2006–2007 Dutch cabinet formation
Encyclopedia
Following the 2006 Dutch general election
, held on November 22, a process of cabinet
formation started, involving negotiations about which coalition partners to form a common programme of policy and to divide the posts in cabinet. On February 22, 2007 it resulted in the formation of the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
.
in the parliament, with no single party holding a majority. During the formation process, a coalition is formed, usually consisting of three parties. Dutch coalition negotiations are conventionally conducted in two stages:
(CDA) lost three out of 44, the right-wing liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(VVD) lost six out of 28 and the centre-left liberal D66
lost three of six. Nevertheless the CDA remained the largest party in the parliament with 41 seats. The main opposition party, the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats; getting 33 seats in the new parliament. The largest winner in seats was the Socialist Party
(SP), which won 16 seats, increasing from nine to 25 seats. Two previously unrepresented parties were also successful; the far right-wing Party for Freedom
(PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders
, winning nine seats, and the animal-rights Party for the Animals
, winning two seats. The social, and orthodox Protestant, ChristianUnion
(CU) doubled its seats from three to six. GreenLeft
(GL) dropped from eight to seven seats, while the orthodox Reformed Political Reformed Party (SGP) remained stable with two seats.
stepped out. The resulting Balkenende III cabinet no longer had a majority in parliament. Like any minority cabinet
it had to negotiate with parties that were not member of the governing coalition for a majority of its bills, including the budgets. As is conventional, just before the elections the cabinet officially became a caretaker cabinet, with limited powers.
On November 30, 2006 the new parliament was sworn in, including several members of the current demissionair cabinet (Balkenende, Verdonk, van der Hoeven, Wijn, van Geel, Kamp, Remkes among others). Because of the election results, this House of Representatives had a majority of parties that opposed the course of the third Balkenende cabinet on important issues. One important election issue was an amnesty for a specific group of asylum seekers
. This group originally of 26,000 and later 38,000 people had been in an administrative process since 2001, many of their children were raised exclusively in the Netherlands. The Minister for Integration and Immigration Rita Verdonk
was currently looking into each of these dossiers to assess their future: either an expulsion or permanent residence. On December 1 the new House of Representatives adopted a motion in favour of amnestying this group. Balkenende reacted with annoyance as he stated that this ad-hoc left wing coalition (including PvdA and SP) was no good basis for negotiations for a stable government. On December 5, the cabinet announced that it refused to execute this motion. It had three reasons for this: first, it claimed that a parliament which deals with a caretaker cabinet cannot demand that cabinet to implement new policy; second, it argued that a general amnesty would only attract more asylum seekers and it also raised several questions on which specific groups of asylum seekers should be amnestied and what the legal consequences would be for other groups not included in the amnesty. Minister Verdonk did announce that the expulsion would be suspended until the next parliamentary debate. A majority in the House of Representatives now proposed stopping the expulsion of asylum seekers until the formation talks were finished and allowing the formation talks to solve this issue; again the minister refused to execute this. On December 13, the House of Representatives decided to respond to this unwillingness with a motion of no confidence
specifically aimed at Minister Verdonk. The leader of the VVD, Mark Rutte
announced that if Minister Verdonk were forced to leave the cabinet all VVD ministers would leave, leaving only seven CDA ministers in the cabinet. On December 14, the cabinet held a meeting on how to respond to this motion: it found the solution in a small reshuffle of portfolios between Verdonk and Ernst Hirsch Ballin
, the Minister of Justice, who became responsible for migration, while Verdonk became responsible for youth criminality. Hirsch Ballin could then partially execute the motion of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands|House of Representatives for a temporary stop in expulsion, and the VVD would be allowed to voice its opposition to this decision, breaking the principle that cabinets speak with one voice.
With the current results there are arguably four options for a stable majority coalition: left-wing, centre-left, centre-right or right-wing. All of these options would present historically unique coalitions. Also, since 1977, when the three major Christian parties united in the CDA, all cabinets have consisted of only two or three parties. This time, no two-party coalitions are possible and few of the three party options are plausible.
A centre-left coalition would consist of CDA, at least one of the left-wing parties PvdA or SP and at least one third party. The first option that is being considered is of the three major parties; CDA-PvdA-SP. Since 1958, only two cabinets have been larger than this. Variations may include swapping the SP for either the ChristianUnion or the GreenLeft; or the PvdA for both of these smaller parties. However, there are some problems with this formation: PvdA-leader Wouter Bos
and CDA-leader Jan Peter Balkenende
were unable to form a two party coalition in 2003, because of personal problems, which are unlikely to have diminished. Over the past half-century CDA-PvdA coalitions have proven to be unstable. Furthermore, both the PvdA and the SP had pointed out during their campaign that the differences between CDA and PvdA have never been so great. Another issue is the in the CDA-PvdA-SP coalition, the largest party (CDA - 41 seats), which has profiled itself as a winner of the election, would be a minority compared to the two left wing parties (together 58 seats). Finally, although the SP has dropped its most extreme plans, it still has large programmatic differences mainly with the CDA but also with the PvdA.
A left-wing coalition would consist of PvdA and SP supported by the ChristianUnion, the GreenLeft, D66 and the Party for the Animals. This seems unlikely because D66 has already announced that it will not enter in any coalition and the ChristianUnion has already excluded a cabinet without the CDA. The Party for the Animals has, however, announced that it considers a minority cabinet PvdA-SP-GL as a serious option that may count on its support.
A right-wing coalition would consist of the CDA and VVD, supported by either Party for Freedom and the ChristianUnion or the ChristianUnion, D66 and the SGP. However, the ChristianUnion has announced that it will not cooperate with prominent VVD-member Rita Verdonk
because of her strict immigration policies. In addition, no party is likely to want to enter into a cabinet with the PVV on account of its positions on Islam.
A centre-right coalition would consist of the CDA, PvdA and the VVD, which would also constitute a large cabinet. This may prove to be the final option, but due to immense differences both on left-right and conservative-progressive dimensions any such cabinet is likely to be a caretaker cabinet only, which will not propose any significant policies. A similar coalition currently forms the Flemish Government
.
The table to the left shows the possible majority coalitions; that is, coalitions with at least 76 seats. The table shows only options with as few parties as needed to reach those 76 seats.
All majority coalitions require at least two of the four major parties, but neither of the six combinations of two of these parties have a majority of their own. These are shown in bold, with the (insufficient) number of seats between brackets.
Other options
Other coalitions could be formed by adding more parties to one of these combinations. This might be done to either make too narrow a majority larger, to give a party that could otherwise be overwhelmed a like-minded partner, or to introduce a neutral referee in an otherwise tense combination. Such larger-than-needed coalitions have been constructed seven times since World War II, mostly in the first decade after the war.
At the other extreme there is the option of a minority cabinet, with less than 76 seats. Such a cabinet has to arrange ad-hoc majorities for each proposal. Minority cabinets have so far only been caretaker cabinets that were in power between the fall of a majority cabinet and the formation of a new one after subsequent (early) elections. There is however no legal reason why this type of cabinet cannot be formed after the elections.
and who should be involved in the first information talks. Sometimes the information and formation is fairly straightforward. However, after the November 2006 elections an elongated and complicated information and formation period is foreseen by most commentators.
An extra complicating factor is that, provincial elections
will be held in March 2007, only four months after the general election. These are also indirect elections for the Senate and any coalition will be stronger if it has a majority in both chambers. However, with many voters afloat, the result for those elections might be significantly different from these general elections. This is even more the case since disagreement with any formed coalition cabinet may directly reflect upon the results in that upcoming election.
Some politicians have already expressed their views on what the options should be if it is impossible to forge a CDA-PvdA-SP cabinet. Prominent VVD-members Gerrit Zalm
and Atzo Nicolaï
proposed a parliamentary minority cabinet; while Party for the Animals leader Marianne Thieme indicated that she preferred a minority PvdA-SP-GL cabinet which may be supported by several environmentalist, liberal and social parties. This would be a novum in Dutch politics. Nicolaï stated that a minority cabinet would be the most democratic option because for each proposed law a proposal-specific majority has to be gathered for it to pass the chamber vote.
offered to provide the informateur which should explore as many possible coalitions as possible. The PvdA proposed that someone unconnected to a political party should provide the informateur, and that the first negotiations should be focussed on the SP besides the CDA who won the elections. The PvdA has stated it doesn't want to form a coalition without the SP. GreenLeft
also advised that SP should be involved and recommended Doekle Terpstra, former chair of the Christian trade union CNV
as informateur. The SP
advised the Queen to appoint D66 Minister of State Hans van Mierlo
as informateur and examine the possibilities for a SP, PvdA and CDA coalition. The VVD, D66 and ChristianUnion
gave the advice to appoint a CDA informateur. The SGP proposed a coalition between the CDA, PvdA and ChristianUnion, explicitly suggesting CDA member Rein Jan Hoekstra
as the informateur who was involved as informateur in the 2003 Dutch cabinet formation
. In the late afternoon of 25 November 2006, Queen Beatrix appointed Rein Jan Hoekstra as informateur.
Hoekstra had his first discussion with the larger parties on November 28. He held talks with the smaller parties the next day. Rouvoet, of the ChristianUnion, made clear that a cabinet of CDA-PvdA-SP looks like the most obvious coalition. Subsequently Hoekstra continued his talks with a CDA-PvdA-SP coalition in mind .
After introductory talks on December 6 between Marijnissen (SP) and Balkenende (CDA), it was acknowledged that the formation of an CDA-SP-PvdA cabinet would be difficult as their viewpoints are far apart. Both of them also shared the opinion that the balance in this coalition may, with the largest, centre oriented, party (CDA) being smaller than the combined two leftwing parties (SP-PvdA), complicate the formation of such a cabinet On December 8 the informateur announced a brief postponement in the negotiations as a result of an apparent stalemate. The PvdA insisted on the SP as a coalition partner but SP and CDA agreed that the two parties had little in common especially on issues such as distribution of income, military peacekeeping missions one of them Task Force Uruzgan
and European integration. At the same time it is expected that CDA would prefer participation of CU
over SP. But if the PvdA would enter a government with SP in the opposition, it might lose even more seats to that party in the next elections.
On December 11 Hoekstra started a new information round without SP participation after consulting with Balkenende, Bos and Marijnissen. The parties involved agreed that the differences between CDA and SP were too large. Marijnissen did not express regrets as he expects to be involved again in a later stage in the formation a possible PvdA, SP, GreenLeft coalition. Hoekstra will now consult with all the parliamentary group representatives in order to identify a suitable SP replacement, which according to analysts will be ChristianUnion
or GreenLeft
or both .
On December 12 Wouter Bos
expressed his doubts whether further discussions would be fruitful as in his view CDA
was not prepared to change course. In his words he did not intent to "fall in the same trap" as in the 2003 Dutch cabinet formation
. He suggested that negotiations from now on should be of more substance and with additional informateurs . Femke Halsema
(GL) on December 13 also walked away from a possible coalition with GL and PvdA . She had three reasons for doing so: the differences between CDA and GL on economic, environmental and cultural issues; the fact that all three parties lost seats in the elections; and the fact that the GreenLeft as smallest party of the three would be unlikely to get any substantial concessions from the CDA and the PvdA.
By 17 December it had become clear that at this stage in the formation the combination CDA-PvdA-CU is the most likely. Hoekstra finished his mission on the exploratory information round.
as the single informateur . Importantly, Wijffels is a known advocate for the phased abolition of the existing practice of tax deduction on housing mortgage
s, a potential wedge between CDA (against) and PvdA/CU (support). Two other potential stumbling blocks in this phase of the proceedings continued to make headlines: existing abortion
laws and the future of social welfare for the elderly. The CU, who from their Christian morals feel obliged to defend the unborn, would not go as far as to seek reversal of abortion laws but would find opportunities within existing legislation to curb it. The current law dating back to 1981 only allows abortion when a pregnant woman decides she is at serious health risk. In everyday practice however the decision is left entirely to the woman regardless of the precise argumentation and forcing legislation to use the exact wording of the law is where the CU might achieve its aims, although the PvdA sees this as a problem. One of the main election themes of the PvdA concerned the future financing of social welfare for the elderly given a projected 23% of people over 65 years of age in 2040 (2006:14%). The PvdA advocated some taxation for affluent elderly, something the CDA is against.
There are some personal similarities that may facilitate successful negotiation, for example, the three party leaders have in common that they all graduated from Free University of Amsterdam giving the coalition talks a certain reformed
edge.
In a special parliamentary session on December 19 devoted to the coalition talks, PvdA, D66
and Green Left
voiced their displeasure with the SP for walking away from the talks in an earlier phase
(CDA), Wouter Bos
(PvdA) and André Rouvoet
(ChristenUnie) agreed with informateur Wijffels to start the actual coalition talks on January 3, 2007. These started in a secret location, which was quickly revealed by De Telegraaf
as the manor house
Lauswolt
in Beetsterzwaag
, Friesland
. All negotiators had brought along a second: Maxime Verhagen
(CDA), Jacques Tichelaar
(PvdA) and Arie Slob
(CU). On Friday, January 5, Balkenende, Bos and Rouvoet announced that they would continue the talks to be held on different (secret) locations in the country, with the intention to have a new cabinet before the Provincial elections
on March 7, 2007.. On January 11 it was rumoured that Bos was in for the position of Minister of Finance and that of Deputy Prime Minister as the successor of Gerrit Zalm
. This would be remarkable because Bos in the election campaign more than once expressed his ambition to remain in parliament as parliamentary leader rather than to serve in a cabinet led by Balkenende. A few days later on January 17 Bos denied the rumour. On that same day the three prospective cabinet partners continued their talks at a military facility in Hilversum
(again not a secret location as anticipated) and not in The Hague. Due to the lack of any substantial news in this part of the formation, the conference table Wijffels selected for the talks made the headlines. Apparently he is fond of it and it travels with him whatever the location.
The formation talks already started to leave their mark on the ongoing parliamentary deliberations: On January 18 the CU voted down a motion seeking to the curb of advertisements for alcohol with the understanding that this issue was already part of the formation negotiations. In week 10 after the general elections, talks continued in The Hague again with little news to report. On January 24 a plan leaked to reduce the number of cabinet ministers. and a week later a plan for the reduction of the number of civil servants by 10,000. Even more leaks and speculations followed on January 29 when it was reported that a (record breaking) 40 page agreement was in the making to be presented on February 2.. According to the accountants and statisticians at the Centraal Planbureau on January 31 new policies in this agreement would be paid for by anticipating higher economic growth than the officially projected one much to the dismay of the outgoing VVD finance minister Zalm . Also on January 31 the ministerial ambitions of Wouter Bos became an issue for the third time in the formation process and on this occasion his party and a parliamentary majority formally requested him to accept the vice-prime ministership. On the same day a PvdA minority group led by renegade Diederik Samson
urged him to keep his election promise
. In Samson's view only the other left-wing parties would benefit from a submissive PvdA fraction with Bos a member of the cabinet.
Nearly a month after this round of talks started, Wijffels on February 2 was able to announce its conclusion with a provisional agreement which was presented to the parliamentary fractions on February 5. Again some details leaked: the continuation of the tax deduction on housing mortgages much desired by CDA, the housing rent freezing and a form of taxation on early retirement as a defence against the costs of population ageing
as desired by PvdA although effective after 2011..
It led NRC Handelsblad
to conclude (on that same day) that the new cabinet was not very reform minded: a status quo on the housing market (no changes in tax deduction home owners or rent-control), partial reversal of policies of the previous government (general amnesty for asylum seekers and reintegration of people with disability benefits into the work force) or election promises not secured or watered down (subsidized instead of free child day-care, no deregulations in job security).
On February 6 the negotiators met for a final meeting in order to address some of the issues raised by their respective parliamentary fractions. The PvdA especially turned down the initial AOW agreement which led to some last minute compromising (only taxation over 18,000 euro not 15,000 euro).
In the meanwhile two political players Joop Wijn
and Aart Jan de Geus
both current CDA cabinet ministers announced their farewell to national politics, officially for various non-political reasons but unofficially (according to RTL Nieuws
) because they were unable to secure a post in the new cabinet .
(SP) deplored the cancellation of a parliamentary inquiry into The Netherlands participation in the Iraq War. Femke Halsema
(GL) noted that the projected taxation on environmental pollution of 1 billion euro should be an 15 times as much. Both Mark Rutte
(VVD) and Geert Wilders
(PVV) criticised the general amnesty, Rutte fearing an influx of new asylum seekers and Wilders claiming that "the country is on the verge of collapsing". Rutte also claimed the new cabinet slogan was more like "in-stasis together, spending money together".
Both NOS News
and RTL Nieuws
on February 7 hailed the return of the polder model
(which became marginalized with the rise of Fortuynism) as a government tool for the new cabinet as they pledged their intent to involve all sorts of organizations (employers' associations, labour unions) in their future policy making.
A parliamentary session devoted to the agreement was held on February 8 instigated by the new coalition partners but deemed not relevant by the new opposition who'd rather have had a session with the new cabinet later this month. Marijnissen mocked the proceedings by quizzing Wijffels about his conference table. On the same day the Centraal Planbureau criticised the new AOW plans as unrealistic, claiming it would involve too much paperwork.
On February 9 Jan Peter Balkenende
was appointed as the formateur
by the Queen. In Dutch politics his main responsibility in this capacity is filling in the vacancies in the new cabinet, the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
. Two appointments were already revealed on the day the coalition agreement was announced: Wouter Bos
(despite many reassurances he would never serve under Balkenende in a cabinet) as finance minister and André Rouvoet
at the newly created post of youth and family minister. Both men will also act as deputy prime ministers
. The new cabinet was appointed by the queen
on February 22.
The parties announced the division of the government posts among the three parties on February 12:
Dutch general election, 2006
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 22, 2006. And followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet....
, held on November 22, a process of cabinet
Cabinet of the Netherlands
The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Dutch government. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Rutte cabinet.-Composition and role:...
formation started, involving negotiations about which coalition partners to form a common programme of policy and to divide the posts in cabinet. On February 22, 2007 it resulted in the formation of the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
.
Conventions of formation
The Netherlands has a large number of political parties across the political spectrumPolitical spectrum
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....
in the parliament, with no single party holding a majority. During the formation process, a coalition is formed, usually consisting of three parties. Dutch coalition negotiations are conventionally conducted in two stages:
- Information: An informateurFormateurA formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
, a relative outsider and a veteran politician, is appointed by the Queen, after consultation with the Presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the vice-president of the Council of State and all chairs of parliamentary parties with seats in the House of Representatives. He explores the options for new cabinets, which have both a majority in parliament and programmatic agreement. - Formation: A formateurFormateurA formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
is appointed by the Queen. He leads negotiations between parties willing to cooperate to form a cabinet. He leads the negotiations on exact agreements, the division of government portfolios and the personal composition of the cabinet. He is traditionally the leader of the largest party in the coalition and the prospective prime ministerPrime Minister of the NetherlandsThe Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
.
Election results
The Dutch House of Representatives has 150 seats. In the 2006 elections the coalition partners of the cabinet in power before the fall of that cabinet earlier that year lost a total of 12 seats. Christian Democratic AppealChristian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
(CDA) lost three out of 44, the right-wing liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(VVD) lost six out of 28 and the centre-left liberal D66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
lost three of six. Nevertheless the CDA remained the largest party in the parliament with 41 seats. The main opposition party, the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats; getting 33 seats in the new parliament. The largest winner in seats was the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
(SP), which won 16 seats, increasing from nine to 25 seats. Two previously unrepresented parties were also successful; the far right-wing Party for Freedom
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It...
(PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
, winning nine seats, and the animal-rights Party for the Animals
Party for the Animals
The Party for the Animals is a political party in the Netherlands.Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare, though it claims not to be a single-issue party...
, winning two seats. The social, and orthodox Protestant, ChristianUnion
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
(CU) doubled its seats from three to six. GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
(GL) dropped from eight to seven seats, while the orthodox Reformed Political Reformed Party (SGP) remained stable with two seats.
Caretaker cabinet
The cabinet fell because D66Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
stepped out. The resulting Balkenende III cabinet no longer had a majority in parliament. Like any minority cabinet
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
it had to negotiate with parties that were not member of the governing coalition for a majority of its bills, including the budgets. As is conventional, just before the elections the cabinet officially became a caretaker cabinet, with limited powers.
On November 30, 2006 the new parliament was sworn in, including several members of the current demissionair cabinet (Balkenende, Verdonk, van der Hoeven, Wijn, van Geel, Kamp, Remkes among others). Because of the election results, this House of Representatives had a majority of parties that opposed the course of the third Balkenende cabinet on important issues. One important election issue was an amnesty for a specific group of asylum seekers
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
. This group originally of 26,000 and later 38,000 people had been in an administrative process since 2001, many of their children were raised exclusively in the Netherlands. The Minister for Integration and Immigration Rita Verdonk
Rita Verdonk
Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk is a retired Dutch politician initially of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy until she was expelled in October 2007, she later formed her own party Proud of the Netherlands . She served as Minister for Integration and Immigration in Cabinets...
was currently looking into each of these dossiers to assess their future: either an expulsion or permanent residence. On December 1 the new House of Representatives adopted a motion in favour of amnestying this group. Balkenende reacted with annoyance as he stated that this ad-hoc left wing coalition (including PvdA and SP) was no good basis for negotiations for a stable government. On December 5, the cabinet announced that it refused to execute this motion. It had three reasons for this: first, it claimed that a parliament which deals with a caretaker cabinet cannot demand that cabinet to implement new policy; second, it argued that a general amnesty would only attract more asylum seekers and it also raised several questions on which specific groups of asylum seekers should be amnestied and what the legal consequences would be for other groups not included in the amnesty. Minister Verdonk did announce that the expulsion would be suspended until the next parliamentary debate. A majority in the House of Representatives now proposed stopping the expulsion of asylum seekers until the formation talks were finished and allowing the formation talks to solve this issue; again the minister refused to execute this. On December 13, the House of Representatives decided to respond to this unwillingness with a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
specifically aimed at Minister Verdonk. The leader of the VVD, Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, as well as Minister of General Affairs in the Rutte cabinet...
announced that if Minister Verdonk were forced to leave the cabinet all VVD ministers would leave, leaving only seven CDA ministers in the cabinet. On December 14, the cabinet held a meeting on how to respond to this motion: it found the solution in a small reshuffle of portfolios between Verdonk and Ernst Hirsch Ballin
Ernst Hirsch Ballin
Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Minister of Justice and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs from November 7, 1989 until May 27, 1994 in the Cabinet Lubbers III...
, the Minister of Justice, who became responsible for migration, while Verdonk became responsible for youth criminality. Hirsch Ballin could then partially execute the motion of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands|House of Representatives for a temporary stop in expulsion, and the VVD would be allowed to voice its opposition to this decision, breaking the principle that cabinets speak with one voice.
Possible coalitions
| Plausible coalitions | election results | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre-left | |||
| CDA-PvdA-SP | 99 | rejected by CDA and SP | |
| CDA-PvdA-CU | 80 | formed cabinet | |
| CDA-PvdA-GL | 81 | provisionally rejected by GL | |
| CDA-PvdA-GL-CU | 87 | provisionally rejected by GL | |
| CDA-SP-GL-CU | 79 | not discussed | |
| Left-wing | |||
| PvdA-SP-GL-CU-D66-PvdD | 76 | not discussed | |
| Right-wing | |||
| CDA-VVD-PVV-CU | 78 | not discussed | |
| CDA-VVD-CU-D66-SGP | 77 | not discussed | |
| Centre-right | |||
| CDA-PvdA-VVD | 96 | not discussed | |
With the current results there are arguably four options for a stable majority coalition: left-wing, centre-left, centre-right or right-wing. All of these options would present historically unique coalitions. Also, since 1977, when the three major Christian parties united in the CDA, all cabinets have consisted of only two or three parties. This time, no two-party coalitions are possible and few of the three party options are plausible.
A centre-left coalition would consist of CDA, at least one of the left-wing parties PvdA or SP and at least one third party. The first option that is being considered is of the three major parties; CDA-PvdA-SP. Since 1958, only two cabinets have been larger than this. Variations may include swapping the SP for either the ChristianUnion or the GreenLeft; or the PvdA for both of these smaller parties. However, there are some problems with this formation: PvdA-leader Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
and CDA-leader Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
were unable to form a two party coalition in 2003, because of personal problems, which are unlikely to have diminished. Over the past half-century CDA-PvdA coalitions have proven to be unstable. Furthermore, both the PvdA and the SP had pointed out during their campaign that the differences between CDA and PvdA have never been so great. Another issue is the in the CDA-PvdA-SP coalition, the largest party (CDA - 41 seats), which has profiled itself as a winner of the election, would be a minority compared to the two left wing parties (together 58 seats). Finally, although the SP has dropped its most extreme plans, it still has large programmatic differences mainly with the CDA but also with the PvdA.
A left-wing coalition would consist of PvdA and SP supported by the ChristianUnion, the GreenLeft, D66 and the Party for the Animals. This seems unlikely because D66 has already announced that it will not enter in any coalition and the ChristianUnion has already excluded a cabinet without the CDA. The Party for the Animals has, however, announced that it considers a minority cabinet PvdA-SP-GL as a serious option that may count on its support.
A right-wing coalition would consist of the CDA and VVD, supported by either Party for Freedom and the ChristianUnion or the ChristianUnion, D66 and the SGP. However, the ChristianUnion has announced that it will not cooperate with prominent VVD-member Rita Verdonk
Rita Verdonk
Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk is a retired Dutch politician initially of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy until she was expelled in October 2007, she later formed her own party Proud of the Netherlands . She served as Minister for Integration and Immigration in Cabinets...
because of her strict immigration policies. In addition, no party is likely to want to enter into a cabinet with the PVV on account of its positions on Islam.
A centre-right coalition would consist of the CDA, PvdA and the VVD, which would also constitute a large cabinet. This may prove to be the final option, but due to immense differences both on left-right and conservative-progressive dimensions any such cabinet is likely to be a caretaker cabinet only, which will not propose any significant policies. A similar coalition currently forms the Flemish Government
Flemish government
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. It consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the Flemish Parliament...
.
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The table to the left shows the possible majority coalitions; that is, coalitions with at least 76 seats. The table shows only options with as few parties as needed to reach those 76 seats.
All majority coalitions require at least two of the four major parties, but neither of the six combinations of two of these parties have a majority of their own. These are shown in bold, with the (insufficient) number of seats between brackets.
Other options
Other coalitions could be formed by adding more parties to one of these combinations. This might be done to either make too narrow a majority larger, to give a party that could otherwise be overwhelmed a like-minded partner, or to introduce a neutral referee in an otherwise tense combination. Such larger-than-needed coalitions have been constructed seven times since World War II, mostly in the first decade after the war.
At the other extreme there is the option of a minority cabinet, with less than 76 seats. Such a cabinet has to arrange ad-hoc majorities for each proposal. Minority cabinets have so far only been caretaker cabinets that were in power between the fall of a majority cabinet and the formation of a new one after subsequent (early) elections. There is however no legal reason why this type of cabinet cannot be formed after the elections.
Information rounds
On 24 and 25 November the chairs of parliamentary parties of the House of Representatives gave advice to the Queen on who should be appointed informateurFormateur
A formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
and who should be involved in the first information talks. Sometimes the information and formation is fairly straightforward. However, after the November 2006 elections an elongated and complicated information and formation period is foreseen by most commentators.
An extra complicating factor is that, provincial elections
Dutch provincial elections, 2007
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands, on March 7, 2007. The election also determined the members of the Senate, since the 564 members of the twelve States-Provincial elect its 75 members...
will be held in March 2007, only four months after the general election. These are also indirect elections for the Senate and any coalition will be stronger if it has a majority in both chambers. However, with many voters afloat, the result for those elections might be significantly different from these general elections. This is even more the case since disagreement with any formed coalition cabinet may directly reflect upon the results in that upcoming election.
Some politicians have already expressed their views on what the options should be if it is impossible to forge a CDA-PvdA-SP cabinet. Prominent VVD-members Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from May 27, 2003 until February 22, 2007 in the Cabinets Balkenende II and III. He served earlier as Minister of Finance in the Cabinets Kok I and...
and Atzo Nicolaï
Atzo Nicolaï
Atzo Nicolaï is a former Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . Since 1 June 2011 he is a member of the board of directors of the Dutch chemical multinational DSM....
proposed a parliamentary minority cabinet; while Party for the Animals leader Marianne Thieme indicated that she preferred a minority PvdA-SP-GL cabinet which may be supported by several environmentalist, liberal and social parties. This would be a novum in Dutch politics. Nicolaï stated that a minority cabinet would be the most democratic option because for each proposed law a proposal-specific majority has to be gathered for it to pass the chamber vote.
Exploratory information rounds
The CDAChristian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
offered to provide the informateur which should explore as many possible coalitions as possible. The PvdA proposed that someone unconnected to a political party should provide the informateur, and that the first negotiations should be focussed on the SP besides the CDA who won the elections. The PvdA has stated it doesn't want to form a coalition without the SP. GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
also advised that SP should be involved and recommended Doekle Terpstra, former chair of the Christian trade union CNV
Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond
The Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond is a federation of trade unions of the Netherlands.-History:...
as informateur. The SP
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
advised the Queen to appoint D66 Minister of State Hans van Mierlo
Hans van Mierlo
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 . In 1966 Van Mierlo together with Hans Gruijters founded the Democrats 66...
as informateur and examine the possibilities for a SP, PvdA and CDA coalition. The VVD, D66 and ChristianUnion
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
gave the advice to appoint a CDA informateur. The SGP proposed a coalition between the CDA, PvdA and ChristianUnion, explicitly suggesting CDA member Rein Jan Hoekstra
Rein Jan Hoekstra
Rein Jan Hoekstra was born in Dokkum. He graduated from the University of Groningen in 1965, majoring in Law. He has since worked as an attorney , Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers in 1983, and Secretary General at the Ministry of General Affairs...
as the informateur who was involved as informateur in the 2003 Dutch cabinet formation
2003 Dutch cabinet formation
The 2003 Dutch cabinet formation concerned the formation of a new cabinet after the Dutch general election, 2003 held on January 22, 2003. It involved negotiations about which coalition partners would form a common programme of policy and it involved the division of the cabinet posts...
. In the late afternoon of 25 November 2006, Queen Beatrix appointed Rein Jan Hoekstra as informateur.
Hoekstra had his first discussion with the larger parties on November 28. He held talks with the smaller parties the next day. Rouvoet, of the ChristianUnion, made clear that a cabinet of CDA-PvdA-SP looks like the most obvious coalition. Subsequently Hoekstra continued his talks with a CDA-PvdA-SP coalition in mind .
After introductory talks on December 6 between Marijnissen (SP) and Balkenende (CDA), it was acknowledged that the formation of an CDA-SP-PvdA cabinet would be difficult as their viewpoints are far apart. Both of them also shared the opinion that the balance in this coalition may, with the largest, centre oriented, party (CDA) being smaller than the combined two leftwing parties (SP-PvdA), complicate the formation of such a cabinet On December 8 the informateur announced a brief postponement in the negotiations as a result of an apparent stalemate. The PvdA insisted on the SP as a coalition partner but SP and CDA agreed that the two parties had little in common especially on issues such as distribution of income, military peacekeeping missions one of them Task Force Uruzgan
Task Force Uruzgan
The Netherlands Army Task Force Uruzgan was part of NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch lead one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern region of the country...
and European integration. At the same time it is expected that CDA would prefer participation of CU
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
over SP. But if the PvdA would enter a government with SP in the opposition, it might lose even more seats to that party in the next elections.
On December 11 Hoekstra started a new information round without SP participation after consulting with Balkenende, Bos and Marijnissen. The parties involved agreed that the differences between CDA and SP were too large. Marijnissen did not express regrets as he expects to be involved again in a later stage in the formation a possible PvdA, SP, GreenLeft coalition. Hoekstra will now consult with all the parliamentary group representatives in order to identify a suitable SP replacement, which according to analysts will be ChristianUnion
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
or GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
or both .
On December 12 Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
expressed his doubts whether further discussions would be fruitful as in his view CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
was not prepared to change course. In his words he did not intent to "fall in the same trap" as in the 2003 Dutch cabinet formation
2003 Dutch cabinet formation
The 2003 Dutch cabinet formation concerned the formation of a new cabinet after the Dutch general election, 2003 held on January 22, 2003. It involved negotiations about which coalition partners would form a common programme of policy and it involved the division of the cabinet posts...
. He suggested that negotiations from now on should be of more substance and with additional informateurs . Femke Halsema
Femke Halsema
is a former Dutch politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 till 2011. She was also the leader of the GreenLeft parliamentary party in the House of Representatives from 2002 till 2010.-Pre-political career:...
(GL) on December 13 also walked away from a possible coalition with GL and PvdA . She had three reasons for doing so: the differences between CDA and GL on economic, environmental and cultural issues; the fact that all three parties lost seats in the elections; and the fact that the GreenLeft as smallest party of the three would be unlikely to get any substantial concessions from the CDA and the PvdA.
By 17 December it had become clear that at this stage in the formation the combination CDA-PvdA-CU is the most likely. Hoekstra finished his mission on the exploratory information round.
Second information round
In the second information round the wishes, similarities and potential problems in forming a cabinet CDA-PvdA-CU are explored by a new informateur. While the PvdA voiced a preference for several informateurs operating in parallel in this next round , the CDA preferred a single person. Both the PvdA and the CU accepted the esteemed CDA member, and former chair of the Social Economic Council Herman WijffelsHerman Wijffels
H.H.F. "Herman" Wijffels is a Dutch economist and politician for the CDA. From 1981 to 1999 he worked for the Rabobank ultimately as chairman of the board of directors and from March 15, 1999 until April 1, 2006, he was chairman of the Social-Economic Council...
as the single informateur . Importantly, Wijffels is a known advocate for the phased abolition of the existing practice of tax deduction on housing mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
s, a potential wedge between CDA (against) and PvdA/CU (support). Two other potential stumbling blocks in this phase of the proceedings continued to make headlines: existing abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
laws and the future of social welfare for the elderly. The CU, who from their Christian morals feel obliged to defend the unborn, would not go as far as to seek reversal of abortion laws but would find opportunities within existing legislation to curb it. The current law dating back to 1981 only allows abortion when a pregnant woman decides she is at serious health risk. In everyday practice however the decision is left entirely to the woman regardless of the precise argumentation and forcing legislation to use the exact wording of the law is where the CU might achieve its aims, although the PvdA sees this as a problem. One of the main election themes of the PvdA concerned the future financing of social welfare for the elderly given a projected 23% of people over 65 years of age in 2040 (2006:14%). The PvdA advocated some taxation for affluent elderly, something the CDA is against.
There are some personal similarities that may facilitate successful negotiation, for example, the three party leaders have in common that they all graduated from Free University of Amsterdam giving the coalition talks a certain reformed
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
edge.
In a special parliamentary session on December 19 devoted to the coalition talks, PvdA, D66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
and Green Left
Green left
The term Green left is used primarily to refer to a combination of environmentalism, feminism, socialism, and pacifism in countries where the term is used...
voiced their displeasure with the SP for walking away from the talks in an earlier phase
Negotiations
On December 21, the negotiators for the three parties, Jan Peter BalkenendeJan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
(CDA), Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
(PvdA) and André Rouvoet
André Rouvoet
André Rouvoet is a former Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion . First as a member of the RPF until the party merged with the Reformed Political League to form the ChristianUnion. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 17, 1994 until February 22, 2007...
(ChristenUnie) agreed with informateur Wijffels to start the actual coalition talks on January 3, 2007. These started in a secret location, which was quickly revealed by De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
as the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
Lauswolt
Lauswolt
Lauswolt is an estate in Beetsterzwaag, Friesland, the Netherlands, dating back to the 17th century. The estate is currently being used as a hotel. The restaurant, called De Heeren van Harinxma, had a Michelin star between 2001 and 2006....
in Beetsterzwaag
Beetsterzwaag
Beetsterzwaag is a village consisting of about 3650 inhabitants in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland in the Netherlands....
, Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
. All negotiators had brought along a second: Maxime Verhagen
Maxime Verhagen
Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen is a Dutch politician in the Christian Democratic Appeal party. He is the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and Deputy Prime Minister since October 14, 2010 in the Cabinet Rutte.He previously served as a Member of the European Parliament for...
(CDA), Jacques Tichelaar
Jacques Tichelaar
Jacques Tichelaar is a Dutch politician and former trade union leader and educator. He is a member of the Labour Party . Since May 1, 2009 he has been the Queen's Commissioner of the Province of Drenthe...
(PvdA) and Arie Slob
Arie Slob
Arie Slob is a Dutch politician and former history teacher. He has been a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the ChristianUnion party since November 19, 2002. Since April 28, 2011 he has also been both Party leader and Parliamentary leader, in both cases succeeding André Rouvoet...
(CU). On Friday, January 5, Balkenende, Bos and Rouvoet announced that they would continue the talks to be held on different (secret) locations in the country, with the intention to have a new cabinet before the Provincial elections
Dutch provincial elections, 2007
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands, on March 7, 2007. The election also determined the members of the Senate, since the 564 members of the twelve States-Provincial elect its 75 members...
on March 7, 2007.. On January 11 it was rumoured that Bos was in for the position of Minister of Finance and that of Deputy Prime Minister as the successor of Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from May 27, 2003 until February 22, 2007 in the Cabinets Balkenende II and III. He served earlier as Minister of Finance in the Cabinets Kok I and...
. This would be remarkable because Bos in the election campaign more than once expressed his ambition to remain in parliament as parliamentary leader rather than to serve in a cabinet led by Balkenende. A few days later on January 17 Bos denied the rumour. On that same day the three prospective cabinet partners continued their talks at a military facility in Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
(again not a secret location as anticipated) and not in The Hague. Due to the lack of any substantial news in this part of the formation, the conference table Wijffels selected for the talks made the headlines. Apparently he is fond of it and it travels with him whatever the location.
The formation talks already started to leave their mark on the ongoing parliamentary deliberations: On January 18 the CU voted down a motion seeking to the curb of advertisements for alcohol with the understanding that this issue was already part of the formation negotiations. In week 10 after the general elections, talks continued in The Hague again with little news to report. On January 24 a plan leaked to reduce the number of cabinet ministers. and a week later a plan for the reduction of the number of civil servants by 10,000. Even more leaks and speculations followed on January 29 when it was reported that a (record breaking) 40 page agreement was in the making to be presented on February 2.. According to the accountants and statisticians at the Centraal Planbureau on January 31 new policies in this agreement would be paid for by anticipating higher economic growth than the officially projected one much to the dismay of the outgoing VVD finance minister Zalm . Also on January 31 the ministerial ambitions of Wouter Bos became an issue for the third time in the formation process and on this occasion his party and a parliamentary majority formally requested him to accept the vice-prime ministership. On the same day a PvdA minority group led by renegade Diederik Samson
Diederik Samson
Diederik Maarten Samsom is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Labour Party he has been an MP since January 30, 2003. He is the party's spokesperson on environmental issues. Before that he was CEO of a green energy company and a campaigner for Greenpeace Netherlands.- Early life and career...
urged him to keep his election promise
Election promise
An election promise is a promise made to the public by a politician who is trying to win an election. They have long been a central element of elections and remain so today...
. In Samson's view only the other left-wing parties would benefit from a submissive PvdA fraction with Bos a member of the cabinet.
Nearly a month after this round of talks started, Wijffels on February 2 was able to announce its conclusion with a provisional agreement which was presented to the parliamentary fractions on February 5. Again some details leaked: the continuation of the tax deduction on housing mortgages much desired by CDA, the housing rent freezing and a form of taxation on early retirement as a defence against the costs of population ageing
Population ageing
Population ageing or population aging occurs when the median age of a country or region rises. This happens because of rising life expectancy or declining birth rates. Excepting 18 countries termed 'demographic outliers' by the UN) this process is taking place in every country and region across...
as desired by PvdA although effective after 2011..
Preliminary coalition agreement
The three parliamentary fractions of CDA, PvdA and CU met on February 5 to discuss behind closed doors the preliminary agreement. Large parts of it had already been leaked to the media by then .It led NRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
to conclude (on that same day) that the new cabinet was not very reform minded: a status quo on the housing market (no changes in tax deduction home owners or rent-control), partial reversal of policies of the previous government (general amnesty for asylum seekers and reintegration of people with disability benefits into the work force) or election promises not secured or watered down (subsidized instead of free child day-care, no deregulations in job security).
On February 6 the negotiators met for a final meeting in order to address some of the issues raised by their respective parliamentary fractions. The PvdA especially turned down the initial AOW agreement which led to some last minute compromising (only taxation over 18,000 euro not 15,000 euro).
In the meanwhile two political players Joop Wijn
Joop Wijn
Joannes Gerardus Wijn was Minister of Economic Affairs in the third Balkenende cabinet of the Netherlands....
and Aart Jan de Geus
Aart Jan de Geus
Aart Jan de Geus is deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. He is a CDA Dutch politician and was the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands in the first, second and third cabinet Balkenende.-Personal Life and Career:De...
both current CDA cabinet ministers announced their farewell to national politics, officially for various non-political reasons but unofficially (according to RTL Nieuws
RTL Nieuws
RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL7, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 million people...
) because they were unable to secure a post in the new cabinet .
Coalition agreement
The coalition agreement titled "Living together, working together" was presented on February 7 in a press conference. It is structured into six commitments of the new cabinet to an active role in world politics, to an innovative economy, to sustainable development, to social cohesion, to safety and a survile public sector. The most notable policies include:- A reform of the system of basic state pensions: people who have private pensions of 18,000 euros and higher and who stop working before the age of 65 will pay an additional tax as of 2011. People who work beyond 65 receive tax breaks. This measure should guarantee an affordable basic state pension (AOW) despite trends in population ageingPopulation ageingPopulation ageing or population aging occurs when the median age of a country or region rises. This happens because of rising life expectancy or declining birth rates. Excepting 18 countries termed 'demographic outliers' by the UN) this process is taking place in every country and region across...
. - The tax deduction on mortgage interest payments remains unchanged.
- Women seeking an abortionAbortion in the NetherlandsAbortion in the Netherlands was fully legalized on November 1, 1984, allowing abortions to be done on-demand until the twenty-first week. Cases which involve urgent medical attention can be aborted until the twenty-fourth week. There is a five-day waiting period for abortions.- History :Abortion...
are to expect an additional waiting period between first consultation and actual procedure on top of the already mandatory 5 days waiting period - A general amnesty for asylum seekers who entered the Netherlands before the new Asylum Law came into effect.
- The new cabinet is not in favour of a new referendum on the European Constitution voted down in 2005, but will consider new initiatives.
- 1 billion increased spending on education.
- 800 million Euros additional spending on renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
.
Reactions
The major opposition parties expressed their disappointment in various aspects of the agreement (some even before its actual announcement). Jan MarijnissenJan Marijnissen
Johannes Guillaume Christianus Andreas Marijnissen is a Dutch politician of the Socialist Party . He served as Parliamentary leader in House of Representatives May 5, 1994 until June 20, 2008...
(SP) deplored the cancellation of a parliamentary inquiry into The Netherlands participation in the Iraq War. Femke Halsema
Femke Halsema
is a former Dutch politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 till 2011. She was also the leader of the GreenLeft parliamentary party in the House of Representatives from 2002 till 2010.-Pre-political career:...
(GL) noted that the projected taxation on environmental pollution of 1 billion euro should be an 15 times as much. Both Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, as well as Minister of General Affairs in the Rutte cabinet...
(VVD) and Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
(PVV) criticised the general amnesty, Rutte fearing an influx of new asylum seekers and Wilders claiming that "the country is on the verge of collapsing". Rutte also claimed the new cabinet slogan was more like "in-stasis together, spending money together".
Both NOS News
NOS News
NOS Journaal is the broadcast supplier of news to Dutch public radio and television. It is part of the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.The 'NOS Journaal' editorial team consists of 7 editors-in-chief, led by the chief editor. Until 1 July 2011 Hans Laroes was editor in chief. On 25th January 2011...
and RTL Nieuws
RTL Nieuws
RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL7, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 million people...
on February 7 hailed the return of the polder model
Polder Model
The polder model is a term with uncertain origin that was first used to describe the internationally acclaimed Dutch version of consensus policy in economics, specifically in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the term was quickly adopted for a much wider meaning, for similar cases of consensus...
(which became marginalized with the rise of Fortuynism) as a government tool for the new cabinet as they pledged their intent to involve all sorts of organizations (employers' associations, labour unions) in their future policy making.
A parliamentary session devoted to the agreement was held on February 8 instigated by the new coalition partners but deemed not relevant by the new opposition who'd rather have had a session with the new cabinet later this month. Marijnissen mocked the proceedings by quizzing Wijffels about his conference table. On the same day the Centraal Planbureau criticised the new AOW plans as unrealistic, claiming it would involve too much paperwork.
Formation round
- For the full composition of cabinet see Fourth Balkenende cabinetFourth Balkenende cabinetThe fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
On February 9 Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
was appointed as the formateur
Formateur
A formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
by the Queen. In Dutch politics his main responsibility in this capacity is filling in the vacancies in the new cabinet, the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
. Two appointments were already revealed on the day the coalition agreement was announced: Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
(despite many reassurances he would never serve under Balkenende in a cabinet) as finance minister and André Rouvoet
André Rouvoet
André Rouvoet is a former Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion . First as a member of the RPF until the party merged with the Reformed Political League to form the ChristianUnion. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 17, 1994 until February 22, 2007...
at the newly created post of youth and family minister. Both men will also act as deputy prime ministers
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
. The new cabinet was appointed by the queen
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
on February 22.
The parties announced the division of the government posts among the three parties on February 12:
- CDA
- Ministries: Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the NetherlandsThe Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
(BalkenendeJan Peter BalkenendeJan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
), Social Affairs, Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs: it is occupied with the external relations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including European cooperation and International development...
, Public Health, JusticeMinistry of Justice (Netherlands)The Ministry of Security and Justice is the Dutch ministry of justice. Until 14 October 2010, the ministry was just called Ministry of Justice , but at the start of the Rutte cabinet, the name changed because it had taken over some public safety duties from the Ministry of the Interior...
, Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Agriculture, and Economic Affairs. - State secretaries: Interior, Culture, Finance, and Defence
- Ministries: Prime Minister
- Labour PartyLabour Party (Netherlands)The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
:- Ministries: Finance (Wouter BosWouter BosWouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
), Education, Environment, Interior, Housing and Integration (minister without portfolioMinister without PortfolioA minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
), and International Development (minister without portfolio) - State secretaries: European Affairs, Social Affairs, Justice, Public Health, Education, and Economic Affairs
- Ministries: Finance (Wouter Bos
- ChristianUnionChristianUnionThe ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
:- Ministries: Youth and Family (André RouvoetAndré RouvoetAndré Rouvoet is a former Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion . First as a member of the RPF until the party merged with the Reformed Political League to form the ChristianUnion. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 17, 1994 until February 22, 2007...
, minister without portfolio), and DefenceMinistry of Defence (Netherlands)The Netherlands Ministry of Defence governs the Netherlands Armed Forces. The Minister is assisted by a State Secretary...
. - State secretaries: Transport
- Ministries: Youth and Family (André Rouvoet