The formation of a Dutch cabinet is the process of negotiating an agreement that will get majority support in parliament for the appointment of the council of ministers and gives sufficient confidence that agreed policies will be supported by parliament. Dutch cabinet formations tend to be a time-consuming process, and the process is for the most part not codified in the constitution.
The cabinet of the Netherlands is the executive body of the Dutch government. It consists of ministers and state secretaries as they are called in the Netherlands. The cabinet requires support from both chambers of the Dutch parliament to pass laws. Thus to form a stable government sufficient, and preferably majority support in both chambers is required.
Due to several factors—the multi-party system and the nationwide party-list system of proportional representation—no political party (in the modern sense) has ever had a majority in the House of Representatives or has come close to it since the adoption of the current proportional representation system in 1918. To gain sufficient support in at least the House of Representatives, at least two parties must agree to form a government with majority support. The negotiations leading to this agreement are the cabinet formation period in the Netherlands.
Cabinet formations usually take place after general elections. Around the time of the general election, the incumbent cabinet resigns, but continues in a caretaker role (demissionary cabinet) until a new cabinet is formed. Due to changing party representations in the House of Representatives, a new cabinet has to be negotiated. Even if the same parties that were part of the previous government continue in office, the agreement has to be renegotiated to fit election promises and shift in powers. Formations can also take place in the interim after a cabinet fall. Since 1972, the convention has been that no cabinet change takes place without elections. After a fall during a formation, a cabinet can be glued or partially continued as rump cabinet. [1]
The formation process after elections can be roughly divided into three phases: exploratory, constructive (also known as information phase) and formation phase. [2] In these phases, agreements are made about the four P's: which parties participate in the cabinet, what program the cabinet has, what the portfolio distribution is among the parties and finally which persons will join the cabinet. [3] If it concerns a formation after the fall of the cabinet, not all steps are often followed.
The day after the elections, the likely parliamentary groups meet, although the results are not yet final and the new House will not be installed until two weeks later. The likely faction then chooses their parliamentary leader, which in most cases is the lead candidate. The strategy for the formation are also often discussed. [4] A day later, the likely parliamentary leaders meet to discuss the appointment of a "scout". The custom is for the largest party to nominate a scout. The scout then has the task to meet with all parliamentary leaders to see which parties can start programmatic negotiations. [5] At the beginning and at the end of the assignment, the scout holds - just like later the (in)formateur - a press conference. [6] The scout makes a report in which includes a recommendation for the follow-up process. This report will be discussed with the scout in the debate on the election results, which will take place as soon as possible after the installation of the new House.
At a later point in the formation, for example after negotiations between parties have failed, there may be a need for a new scouting phase. This is then carried out by an informateur.
On basis of this advice, the House of Representatives then appoints an informateur who explores the options for a new cabinet. [7] [8] The informateur often is a relative outsider and a veteran politician who has retired from active politics: a member of the Senate, Council of State or a minister of state. The informateur generally has a background in the largest party in the House of Representatives. It is also possible to appoint multiple informateurs, with backgrounds in other prospective partners. The informateur is given a specific task by the House of Representatives, often to "seek a coalition of parties with coalition agreement and a majority in parliament." The informateur has meetings with individual chairs of parliamentary parties, and chairs sessions of negotiations between them. During these negotiations the parties try to find compromises on the policies of the future government and draft a coalition agreement.
As soon as the intended coalition partners have agreed on a coalition agreement, a formateur is appointed with the task of forming a cabinet. Usually this is the intended Prime Minister. Even before the formation, parties have contacted potential ministers within their party. In this phase, the formateur, in consultation with negotiators of the coalition, approaches the candidate ministers and candidate state secretaries.
After a candidacy has been accepted, the files on the candidate minister are investigated in the judicial documentation register, at the General Intelligence and Security Service and at the Tax and Customs Administration. A conversation then takes place between the candidate and the formateur, during which they are asked whether there are any possible obstacles to accepting the position. Business interests must be put at a distance. After the interview, the candidate confirms in writing what was discussed to the formateur. After completion of all discussions, the formateur discusses the report with the parliamentary group leaders of the coalition and informs the Prime Ministers of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. [9]
The intention is to hold hearings by the Members of the House of Representatives with the candidate ministers for the cabinet formation of 2023-'24 after the discussions with the formateur. [10]
When the new team of ministers is complete, the candidate ministers will meet in the constitutive deliberation (Dutch : Constituerend beraad). During this meeting, agreements are made on procedural matters such as the portfolio distribution, replacement scheme, profile of the cabinet and the unity of cabinet policy. Comments can be made about the coalition agreement and the government statement is discussed. [11] If no objections arise from the constituent deliberations, the formateur will submit a final report. [12]
As laid down in articles 43 and 46 of the Constitution, the king/queen takes the Royal Decrees in which the resignation application of departing ministers is accepted and new ministers are appointed. The old Prime Minister countersigns the dismissals and the new Prime Minister the appointments. In doing so, they assume ministerial responsibility for these decisions. Ministers who were already part of the previous cabinet are not sworn in again, but they are not dismissed. [13] The new ministers then swear or promise, as laid down in article 49 of the Constitution, allegiance to the king/queen, the Statute for the Kingdom and the Constitution, and take a purification oath before the king/queen. This has been broadcast on television since 2012. [14]
It has been customary since 1971 that after being sworn in, the new team of ministers is photographed together with the king/queen during the 'bordes scene'. [15] Afterwards the ministers go to their department where the official transfer takes place. For example, the Minister of Finance hands over the key to the treasury and the new Prime Minister receives the key to the office in the Torentje . A proces-verbaal of transfer is signed by both ministers. [16]
A few days later, the first Council of Ministers takes place, where the conclusions of the constitutive deliberations are included as the first item on the agenda. The government policy statement is also discussed in the Council of Ministers and ultimately adopted. [17] The Prime Minister usually delivers the government statement within two weeks after being sworn in, which is followed directly by a debate. The debate is the first moment at which the House can express its opinion on the required trust in the cabinet (the unwritten confidence rule). If no motion of no confidence is adopted in that debate, the formation will be fully completed. [18]
Until 2010, the queen requested advice on a new cabinet to be formed from the speakers of the Senate and House of Representatives , the vice president of the Council of State, the parliamentary leaders in the House and possibly the Ministers of State. She would then appoint an informateur. Since 2012 the monarch plays no role substantial role in the formation. Until 1963, it was common for the formateur to draw up the coalition agreement on his own.
There is criticism about the course of events of a formation in every formation. According to political scientist Carla van Baalen, these complaints can be divided into three categories: lack of dualism, democratic deficit and the rules of the game. [19]
Since 1946, cabinet formations have become more monistic, instead of the dualistic relationships envisaged between the House of Representatives and the cabinet. In those years, the coalition agreement was increasingly drawn up in consultation with the House of Representatives factions of the coalition parties. They thus commit themselves to the agreements in advance and are therefore less critical of the cabinet. [20]
Voters have little influence on the outcome of the formation. For example, there is a weak connection between election results and formation. Losing parties can join a cabinet during this formation, while winning parties end up in opposition. [21]
The cabinet formation is seen as non-transparent. The actual negotiations usually take place behind closed doors. [22]
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats, which are filled through elections using party-list proportional representation. Generally, the house is located in the Binnenhof in The Hague, however, it has temporarily moved to the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 in The Hague while the Binnenhof is being renovated.
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