Now the People

Now the People !
FoundedApril 2018
Split fromParty of the European Left
IdeologyDemocratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Left-wing populism
Political positionLeft-wing
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament
European Parliament
24 / 720
European
Lower Houses
156 / 6,312
European
Upper Houses
3 / 1,498
Website
nowthepeople.eu Edit this at Wikidata

Now the People ! (NTP)[a] is a left-wing European political alliance. It was founded in April 2018 by a declaration from Catarina Martins from the Portuguese party Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc), Pablo Iglesias from the Spanish party Podemos, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), a French socialist party.

History

After concerns about the austerity policies pursued by the Greek government under Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party, the leaders of the leftist La France insoumise (LFI) departed the Party of the European Left, joined by Iglesias and Podemos as well as Martins and Bloco.[1] In June 2018, the Danish Red–Green Alliance, Finnish Left Alliance and the Swedish Left Party announced that they were affiliating with their French, Spanish and Portuguese counterparts and forming Now The People ! (NTP).[2]

Power to the People, a coalition of several small left-wing parties and organisations in Italy, also "lent its support" to NTP,[3] calling it "a very important call proposed by three of the most popular alternatives from Europe [Left Bloc, Podemos and La France Insoumise], which we cannot ignore."[4] However, as Potere al Popolo did not participate in the 2019 European Parliament election, and as it had no incumbent MEPs in the eighth European Parliament, it is not a full member of MLP.[5]

In the European elections, parties associated with NTP won a total of 14 seats. LFI won six seats, the most out of NTP's constituent parties.[6]

In the ninth European Parliament, NTP joined with other left-wing parties and independents, including the Party of the European Left from which NTP split, in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group.[7]

Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election, the leaders of the six NTP parties signed on to a common manifesto after meeting in Paris.[8] At that election, overall NTP representation increased from 13 MEPs to 18, with LFI sending nine MEPs, the Left Alliance sending three, Podemos and the Left Party sending two, and the Red–Green Alliance and Left Bloc sending one apiece. The party also released a manifesto, 10 points for a Green Left Europe: Europe for the People, signed by the six member parties, along with Italian political party Italian Left, German political party The Left, Basque political party EH Bildu, and Luxembourgish political party The Left.[9]

After the 2024 European Parliament election, Italian Left, which elected two MEPs within the Greens and Left Alliance, and the German party The Left, which elected three MEPs, announced their formal affiliations with the Now the People, bringing the total number of elected MEPs to 23. The Left Bloc disassociated with the Party of the European Left following the election, leaving NTP as their sole European political party.[10]

On 19 September 2024, Manon Aubry announced that the six original members of NTP, along with the Polish party Left Together, were creating a new European political party in the coming months. Those seven parties had previously formed the European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet.[11]

Members

There are currently eight members of NTP.

Name Country Leader 2024 election
list leader
Ideology Position Other European party MEPs National MPs Government
Red–Green Alliance
Enhedslisten – De Rød-Grønne
 Denmark Collective leadership[b] Per Clausen Socialism
Eco-socialism
Euroscepticism
Left-wing to far-left ELA
NGLA
EACL
1 / 15
9 / 179
Opposition
The Left
Die Linke
 Germany Janine Wissler
Martin Schirdewan
Martin Schirdewan
Carola Rackete
Democratic socialism
Left-wing populism
Left-wing EL
3 / 96
28 / 736
Opposition
Left Alliance
Vasemmistoliitto
Vänsterförbundet
 Finland Li Andersson Democratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Left-wing ELA
NGLA
3 / 15
11 / 200
Opposition
France Unbowed
La France Insoumise
(within New Popular Front)
 France Manuel Bompard Manon Aubry Democratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Anti-globalisation politics
Left-wing to far-left ELA
9 / 81
71 / 577
0 / 348
Opposition
Italian Left
Sinistra Italiana
(within Greens and Left Alliance)
 Italy Nicola Fratoianni N/A[c] Democratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Left-wing EL
(observer)
2 / 76
4 / 400
3 / 200
Opposition
Left Bloc
Bloco de Esquerda
 Portugal Mariana Mortágua Catarina Martins Socialism
Eco-socialism
Soft Euroscepticism
Left-wing to far-left ELA
EACL
1 / 21
5 / 230
Opposition
We Can
Podemos
 Spain Ione Belarra Irene Montero Democratic socialism
Direct democracy
Left-wing populism
Left-wing to far-left ELA
2 / 61
4 / 350
0 / 265
External support
Left Party
Vänsterpartiet
 Sweden Nooshi Dadgostar Jonas Sjöstedt Socialism
Feminism
Soft Euroscepticism
Left-wing ELA
NGLA
2 / 21
24 / 349
Opposition[12]

Notes

  1. ^ French: Maintenant le Peuple !
    Danish: Det er Folkets tur Nu
    Finnish: Nyt on Ihmisten Vuoro !
    Portuguese: Agora o Povo !
    Spanish: Ahora la Gente
    Swedish: Det är Folkets tur nu
  2. ^ Pelle Dragsted is the party's political spokesperson and de facto leader
  3. ^ Italy uses regional lists for European Parliament elections, and as part of its coalition agreement within the Green and Left Alliance, SI did not have a leading candidate in any region.

References

  1. ^ "Europäische Linke: »Schäbige Figur«". junge Welt (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Now The People !". Now The People !.
  3. ^ "La nostra adesione all'appello di Podemos, France Insoumise e Bloco De Esquerda". Potere al Popolo (in Italian). 15 April 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. ^ Cazenaves, Téo (30 April 2018). ""Maintenant Le Peuple": Mélenchon, Iglesias et Martins Signent Un Accord Européen À Lisbonne". Le Media Presse (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Potere al Popolo non-parteciperà alle prossime elezioni europee". Oggi Notizie (in Italian). 3 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. ^ "La France Insoumise". GUE/NGL.
  7. ^ "Delegations". GUE/NGL.
  8. ^ "United for Solidarity, Climate, Justice and Peace – Now The People ! Political declaration". Now The People ! (in French). 17 November 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  9. ^ "10 points for a Green Left Europe: Europe for the People" (PDF). Now the People!. 16 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Our Parties". Party of the European Left.
  11. ^ Maurer, Pierre (18 September 2024). "La France Insoumise va créer un nouveau parti européen". leparisien.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Vänsterpartiet saknar förtroende för statsministern". vansterpartiet.se. Left Party. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.