stringtranslate.com

Groen (political party)

Groen (lit. 'Green', [ɣruːn] ⓘ), founded as Agalev, is a green[2][4] Flemish political party in Belgium. The main pillars of the party are social justice, human rights, and ecologism.[5] Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.

Political views

Groen is a progressive Flemish party that, as the name itself suggests, considers environmental and climate policy very important. The party wants to combine this with attention to social justice, equal opportunities, human rights and quality of life. In other words, the party wants to protect the planet, but wants to do so by paying attention to the weakest in society. The party therefore wants good and affordable health care and to tackle poverty. In order to afford these initiatives, the party expect the richest people and the biggest polluters in society to contribute more.[5]

History

Agalev

In 1979, the green party was founded by name of "Agalev", an acronym of "Anders Gaan Leven" ("Towards Different Living").[6] During the eighties, the party was known for being against nuclear weapons, and for being pro-Europe.[5][7]

In 1992 Agalev was asked to support a constitutional change called the Sint-Michiels agreement, which would make Belgium a federation. This change required a two-third majority, so the majority needed to convince some parties of the opposition to proceed. Both Agalev and Ecolo agreed, in exchange for a tax on bottles, the first ecotax in Belgium. However, after the constitutional change was voted in, the ecotax was cancelled and replaced by a watered-down concept.[8][9]

In the elections of 1999, Agalev scored 7% federally and 11% regionally (in Flanders). The Dioxin affair, a scandal surrounding dioxine in for-consumption chickens just before the elections, played an important role in the Greens' performance.[10] The Greens joined the first Verhofstadt government as part of the "purple-green" federal coalition from 12 July 1999 until 18 May 2003. Representing Agalev in this federal government, Magda Aelvoet was Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Environment. She tabled legislation on gay marriage, making Belgium the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.[11]Within the same legislature, Magda Aelvoet left her position due to her opposition of a Belgian arms delivery to Nepal, and was succeeded by fellow party member Jef Tavernier.[12]

Also following the elections of 1999, the party joined the Flemish Government, which was composed of the same parties. Agalev supplied two ministers: Mieke Vogels became responsible for Wellbeing, Health and Equal opportunities, and Vera Dua for Agriculture and Environment.

Renaming to Groen! (2003)

In the federal elections of 2003, Agalev scored less than 5% and lost all their seats (on the federal level). The next day, Jos Geysels resigned as party leader.[13][14] The sitting ministers in the Flemish government Mieke Vogels and Vera Dua stepped down, and were replaced by Adelheid Byttebier [nl] and Ludo Sannen [nl] respectively.

Vera Dua got elected as chairperson, and on the same day, the party's name was changed to Groen! (Green!).[15] The party got between 5 and 10% of the votes through the elections of the early 00's. They did not participate in a governmental coalition (on any level higher than local).

Groen (2012 - current)

In 2012 the party decided to drop de exclamation mark of their name.

After the local and provincial elections of 2014, Groen had a mandate for the first time in the province of Flemish-Brabant. In 2018 the province of East-Flanders followed. The results in Flemish-Brabant had improved though Green wasn't part of the coalition anymore after these elections.

In 2019, there were elections on the regional, federal and European level. At this time the school strike for climate movement had dominated the media, so the party Groen was expected to grow substantially. An total victory didn't happen, though the party gained seats on all levels.[16]

On the regional level of Brussels-Capital, Groen participated in a red-green-blue coalition.[17] Elke Van den Brandt became Minister of Mobility, Public Works, and Road Safety.[18]

On the federal level, a new government wasn't formed until 17 March 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak urged a minority government with extra plenary powers to be formed. After 6 months a 'regular' majority government was formed and the Vivaldi coalition was sworn in with 2 Groen ministers.[19] Petra De Sutter became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services, as Europe's first transgender deputy prime minister.[20] Tinne Van der Straeten holds the Ministry of Energy.[21]

In 2012 the members of Groen elected new party leaders: the duo Nadia Naji and Jeremie Vaneeckhout, and the logo changed from green only to a more colourful background.[22]

Party chairperson

Co-presidents Nadia Naji and Jeremie Vaneeckhout

Current mandates

European politics

Federal politics

Regional politics: Flanders

Regional politics: Brussels

Past electoral results

Chamber of Representatives

Senate

Regional: Brussels

Regional: Flemish Parliament

European Parliament

  1. ^ In coalition with SP

See also

References

  1. ^ "Open VLD heeft de meeste leden en steekt CD&V voorbij". deredactie.be. 30 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Flanders/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  3. ^ "Politieke fracties". Benelux Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  4. ^ Bale, Tim (2021). Riding the populist wave: Europe's mainstream right in crisis. Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-009-00686-6. OCLC 1256593260.
  5. ^ a b c "Elections 24: what do the Flemish ecologists of Groen stand for?". vrtnws.be. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  6. ^ "Integraal verslag van de plenaire vergadering op donderdag 29 okt 2015" (PDF) (in Dutch and French). Belgische Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers. 2015-10-29. Rouwhulde Wilfried Van Durme (één van de oprichters van Agalev).
  7. ^ "Belgium || Bomspotting. 2,000 Protest Against Nuclear Weapons". International Socialist Alternative. 2002-10-07. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  8. ^ "Groen". Encyclopedie Vlaamse Beweging (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Misnoegde brief van de bever aan De Wever" [displeased letter of the beaver to De Wever]. MO* Magazine (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  10. ^ "Het falen van Agalev bij de verkiezingen van 18 mei 2003" [Agalevs failure in the 18 May 2003 elections]. www.sampol.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  11. ^ "Belgium celebrates 20 years of same-sex marriage". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Belgium arms sale row deepens". BBC. 27 Aug 2002. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Jos Geysels neemt ontslag als politiek secretaris Agalev" [Jos Geysels resigns as Agalev political secretary]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 19 May 2003. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Waar staat Groen voor?" [What does Groen stand for?] (in Dutch). VRT NWS. 2024-04-15.
  15. ^ "De terugkeer van Groen!" [The comeback of Groen!]. Sampol (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Groen boekt winst, maar grote sprong vooruit blijft uit" [Groen makes progress, but falls short of big victory]. VRT NWS (in Dutch). 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  17. ^ "Akkoord voor Brusselse regering is rond: mét Open VLD, zonder MR". VRT NWS (in Dutch). 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. ^ "De onopvallende minister-president, de brouwer en de vrouw achter paars-groen: dit is de nieuwe Brusselse regering" [The unremarkable minister-president, the brewer and the woman behind purple-green: this is the new Brussels government]. vrtnws.be (in Dutch). 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  19. ^ "Why did it take so long to form Belgium's new 'Vivaldi' coalition?". euronews. 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  20. ^ "Green MEP Petra De Sutter to be named deputy Belgian PM". POLITICO. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  21. ^ "Wie is Tinne Van der Straeten, de nieuwe minister van Energie?" [Who is Tinne Van der Straeten, the new minister of Energy?]. Bruzz (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  22. ^ "Groen heeft nieuw voorzittersduo: Jeremie Vaneeckhout en Nadia Naji halen het in de eerste stemronde" [Groen has two new chairpeople: Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji succeed in one voting round]. vrtnws.be (in Dutch). 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "Van Agalev over Groen! naar Groen zonder meer" [From Agalev to Groen! to downright Groen]. VRT NWS (in Dutch). 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  24. ^ "Le décès de Wilfried Bervoets endeuille les Verts". Le Soir (in French). 1998-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  25. ^ "Mieke Vogels volgt Vera Dua op als voorzitster Groen!" [Mieke Vogels succeeds Vera Dua as chairperson Groen!]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  26. ^ "Wouter Van Besien verkozen als nieuwe voorzitter van Groen!" [Wouter Van Besien elected as new chairperson Groen!]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  27. ^ "Meyrem Almaci verkozen tot voorzitter van Groen". VRT NWS (in Dutch). 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  28. ^ "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"]. VRT NWS. 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  29. ^ "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.
  30. ^ "Full list of MEPs". European Parliament (official website). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  31. ^ "Kamerleden | Zittingsperiode 55" [Members of the Chamber | Legislation period 55]. De Belgische Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigersa. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  32. ^ "Lijst van de senatoren" [List of senators]. Belgische Senaat. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  33. ^ "Composition of the Belgian federal government". belgium.be. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  34. ^ "Volksvertegenwoordigers" [Representatives]. Vlaams Parlement (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  35. ^ "Volksvertegenwoordigers" [Representatives]. Parlement Bruxellois Brussels Parlement (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  36. ^ "The Government of the Region". Brussels-Capital Region. Retrieved 2024-07-01.

External links

Media related to Groen (party) at Wikimedia Commons