Groen (political party)
Template:Infobox political party Template:Green politics sidebar Groen (Template:IPA; Template:Literal translation), founded as Agalev, is a green<ref name="Nordsieck" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Flemish political party in Belgium. The main pillars of the party are social justice, human rights, and ecologism.<ref name="GreenVRT">Template:Cite web</ref> Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
History
Agalev
In 1979, the green party was founded by name of "Agalev", an acronym of "Anders Gaan Leven" ("Towards Different Living").<ref name="kamer20151029">Template:Cite web</ref> During the eighties, the party was known for being against nuclear weapons, and for being pro-Europe.<ref name="GreenVRT"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the elections of 1999, Agalev scored 7% federally and 11% regionally (in Flanders). The Dioxin affair, a scandal surrounding dioxins in for-consumption chickens just before the elections, played an important role in the Greens' performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="vrt20240322">Template:Cite web</ref> The sitting ministers in the Flemish government Mieke Vogels and Vera Dua stepped down, and were replaced by Template:Ill and Template:Ill respectively.
Vera Dua got elected as chairperson, and on the same day, the party's name was changed to Groen! (Green!).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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–present)
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On the regional level of Brussels-Capital, Groen participated in a red-green-blue coalition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Elke Van den Brandt became Minister of Mobility, Public Works, and Road Safety.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tinne Van der Straeten holds the Ministry of Energy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2022 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name="GreenVRT"/>
Party chairperson
| Name | From | Until | Vice-chairperson | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Cox | 28 March 1982 | 7 January 1989 | not applicable | Spokesperson<ref name="agelevVRT">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2 | Johan Malcorps | 7 January 1989 | 6 June 1995 | not applicable | Spokesperson<ref name="agelevVRT"/> |
| 3 | Wilfried Bervoets | 6 June 1995 | 24 July 1998 | not applicable | Spokesperson.<ref name="agelevVRT"/> Passed away in function.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During his illness, Jos Geysels was acting spokesperson. |
| 4 | Jos Geysels | 8 June 1998 | 21 June 2003 | not applicable | Spokesperson<ref name="agelevVRT"/> |
| 5 | Dirk Holemans | 21 June 2003 | 15 November 2003 | not applicable | Spokesperson<ref name="agelevVRT"/> |
| 6 | Vera Dua | 15 November 2003 | 10 November 2007 | not applicable<ref name="agelevVRT"/> | |
| 7 | Mieke Vogels | 10 November 2007<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 25 October 2009 | Wouter Van Besien (from 17 May 2008) | |
| 8 | Wouter Van Besien | 25 October 2009<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 15 November 2014 | Björn Rzoska (until 19 January 2013) Elke Van den Brandt (from 19 January 2013) |
|
| 9 | Meyrem Almaci | 15 November 2014<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 11 June 2022<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Jeremie Vaneeckhout (until 19 October 2019) Dany Neudt (from 19 October 2019) |
Re-elected |
| 10 | Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji | 11 June 2022<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 19 December 2024 | not applicable | |
| 11 | Bart Dhondt | 19 December 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Incumbent | Natacha Waldmann | |
Current mandates
European politics
| European Parliament<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
|---|---|
| Name | Committees |
| Sara Matthieu | International Trade Employment and Social Affairs |
Federal politics
| Chamber of Representatives<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Notes | ||
| Template:Flagicon Wouter De Vriendt | Faction leader | ||
| Template:Flagicon Kim Buyst | |||
| Template:Flagicon Kristof Calvo | |||
| Template:Flagicon Barbara Cremers | |||
| Template:Flagicon Eva Platteau | |||
| Template:Flagicon Dieter Van Besien | |||
| Template:Flagicon Stefaan Van Hecke | |||
| Template:Flagicon Kathleen Pisman | |||
| Senate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Name | Notes |
| Co-opted Senator | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | Second vice president of the Senate |
| Community Senator | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | |
| Community Senator | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | |
| Community Senator | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | |
| Belgian Federal De Croo Government<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Public Office | Name | Function |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Petra De Sutter | Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services |
| Minister | Tinne Van der Straeten | Minister of Energy |
Regional politics: Flanders
| Flemish Parliament<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Meyrem Almaci | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | Template:Flagicon Stijn Bex | |
| Template:Flagicon Johan Danen | Template:Flagicon Ann De Martelaer | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | |
| Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | Template:Flagicon Ann Moerenhout | Template:Flagicon Staf Aerts | |
| Template:Flagicon Bjorn Rzoska | Template:Flagicon Template:Ill | Template:Flagicon Chris Steenwegen | |
| Template:Flagicon Tine van den Brande | Template:Flagicon Jeremie Vaneeckhout | ||
Regional politics: Brussels
| Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Notes | ||
| Template:Ill | |||
| Template:Ill | |||
| Template:Ill | |||
| Template:Ill | Faction Leader | ||
| Brussels Regional Government Vervoort II<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Public Office | Name | Function |
| Minister | Elke Van den Brandt | Mobility and Public Works |
Election results
Chamber of Representatives
Senate
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 3,270 | 0.1 | Template:Composition bar | |
| 1978 | Template:Composition bar | |||
| 1981 | 121,016 | 2.0 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 |
| 1985 | 229,206 | 3.8 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 |
| 1987 | 299,049 | 4.9 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 |
| 1991 | 314,360 | 5.1 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 2 |
| 1995 | 223,355 | 3.7 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 4 |
| 1999 | 438,931 | 7.1 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 2 |
| 2003 | 161,024 | 2.5 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 3 |
| 2007 | 241,151 | 3.6 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 |
| 2010 | 251,605 | 3.9 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 |
Regional: Brussels
Regional: Flemish Parliament
European Parliament
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | EP Group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Abbr | Overall | ||||||
| 1979 | Paul Staes | 77,986 | 2.33 (#5) | 1.43 | Template:Composition bar | New | − |
| 1984 | 246,712 | 7.08 (#5) | 4.31 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 | RBW | |
| 1989 | 446,539 | 12.20 (#4) | 7.57 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | G | |
| 1994 | Magda Aelvoet | 396,198 | 10.73 (#5) | 6.64 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | |
| 1999 | Patsy Sörensen | 464,042 | 11.98 (#6) | 7.50 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 | Greens/EFA |
| 2004 | Bart Staes | 320,874 | 7.99 (#5) | 4.94 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 1 | |
| 2009 | 322,149 | 7.90 (#6) | 4.90 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | ||
| 2014 | 447,391 | 10.62 (#5) | 6.69 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | ||
| 2019 | Petra De Sutter | 525,908 | 12.37 (#5) | 7.81 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | |
| 2024 | Sara Matthieu | 450,781 | 10.00 (#5) | 6.31 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady 0 | |
See also
- Ecolo the Walloon (Francophone) green party
- Green party
- Green politics
- List of environmental organizations
- European Green Party
- Global Greens