NCPN becomes the Communist Party of the Netherlands
The NCPN will continue the struggle for the interests of the working class and for a socialist society under the name Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN). This was decided at an extraordinary Congress held on 26 September 2026. Below we publish the political decision that was unanimously adopted and which sets out the reasons for the name change.
Political decision to change the party’s name to the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN)
The history of our party and the origins of the name ‘Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN)’
Our party was founded on 14 November 1992. However, the party has a long history. It emerged directly from the history and tradition of the revolutionary workers’ organisations in our country’s history:
The Dutch section of the Communist League, founded in 1847 as the first communist party, which was the first party to adopt a communist party programme, namely the Manifesto of the Communist Party,written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
The Dutch section of the International Workingmen’s Association (also known as the First International), founded in 1869.
The Social Democratic Association, founded in 1878, which in 1881 formed the Social Democratic League (SDB) as the first Dutch political party of the working class to set socialism as its aim.
The Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAP), founded in 1894, within which the Marxist wing organised itself from 1907 onwards around the weekly newspaper De Tribune.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP), founded by the ‘Tribunists’ in 1909.
In 1918, the SDP renamed itself the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN).[1] This was a prerequisite for joining the Communist International (Comintern). The conditions for admission, the draft of which had been drawn up by Vladimir Lenin, stated: “…parties wishing to join the Communist International must change their name. Any party seeking affiliation must call itself the Communist Party of the country in question…” This was indeed the most accurate description of parties affiliated to the Comintern, but it was also necessary to distinguish communist parties from the ‘socialdemocratic’ and other so-called parties ‘socialist’ parties.
Throughout its existence, the CPN played an important and heroic role in the struggle for the social liberation of the working class. The red thread running through its history is the tireless struggle against injustice and for a better world. Through its work in workplaces and trade unions, the CPN fought for the rights and incomes of the working class in the Netherlands, for free and high-quality public services such as education and healthcare, for peace, for the independence of the colonies, for the equality of women and minorities, against state repression and fascism, for universal suffrage and democratic rights, and more. The CPN inspired and organised communist resistance during the Second World War against fascist occupation, during which thousands of CPN members were murdered by the occupier.
Founding of the NCPN as a continuation of the CPN
During the 1970s and 1980s, an opportunist, reformist tendency gained influence within the CPN. This was a current that sought to liquidate the CPN. From the outset, this development met with resistance from the communists within the CPN.
In the early 1980s, democratic centralism was abolished by the party leadership and all manner of ‘horizontalconsultations’ were set up. In response to this development, from 1982 onwards, the communists within the CPN rallied around the Horizontal Consultation of Communists (HorizontaalOverlegCommunisten, HOC). Among other things, the HOC published the newspaper Manifest (which remains our party’s newspaper to this day). Manifest warned party members about the course the reformists intended to pursue.
In 1984, during a Congress, the CPN formally distanced itself from Marxism-Leninism. In doing so, it essentially ceased to be a communist party. It became clear that the aim was to liquidate the party, so that it could be absorbed into a so-called ‘broader’, essentially social democratic, party. During that Congress, on 25 February, part of the HOC founded the League of Communists in the Netherlands (VCN), which formally became a separate political party on 2–3 November 1985.
On 15 June 1991, a majority at a Congress decided to dissolve the CPN. Subsequently, on 14 November 1992, the NCPN was founded by those who recognised the importance of a communist party. The initiative to establish the NCPN came from the VCN, together with regional groups of former CPN members, particularly from the provinces of Groningen and Brabant, who disagreed with the dissolution of the CPN, and other individuals, mostly former CPN members. At the time of its founding, virtually the entire membership of the NCPN therefore consisted of former members of the CPN who opposed the liquidation, including former members of the CPN’s Central Committee, district, and branch executives. The NCPN was essentially founded as a continuation or relaunch of the CPN, but as a communist party. It is evident that the NCPN was not the formal successor to the CPN.
The reason the party was formally established under the name ‘New Communist Party–NCPN’ was that the use of the name Communist Party of the Netherlands – which accurately describes what sort of party NCPN is – was legally impossible at the time, the main reason being that it might cause confusion.
In terms of substance, ‘new’ added nothing to the name. Moreover, despite its roots stretching back more than a century and a half, the Communist Party is always the newest and freshest party, because it strives for social progress and has as its aim the building of a new society: communism.
Rationale for the name change and decision
Whereas:
the legal obstacles to the use of the name CPN, which were the main reason the party was founded under the name ‘New Communist Party–NCPN’, no longer apply;
at the time of its foundation, virtually the entire cadre of the party consisted of CPN members who opposed the dissolution of the CPN and recognised the importance of a communist party in the Netherlands, and that former CPN members remain part of the party’s membership to this day;
the NCPN, through its ongoing struggle for the ideals and principles of communism and for building the communist party in the Netherlands, has confirmed in practice its historical connection with the history and tradition of the CPN;
it is evident that the NCPN was not the formal successor to the CPN and that, 35 years after the dissolution of the former CPN, there is no longer any basis for the assumption that it is the same legal entity;
the name Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) is the most accurate designation for our party, given that the NCPN has, in essence, been the communist party of the Netherlands since its foundation, as evidenced first and foremost by its practice and the fact that the NCPN has fought tirelessly and unceasingly for a communist society since its founding, but also by the embedding of communism and Marxism-Leninism in its statutes and party programme, as well as the NCPN’s involvement in the international communist movement;
the party is fully aware of the historical significance of the name Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN);
the party is confident that this step is supported by its sister parties abroad that make up the international communist movement;
there is currently no other political party in the Netherlands that meets all the above considerations and that can, on reasonable grounds, lay claim to the name Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) without offending its history;
resolves that the party shall change its name from New Communist Party–NCPN (commonly known as the New Communist Party of the Netherlands) to Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN).
[1] Initially, the names ‘Communist Party in the Netherlands’ and ‘Communist Party (of) Holland’ were also in common use. Later, the name Communist Party of the Netherlands and the abbreviation CPN came to be used consistently.
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