De Groenen was formed in 1983 as a federation of Green regional parties, underlining a "bottom-up" approach to politics, which is essential to this political movement. It was the first Green party in the Netherlands, preceding the formation of GroenLinks (GreenLeft) by almost 6 years. De Groenen didn't take part in the merger of CPN (Communists), PSP (pacifists), PPR and EVP (small Christian left parties) that created GroenLinks, because they felt that the new party was going to more or less juxtapose Green and red goals, while Green goals should always prevail.

The Netherlands has a system of proportional representation with a threshold of one seat. The national parliament has two chambers: the Second Chamber (the most important, with full-time politicians and right of amendment) with 150 seats and a threshold of 0,67%. The next national elections will be held in May 2002.

The First Chamber, (with part-time politicians and no right of amendment) holds 75 seats and has a threshold of 1,33%. The next elections will be held on May 2003. In co-operation with provincial parties in the OSF De Groenen holds 1 seat. There are 12 regional parliaments where De Groenen holds 2 seats (North-Holland and Gelderland). In addition to this, there are hundreds of community councils. De Groenen holds 13 seats in various parts of the country.

For many years De Groenen only held a few seats on the local and provincial level. In 1994 this number increased slightly (to 12 seats), but the party only gained 0,15% in the national elections. In the European elections, De Groenen achieved 2,4% but this was not sufficient to gain a seat. The regional elections in 1995 yielded 2 seats, 1 more than previously. In 1998, 6 more municipal seats were gained, yet in the national elections De Groenen hardly fared any better than before, achieving 0,2%.

In 1995, the party found itself faced with two options for the Dutch Senate elections: co-operation with GroenLinks, or working with several other, regional parties. The party opted for an experimental approach, working with 6 regional parties. These parties hold many common views with De Groenen: bottom-up politics and many Green elements in their programmes. Although not primarily interested in national politics, the regional parties were decidedly interested in links to Senate politics, which would give them an edge in regional debates. For De Groenen, the co-operation created a wider political base, without compromising national policies. As a result, Marten Bierman, one of the party founders, was elected to the Senate.

The result of the latest national elections in May 1998 was disappointing for De Groenen: no seat and only some 2500 more votes than in 1994, in spite of a better and more successful (in terms of publicity generated) campaign. Intense debate followed on how to react to the situation. A written inquiry among members and close sympathisers revealed that hardly anyone wanted to simply dissolve the party and only about a quarter of those who responded were in favour of collectively joining GroenLinks.

At the 22nd congress in June 1999 the strategy changed. De Groenen searched for co-operation with independent local green parties. The national level supports the local and provincial branches.

March 2006 De Groenen participated in local elections in Amsterdam, Leiden and Zwolle. Councilors were elected in Amsterdam and Zwolle. In Zwolle De Groenen has a common fraction with GroenLinks and participates in the city government.

March 2007 De Groenen participated in the provincial election in Noord-Holland.

De Groenen prepares for the next local elections in 2010. Also the possibilities for participating in the European Elections of 2009 are studied.

National Government: CDA (Christian Democrats), PvdA (labour, social-democrats) and ChristenUnie (orthodox protestant)

Parties Represented in National Parliament: VVD (Conservative Liberals), D66 (Progressive Liberals) GroenLinks, SP (Socialist Party), LPF and SGP (orthodox protestant)

Next National Elections:

Latest Green Party Election Results:

• National Election Year: 2006
  MPs:
  Total No. National Votes:
  % Gained:
• European Elections: 2004
  MEPs:
  Total No. European Votes:
  % Gained: