New Communist Party of the Netherlands
New Communist Party of the Netherlands Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | NCPN |
| Founded | November 14, 1992 |
| Merger of | Ex-CPN members VCN |
| Headquarters | Haarlemmerweg 177, Amsterdam |
| Newspaper | Manifest |
| Youth wing | Communist Youth Movement |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| European affiliation | European Communist Action (since 2023)[1] |
| International affiliation | IMCWP |
| Colours | Red |
| Website | |
| ncpn | |
The New Communist Party of the Netherlands (Dutch: Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland, NCPN) is a communist party in the Netherlands. The NCPN was founded in 1992 by former members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands who opposed its merger into GroenLinks. The party releases a monthly newspaper called Manifest.
The NCPN actively supports the socialist government of Cuba. The party opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and is against Dutch military intervention through NATO or other military alliances. The party considers itself anti-capitalist, anti-fascist and anti-imperialist. It opposes both the active intervention of the European Union and NATO in the war in Ukraine but also the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It believes that a Leninist view of anti-imperialism is not choosing sides in an inter-imperialist conflict.[2]
The NCPN claims to work to preserve the heritage of the Dutch communist movement through commemoration of events like the February strike, holding that anti-communist laws in Europe and the normalisation of far-right ideas are erasing this legacy. The party also participates in the struggle against discrimination towards women and minorities with a migrant background, and is against homophobia and transphobia.[3]
Although the party only has limited electoral successes to date, it claims not to shun elections and instead purports to work with trade unions and other similar organisations to advance its agenda. According to a party report, "the NCPN participates in elections to the best of its ability" and views "bourgeois representative bodies" as platforms to promote its agenda.[4]
History
In 1982, a group of members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands founded the newspaper Manifest, out of discontent with the CPN leadership. In 1984 this group founded the League of Communists in the Netherlands (VCN). The CPN dissolved in 1992 in order to make place for a new political party, GroenLinks, an alliance in which the CPN had participated since the 1980s. Subsequently, the VCN, together with many former members of the CPN, founded the NCPN.
In 1999, the local branch of the NCPN in the municipality of Scheemda split from the party and continued as the United Communist Party (VCP), which has since won city council seats in Oldambt and Pekela.
In 2003, the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) was founded as the NCPN's political youth organization. According to a statement from the NCPN after its 7th conference, the CJB contributed to a revival of the party in terms of membership and lowered the average age of its members.[5]
In December 2025, the party indicated that it would not participate in the 2026 Dutch municipal elections, because it could not find a suitable successor for Rinze Visser, councilor of De Fryske Marren, who did not stand for re-election due to health problems.[6]
Elections
The NCPN has participated in elections to the House of Representatives, provincial councils, and municipal councils, but never in elections to the European Parliament. In the period between 1994 and 2002, the NCPN was part of the governing majority coalition in the municipality of Reiderland.
| Election | Lead candidate | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rinze Visser | 11,630 | 0.13% | 0 |
| 1998 | Engel Modderman | 5,620 | 0.07% | 0 |
| 2003 | Alejandro de Mello | 4,860 | 0.05% | 0 |
| Province | 1995 | 1999 | 2003 | 2007 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Groningen | 2,955 | 1.3% | 0 | 3,246 | 1.4% | 0 | 2,057 | 0.8% | 0 | 1,230 | 0.5% | 0 |
| Friesland | 1,293 | 0.5% | 0 | 820 | 0.3% | 0 | ||||||
| Overijssel | 530 | 0.1% | 0 | 835 | 0.2% | 0 | ||||||
| North Holland | 2,397 | 0.3% | 0 | 1,302 | 0.2% | 0 | ||||||
| Municipality | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Amersfoort | 679 | 1.4% | 0 | 242 | 0.4% | 0 | 137 | 0.2% | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Amsterdam | 3,017 | 1.0% | 0 | 968 | 0.4% | 0 | 819 | 0.3% | 0 | 511 | 0.2% | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Bergen op Zoom[a] | 501 | 1.9% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Breda | 183 | 0.3% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Enschede | 589 | 0.9% | 0 | 316 | 0.5% | 0 | 482 | 0.9% | 0 | 291 | 0.5% | 0 | 282 | 0.5% | 0 | |||||||||
| Groningen | 501 | 0.6% | 0 | 866 | 1.0% | 0 | 539 | 0.6% | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Heiloo | 143 | 1.2% | 0 | 534 | 4.6% | 0 | 1,025 | 9.2% | 1[b] | 811 | 7.4% | 1 | 1,164 | 10.4% | 2[c] | 882 | 7.4% | 1[d] | ||||||
| Hoorn | 417 | 1.5% | 0 | 210 | 0.9% | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lemsterland | 900 | 14.8% | 2 | 738 | 12.7% | 2 | 907 | 15.1% | 2 | 1,038 | 16.3% | 3 | 947 | 15.8% | 2 | Municipality merged to become De Fryske Marren | ||||||||
| De Fryske Marren | Municipality did not exist | 1,174 | 5.7% | 1 | 1,462 | 6.3% | 2 | 1,168 | 4.9% | 1[e] | ||||||||||||||
| Middelburg | 135 | 0.8% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opsterland | 311 | 2.1% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Reiderland | 2,052 | 50.2% | 7 | 1,303 | 35.7% | 5 | 1,150 | 34.1% | 5 | 621 | 18.3% | 2 | Municipalities merged to become Oldambt | |||||||||||
| Scheemda | 695 | 8.9% | 1 | 1,002 | 12.9% | 2 | 110 | 1.5% | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Winschoten | 390 | 4.0% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Oldambt | Municipality did not exist | 310 | 2.3% | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Hague | 203 | 0.1% | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 8,554 | 10 | 5,995 | 9 | 4,868 | 7 | 3,229 | 5 | 2,678 | 3 | 2,338 | 3 | 2,344 | 3 | 1,168 | 1 | ||||||||
International activity
The NCPN has participated in the annual International Communist Seminar and the annual International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.[7] The NCPN also often cooperates with fraternal parties like the Communist Party of Greece, Communist Party of Turkey, Communist Party of Cuba, Communist Party of Belgium, German Communist Party and the Communist Party of Luxembourg.[8]
Notes
- ↑ NCPN and the CJB competed under banner of de Vonk ('the Spark')
- ↑ The NCPN won two seats, but fielded only one candidate
- ↑ The NCPN lost one seat when council member Cor de Boer defected to Heiloo-2000
- ↑ Council member Willem Gomes died on 12 september 2018; his successor, Bas van Beusekom, joined Gemeentebelangen Heiloo
- ↑ Council member Rinze Visser retired from politics ahead of the 2026 municipal elections; the NCPN did not field a successor
References
- ↑ "European Communist Action's Founding Declaration". IDCommunism.com. In Defense of Communism. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ↑ "7th Congress of the NCPN: Political decision" (PDF). NCPN.nl. New Communist Party of the Netherlands. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ↑ "That the root causes of discrimination against women, against people from migrant backgrounds, against people with non-heterosexual orientation, against intersex and transgender people and against other minorities can be removed. This is the society for which the NCPN, together with the CJB, and as part of the international communist movement, is fighting." —7th Congress of the NCPN: Political decision, page 39
- ↑ "7th Congress of the NCPN: Decision on party building (summary)" (PDF). NCPN.nl. New Communist Party of the Netherlands. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ↑ "7th Congress completed: militant and united for socialism!". NCPN.nl. New Communist Party of the Netherlands. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ↑ "Met het stoppen van Rinze Visser verdwijnt ook de communistische partij uit Fryslân" [With Rinze Visser stepping down, the communist party also disappears from Fryslân] (in Dutch). Omrop Fryslân. 24 December 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ↑ "Contribution of the NCPN to the IMCWP". NCPN.nl. New Communist Party of the Netherlands. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ↑ "Dertig jaar NCPN (1992-2022): Gewapend met lessen uit het verleden, strijden voor de toekomst" [Thirty years of NCPN (1992-2022): Armed with lessons from the past, fighting for the future]. NCPN.nl (in Dutch). New Communist Party of the Netherlands. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
