Politics of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a sovereign state with a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.

Amendments to the Constitution must be approved by both Houses of the States General () twice. The first time around, this requires a majority vote. After parliament has been dissolved and a general election has been held, both Houses must approve the proposed amendments again with a two-thirds majority.

Political institutions

The Netherlands is a sovereign state with a democratic government. It is a decentralised unitary state, meaning that power is centralised in the national government, with local governments having to act in accordance. Major political institutions are the monarchy (head of state), the cabinet (council of ministers), the States General (parliament) and the judicial system. Next to the two houses of parliament, there are four other High Councils of State, which are constitutionally independent from the government but have limited political role. The Council of State, which serves as the highest advisory body to the government is the most important. The others are the National Ombudsman, the Court of Audit and the Chancery of the orders of knighthood. Next to the central government the most influential level of government is the municipalities. Between the government and municipalities are positioned the provincial executives at a general regional level and the water boards responsible for water management. Although not mentioned in the Constitution, political parties and the social partners organised in the Social and Economic Council are important political institutions as well.

The Netherlands does not have a traditional separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Having a parliamentary system, the government (the monarch and ministers) is formed based on parliamentary majority. According to the Constitution, the States General and the government share legislative power. All legislation has to pass through the Council of State () for advice and the Social and Economic Council advises the government on most socio-economic legislation. Executive power is reserved for the government. The Social and Economic Council also has the special right to make and enforce legislation in specific sectors, mostly in agriculture. The judicial power is divided into two separate systems of courts. For civil and criminal law the independent Supreme Court is the highest court, while for administrative law the Council of State is the highest court, which is ex officio chaired by the monarch.

Dutch politics is characterised by seeking compromises.

Monarchy

The present monarchy was founded in 1813. After the expulsion of the French, the Prince of Orange was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. The new monarchy was confirmed in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna as part of the re-arrangement of Europe after the fall of Napoleon. The House of Orange-Nassau was given the present-day Netherlands and Belgium to govern as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

The current monarch is Willem-Alexander, while the heir apparent is Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange.

Constitutionally, the monarch is head of state and has a role in the legislative process, as he has to co-sign every law to make it valid. The monarch is also ex officio chair of the Council of State, which advises the cabinet on every piece of legislation and is the final court for administrative law. Although King Willem-Alexander takes these functions seriously, he refrains from exerting his power in these positions. Until 2012, the monarch also played a central role in the formation of a cabinet after a general election or a cabinet crisis. The monarch used to appoint the informateur, who chairs the formation talks, after consulting the parliamentary leaders of all parties represented in the lower house of the States General. Because this advice was a matter of public record, the monarch could not easily take a direction that was contrary to the advice of a majority in parliament. On the other hand, what was actually talked about behind the closed doors of the palace was not known. Upon the conclusion of formation talks, the monarch appoints the cabinet. Upon the fall of a government, the Prime Minister has to request the monarch to dismiss the cabinet.

Cabinet

The government of the Netherlands (regering) constitutionally consists of the monarch and the ministers. The monarch only plays a role in the appointment of ministers, and is not involved in decision-making. The ministers collectively form the Council of Ministers. This executive council meets every Friday in the Trêveszaal at the Binnenhof, and initiates laws and policy. While most of the ministers head government ministries, since 1939 it has been permissible to appoint ministers without portfolio. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands presides over the cabinet and is the most important political figure of the Dutch government.

The Dutch cabinet is characterised by a high degree of collegiality and collective decision-making. The prime minister draws up the agenda and chairs Council of Minister meetings, but lacks the prerogative to appoint or remove ministers without the formal approval of the whole cabinet. Moreover, the prime minister's office is limited in size. Despite these limitations, the prime minister's position has grown in importance since the 1960s as a result of increased media attention, increasing demand for policy coordination and European integration.

The national government ( or ) consists of ministries, the implementing organizations that fall under the responsibility of ministries, inspectorates, and High Councils of State, and is involved in the preparation and implementation of the plans of the government and parliament.

Some of the most highly regarded Prime Ministers of the Netherlands include:

File:Johan Heinrich Neuman - Johan Rudolf Thorbecke (cropped).jpg|Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1849–1853; 1862–1866, 1871–1872)

File:Jan Heemskerk Azn (1818-1897), after Heinrich Wilhelm Wollrabe.jpg|Jan Heemskerk (1874–1877; 1883–1888)

File:Abraham Kuyper 1905 (1).jpg|Abraham Kuyper (1901–1905)

File:Pieter Cort van der Linden.jpg|Pieter Cort van der Linden (1913–1918)

File:Hendrik Colijn (1925).jpg|Hendrikus Colijn (1925–1926; 1933–1939)

File:Willem Drees 1958.jpg|Willem Drees (1948–1958)

File:Piet de Jong 1970.jpg|Piet de Jong (1967–1971)

File:Ruud Lubbers 1985.jpg|Ruud Lubbers (1982–1994)

File:Wim Kok 1994.jpg|Wim Kok (1994–2002)

File:Jan Peter Balkenende 2006.jpg|Jan Peter Balkenende (2002–2010)

File:Mark Rutte 2015 (1) (cropped).jpg|Mark Rutte (2010–2024)

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States General

thumb|Joint session of the States General in the [[Ridderzaal, 2013]]

The Dutch Parliament, officially known as the States General of the Netherlands, consists of a House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and a Senate (Eerste Kamer). Both chambers are housed in the Binnenhof in The Hague and discuss proposed legislation and review the actions of the cabinet. Only the House of Representatives has the right to propose or amend legislation while the Senate discusses its value regarding the Dutch law since the Netherlands has no constitutional court. Currently there are 150 members of the House of Representatives and 75 Senators.

Members of the House are elected directly every four years using party-list proportional representation. Representatives are chosen on personal title, so when a member no longer agrees with his or her party, the member can decide to stay in the chamber, either as an independent representative, or as a member of another parliamentary party. If a member decides to resign, the empty seat falls to the original party collecting the votes, and is offered to the highest placed candidate on the party's electoral list who was not elected. Coalition governments may fall before their term expires, which usually results in early dissolution of the House and new elections.

Members of the Senate are elected indirectly by provincial councilors, again every four years, just after the elections of the provincial councils, via a system of proportional representation. Nowadays, the Senate is mainly considered to be a body of elder statesmen reconsidering legislation at ease, away from the pressure of daily political and media hypes. The position of senator is a part-time job as the institution meets once a week.

Political parties

thumb|Several members of the House of Representatives campaigning for their respective parties in 2010. From left to right: [[Sander de Rouwe (CDA), Ineke van Gent (GL), Han ten Broeke (VVD), Kees Verhoeven (D66) and Farshad Bashir (SP)]]

The system of proportional representation, combined with the historical social division between Catholics, Protestants, socialists and liberals, has resulted in a multiparty system. The parties currently represented in the Dutch House of Representatives are:

The Party for Freedom (PVV), a nationalist conservative, right populist, and anti-Islam party founded and dominated by Geert Wilders, formerly of the VVD. Its philosophy is based on maintaining the integrity of Dutch culture, and opposing immigration and European integration. Mostly economically liberal.
GroenLinks–PvdA, a political alliance of GroenLinks and the Labour Party. The party combines centre-left social democratic politics and green environmentalist ideals. It focuses on issues such as climate change, employment, social security and healthcare with traditional left-wing elements.
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a conservative liberal party. It has more sympathy for private enterprise and economic freedom compared to other parties. The VVD has supported prioritising security over civil liberties. While VVD is more market liberal, split party D66 profiles more social liberal stance and leans more to left.
New Social Contract (NSC), a Christian democratic party founded in 2023 after Pieter Omtzigt split from the CDA two years earlier. They focus on "fair" government, education, healthcare, housing, and livable conditions. Globalization, the introduction of the Euro, the enlargement of the European Union, the enlargement of NATO, the aftermath of the Orange Revolution and other factors have contributed to that.

The purple coalition lost its majority in the 2002 general election due to the rise of the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF), the new political party led by the flamboyant populist Pim Fortuyn. He campaigned on an anti-immigration programme and spoke of the "Purple Chaos" (Dutch: Puinhopen van Paars). Fortuyn was shot dead nine days before the elections. The LPF entered the House of Representatives with one-sixth of the seats, while the PvdA lost half its seats. A cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. It proved short-lived: after only 87 days in power, the coalition fell apart as a result of consecutive conflicts within the LPF and between LPF ministers.

In the ensuing January 2003 general election, the LPF dropped to only five percent of the seats in the House of Representatives. The left-wing Socialist Party (SP) led by Jan Marijnissen became the fourth strongest party there. The centre-right second Balkenende cabinet was formed by the CDA, the VVD, and the D66. Against popular sentiment, the right-wing coalition initiated a programme of welfare state reforms, healthcare privatisation, and stricter immigration policies. On 1 June 2005, the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed European Constitution by a majority of 61.54%, three days after 57.67% of the French voters had rejected the treaty.

In June 2006, D66 withdrew its support for the coalition in the aftermath of the upheaval about the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali instigated by immigration minister Rita Verdonk. As a result, the caretaker third Balkenende cabinet was formed by CDA and VVD. The ensuing November 2006 general election saw a major advance of the SP, which almost tripled in size and became the third largest party with 17% of the seats, while the moderate PvdA lost a quarter of its seats. At the other end of the spectrum, LPF lost all its seats, while the new anti-immigrant Party for Freedom (PVV) went from nothing to 6% of the seats, becoming the fifth largest party. This polarisation made the formation negotiations very difficult. The talks resulted in the formation of the social-Christian fourth Balkenende cabinet supported by CDA, PvdA, and the Christian Union. This cabinet was oriented at solidarity, durability, and "norms and values".

In February 2010, the PvdA withdrew its support for the fourth Balkenende cabinet. The PvdA disagreed with prolonging the Dutch military involvement in Afghanistan. In the following 2010 general election, the VVD became the biggest party with 31 seats, followed closely by the PvdA with 30 seats. The right-wing PVV went from 9 to 24 seats, while the CDA lost half of their support and was left with 21 seats. The SP lost 10 of its 25 seats, and both D66 and GroenLinks got 10 seats. The Christian Union, the smallest coalition party, lost 1 of its 6 seats. Both the SGP and the PvdD kept their 2 seats. The following cabinet formation eventually resulted in the first Rutte cabinet, a minority government formed by VVD and CDA, supported in parliament by the PVV.

In April 2012, the PVV withdrew its support for the Rutte cabinet after failed negotiations about the government budget for 2013. A political crisis followed, in which the parliamentary fractions of the VVD, CDA, D66, GroenLinks and the Christian Union, together disposing of a parliamentary majority, came to a temporary agreement for the 2013 budget. What followed in September 2012 was the 2012 general election, in which both the VVD and the PvdA won considerably, gaining 41 and 38 seats respectively.

The three parties that lost most were the PVV, sinking from 24 to 15 seats, the CDA, continuing their 2010 loss and winning only 13 seats, and GroenLinks, sinking from 10 to only 4 seats. The SP (15 seats), Christian Union (5 seats) and PvdD (2 seats) were stable, whereas D66 (10 to 12 seats) and SGP (2 to 3 seats) won mildly. Newcomer was 50PLUS, a pensioners' party, gaining 2 seats. In November 2012, after a relatively short cabinet formation, the second Rutte cabinet was formed by VVD and PvdA.

The second Rutte cabinet was followed by the third Rutte cabinet in October 2017, after the 2017 general election. It consisted of the VVD, CDA, D66 and CU.

In 2019, protests commenced with thousands of Dutch farmers who consider that "green policies" are a threat to their livelihood due to nitrogen consumption being limited and other policies which impose additional burdens on the ability to farm.

On 15 January 2021, the Rutte cabinet resigned in the face of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal. In March 2021, centre-right VVD of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the winner of the elections, securing 35 out of 150 seats. The second biggest party was the centre to centre-left D66 with 24 seats. Geert Wilders' radical-right party lost a few seats, while Thierry Baudet's radical-right party Forum for Democracy grew. The ensuing fourth Rutte cabinet failed to reach a compromise on asylum policy and fell in July 2023, triggering November snap election. The right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, won the largest number of seats, and it formed the right-wing Schoof cabinet.

The Netherlands were in 2023 considered the 17th most electoral democratic country in the world according to the V-Dem Democracy indices.

References

Bibliography

External links

Dutch Parliamentary Behaviour Dataset, 1922 to 2024
The official site of the Dutch government
Parlement.com, detailed information about politicians elections, cabinets, parties, etc., since 1814.