While all the signs at the top of the parties are in the direction of close cooperation and party leaders Jesse Klaver and Attje Kuiken are campaigning emphatically together, for the time being there is less enthusiasm in the provinces. Provincial politicians stress the differences between the parties and do not see the need for them.
Zeeland
Zealand is the only province where the parties aim for a factional merger and also go one step further: voters can vote for a joint list of the two parties. Six names from PvdA and four from GroenLinks appear in the top ten. Party leader Anita Pijbelink, now an MP on behalf of the PvdA: ‘Zeeland is a conservative and conservative stronghold. As progressive left parties we look out for each other, because together we are a really important player.’