History
The EVP was founded in March 1981 by members of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which were united in the group "Not by Bread Alone" (Niet bij Brood Alleen) and members of the Evangelical Progressive Party, which had previously left the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party. Both groups were opposed to the formation of the CDA and its conservative course.
After winning one seat in the 1982 general election - it was unable to do so in 1981 - the party joined the opposition. The party became divided between a left wing and a centrist wing. The left wing wanted to co-operate with the Political Party of Radicals (which had split from the Catholic People's Party in 1968) and its left-wing allies, the Pacifist Socialist Party and the destalinized Communist Party of the Netherlands. The EVP was more reserved towards the CPN. The centrist wing wanted to co-operate with the Labour Party and the CDA. Although some members were willing to co-operate, the party congress rejected the co-operation with the CPN, the PSP and the PPR in the 1984 European Parliament elections.
After the party lost its sole seat in the 1986 elections, co-operation with other parties become more important. For the 1989 elections the Political Party of Radicals (PPR), Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP) and the Communist Party of the Netherlands initiated a common list GreenLeft. The EVP hesitated to join, and only after the talks were concluded did it opt to enter. It got one candidate on an ineligible eleventh place. In 1991 the party officially dissolved itself into GreenLeft in the Moses and Aaron Church in Amsterdam. Prominent EVP-members became involved in the Leftwing Cheek, a platform for the New Testament and Politics. This platform still exists, but it is only of limited importance within the party.
Read more about this topic: Evangelical People's Party (Netherlands)
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