Lessons from the Dutch local elections
Prior to this election, GroenLinks had never won more than 6.7 per cent of the vote so the result is certainly historic. As is the fact that the party became the leading force in many municipalities, including the capital Amsterdam as well as university cities such as Utrecht, Nijmegen, and Delft. In the local elections four years ago, the party won 5.4 per cent.
What is even more exceptional, however, is that the party performed impressively outside of its traditional strongholds. For instance, GroenLinks is now the largest party in the southern city of Helmond, once an industrial centre. Now poised to enter government in at least 36 of the 100 largest municipalities, before the elections it was in government in only 16. (...)
Read the entire article on the website of the Green European Journal.