Formateur
Encyclopedia
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
, Italy
, Israel
, and the Czech Republic
. These countries have a parliament
ary system, where the executive
is elected by the legislature
. They also use proportional representation
for elections to parliament, and have a multiparty system that makes it difficult (if not impossible) for one party to win an outright majority. There may be several combinations of parties
which might form a coalition.
The formateur most often comes from the largest party in the future coalition (although an even larger party may remain in the opposition
) and generally becomes the new head of government
if the formation succeeds. In a constitutional monarchy
, this appointment is an exercise of reserve power
, and is one of the rare moments when an otherwise powerless monarch still may play a significant political role.
In game theory
and political science
, the term formateur party is used to describe the party that makes a proposal in a bargaining process, most often when modeling a government formation.
of some stature, often a former government minister
or party leader
.
These positions are not described in any law, but they tend to become part of political tradition
. Informateurs have become customary in Belgium and the Netherlands since the 1950s.
, the coalition usually comprises two or three parties. Ever since the Netherlands adopted proportional representation in 1918, no party has even come close to winning an outright majority in the House of Representatives. Thus, the formation process is at least, if not more, important than the election itself.
The informateur, who researches the possible coalition options before a new cabinet
is formed, is often a veteran politician, member of the Senate or Council of State
. Often the informateur presides over talks with possible coalition partners, leading to a communal program, the coalition agreement
. Sometimes, after the formation of a cabinet, the informateur becomes a minister
. Piet Hein Donner
was the informateur of the First Balkenende cabinet
, and afterwards became Minister of Justice.
Once the informateur has found a potentially successful coalition, he goes back to the monarch, who appoints a formateur, who presides over the talks about the ministerial positions that are held between the parties that have already established a regeerakkoord. Once the details are finalized, the formateur is ready to accept a formal invitation to become prime minister
. Jan Peter Balkenende
was the formateur of the Second Balkenende cabinet
.
and municipal
politics, a formateur can also be appointed. In the past, the negotiations were led by the largest party; but especially in tough negotiations, a formateur is appointed to be a "chairman" during the negotiations which is somewhat more neutral. The difference with a formateur on national level is that this local formateur does not report to the queen, but to the mayor
(municipal) or the Queen's Commissioner
(provincial).
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who is appointed by the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
to lead the formation of a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, after either a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
, the Netherlands
Politics of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Italy
Politics of Italy
The politics of Italy is conducted through a parliamentary, democratic republic with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council of Ministers, referred to as "Presidente del Consiglio" in Italian...
, Israel
Politics of Israel
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive...
, and the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. These countries have a parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
ary system, where the executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
is elected by the legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. They also use proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for elections to parliament, and have a multiparty system that makes it difficult (if not impossible) for one party to win an outright majority. There may be several combinations of parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
which might form a coalition.
The formateur most often comes from the largest party in the future coalition (although an even larger party may remain in the opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
) and generally becomes the new head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
if the formation succeeds. In a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, this appointment is an exercise of reserve power
Reserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the...
, and is one of the rare moments when an otherwise powerless monarch still may play a significant political role.
In game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, the term formateur party is used to describe the party that makes a proposal in a bargaining process, most often when modeling a government formation.
Informateur
The formateur's work may be preceded by one or more informateurs, also appointed by the head of state. The informateur is not expected to finalize a coalition, but attempts to find enough points of agreement to identify a likely coalition, from which a formateur is then selected. The informateur should be someone not otherwise considered for ministerial office, although some do obtain a portfolio in the future government. The role is often filled by a retired statespersonStatesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
of some stature, often a former government minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
or party leader
Party leader
In politics, the party leader is the most powerful official within a political party.The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party's relationship with the general public. As such, he or she will take a leading role in developing and communicating party policy, especially election...
.
These positions are not described in any law, but they tend to become part of political tradition
Political culture
Political culture is the traditional orientation of the citizens of a nation toward politics, affecting their perceptions of political legitimacy.Conceptions...
. Informateurs have become customary in Belgium and the Netherlands since the 1950s.
Belgium
In Belgian political parties, nearly identical political ideologies are represented by distinct parties for each language. This may lead to coalitions of four or more parties. The post of informateur became too prestigious to risk failure, so new terms for essentially the same task were introduced, such as "royal mediator" and "explorer" after the 2007 Belgian government formation failed for months to produce a clear prospect for a majority, and "preformateur" (presumed to succeed himself as formateur and PM if successful) after the 2010 federal elections.Netherlands
In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the coalition usually comprises two or three parties. Ever since the Netherlands adopted proportional representation in 1918, no party has even come close to winning an outright majority in the House of Representatives. Thus, the formation process is at least, if not more, important than the election itself.
The informateur, who researches the possible coalition options before a new 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:...
is formed, is often a veteran politician, member of the Senate or Council of State
Dutch Council of State
In the Netherlands, the Council of State is a constitutionally established advisory body to the government which consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political, commercial, diplomatic, or military experience...
. Often the informateur presides over talks with possible coalition partners, leading to a communal program, the coalition agreement
Coalition agreement
In multiparty democracies, a coalition agreement is an agreement between the parties that form the cabinet. It codifies the most important goals and objectives of the cabinet. It is often written by the leaders of the parliamentary parties.-Examples:...
. Sometimes, after the formation of a cabinet, the informateur becomes a minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
. Piet Hein Donner
Piet Hein Donner
Jan Pieter Hendrik "Piet Hein" Donner is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He is the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Rutte since October 14, 2010....
was the informateur of the First Balkenende cabinet
First Balkenende cabinet
The first cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende was in office in the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 16 October of the same year. The term of 87 days was the shortest since the fifth cabinet of Hendrikus Colijn .Following the 15 May 2002...
, and afterwards became Minister of Justice.
Once the informateur has found a potentially successful coalition, he goes back to the monarch, who appoints a formateur, who presides over the talks about the ministerial positions that are held between the parties that have already established a regeerakkoord. Once the details are finalized, the formateur is ready to accept a formal invitation to become prime minister
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The 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...
. 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 the formateur of the Second Balkenende cabinet
Second Balkenende cabinet
The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands formed on 27 May 2003. It consisted of three political parties: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy , Christian Democratic Appeal , and Democrats 66 , which is the smallest of the three.On 29 June 2006, D66 dropped its support for...
.
Subnational government
In provincialProvinces of the Netherlands
A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The government of each province consists of three major parts: the Provinciale Staten which is the...
and municipal
Municipalities of the Netherlands
|All provinces of the Netherlands are divided into municipalities , together 418 , excl. the 3 "special municipalities" of the Caribbean Netherlands.Among the municipalities we can distinguish:...
politics, a formateur can also be appointed. In the past, the negotiations were led by the largest party; but especially in tough negotiations, a formateur is appointed to be a "chairman" during the negotiations which is somewhat more neutral. The difference with a formateur on national level is that this local formateur does not report to the queen, but to the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
(municipal) or the Queen's Commissioner
Queen's Commissioner
The Queen's Commissioner is the head of a province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten and the Gedeputeerde Staten , but only has a right to vote in the latter...
(provincial).