members are active in local campaigning groups, often independent groups dominated by the SP, or in the SP neighbourhood centres, where the party provides help for the working class.

An example more of nationwide nature is the movement for a National Healthcare Fund (Nationaal ZorgFonds). This campaign demonstrates the necessity of a single payer system and wants to remove market and commercialisation aspects of the current healthcare system. The expensive advertising annually organised by healthcare insurance companies in order to attract new customers is a big example. The NHS inspired movement thinks that money should solely be spent on healthcare itself. Switching from one insurance company to another can only be done once every year as restricted by Dutch law.

Linked organisations
The youth-wing of the Socialist Party is called SP Jongeren. Its old youth-wing was ROOD; the word rood is officially written in capitals but is not an acronym. The SP publishes the magazine the Tribune monthly which was also the name of a historical Communist Party of the Netherlands newspaper. The relationship between Rood and the SP became rocky in 2020 due to the youth wing taking a more radical approach to politics. In late 2020 the party cut ties with ROOD.

Splinter groups
At one point, two Trotskyist entryist groups operated within the SP. This included Offensive, now called Socialist Alternative, and the International Socialists. The latter was expelled on the grounds of double membership. The similar yet very small group Offensief was not considered a factor of power, but its members were banned from the SP in February 2009, on the grounds of being "a party within a party". Members of the party Socialist Alternative Politics still operate within the SP.

Relationships to other parties
The SP has always been in opposition on a national level, although there are now numerous examples of government participation on a local and provincial level. On many issues, the SP is the most left-wing party in parliament. Between 1994 and 2002, the Labour Party (PvdA) had a conscious strategy to isolate the party, always voting against the latter's proposals. However, the party did co-operate well with GroenLinks. After its disastrous election result in 2002, the PvdA, now back in opposition, did co-operate with the SP against some of the policies of the centre-right Balkenende government and their relationship improved significantly. New tensions arose after the 2006 general election, when the SP approached the PvdA in electoral support and the PvdA joined the government whereas the SP did not.

As of 2016, the ruling VVD–PvdA coalition has meant that the PvdA lost a huge part of its base. In the polls, the party stand at around 12 seats and losing 26, a stable position for the last three years. Despite that, the SP has gained little to nothing, remaining stable at around 16 seats in the same polls.