Schoof cabinet | |
---|---|
Cabinet of the Netherlands | |
Date formed | 2 July 2024 |
People and organisations | |
Monarch | Willem-Alexander |
Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
Deputy Prime Ministers | |
No. of ministers | 16 |
Member parties | |
Status in legislature | Right-wing, [1] majority government (coalition government) 88/150 |
History | |
Election | 2023 election |
Legislature terms | 2023–present |
Incoming formation | 2023–2024 formation |
Predecessor | Fourth Rutte cabinet |
Part of the Politics series |
Politicsportal |
The Schoof cabinet is the cabinet of the Netherlands, sworn in on 2 July 2024. Led by independent politician and civil servant Dick Schoof as prime minister of the Netherlands, the cabinet was formed by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) after the 2023 Dutch general election.
Under informateurs Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol, the four parties (the right-wing populist PVV, the conservative liberal VVD, the Christian democratic NSC, and the agrarian BBB) reached the outline of a coalition agreement, titled "Hope, Courage, and Pride", on 16 May 2024. [2] They agreed to form an extra-parliamentary cabinet, which they defined as a cabinet with a greater distance to parliamentary groups in the House of Representatives. [3] Votes in parliament of coalition parties were not bound on issues not covered in the agreement, such as pensions, as long as they would not impact the budget. [4] Van Zwol was appointed formateur on 22 May. On 11 June, the four parties agreed on the names of candidates and the distribution of ministerial posts. The cabinet consists of 29 members, the same amount as its predecessor, of which 16 are ministers. Three new ministerial posts were created, the Minister of Asylum and Migration, the Minister of Climate and Green Growth, and the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning; and it includes one minister without portfolio, namely the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. [5]
Following the formation, the cabinet was tasked with expanding the outline of the coalition agreement into a governing agreement. [3] It was finalized by the Council of Ministers on 6 September 2024 and presented on 13 September, ahead of the presentation of the 2025 Netherlands budget on Prinsjesdag . [6] [7] The Netherlands Bar concluded in October 2024 that nine proposals, including the declaration of an asylum crisis, violated the principles of the rule of law, while another 28 were considered risks. Six proposals, such as the "right to make a mistake", could strengthen the rule of law. [8]
The coalition agreement scrapped a €24 billion transition fund that was created by the fourth Rutte cabinet in response to the nitrogen crisis to fund provincial plans to improve water and nature quality. Instead, an extra €5 billion in funding was designated for agriculture. Minister Femke Wiersma announced in September 2024 that provinces no longer had to submit plans, awaiting a new national strategy to tackle the nitrogen crisis. [9] [10]
In response the Russian invasion of Ukraine, coalition parties agreed to increase defense spending to adhere to the NATO target of 2% of GDP. Minister Ruben Brekelmans and State Secretary Gijs Tuinman announced €2.4 billion in increased yearly funding for the Netherlands Armed Forces in September 2024. This would go towards attracting more personnel and the purchase of munitions, 46 Leopard 2A8 battle tanks, six F-35 fighter jets, two Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates, and several NH90 military helicopters. The Netherlands had been left without tanks since 2011 because of budget cuts. [11] [12] In addition, a further €2.6 billion was allocated towards the purchase of short- and medium-range air defense systems. [13]
The Schoof cabinet renamed the portfolio of "development cooperation" to "development" (or "development aid" in Dutch). It intends to cut the yearly allocated budget by €2.4 billion, over a third of its total, starting in 2027. The percentage of the budget spent on sheltering asylum seekers in the Netherlands would be contained to 10%, and aid related to water management and food security would be prioritized. [14]
The cabinet decided to cut funding for higher education and science by €1 billion per year in its 2025 budget. This would be achieved through lowering the number of international students, increasing tuition for students exceeding the standard duration, reducing money allocated to the Fund for Research and Science, and scrapping research grants. The latter had been created by the previous cabinet. [15]
The coalition parties agreed to form an extra-parliamentary cabinet. In particular, Pieter Omtzigt, the leader of NSC, had insisted on an alternative to the typical majority cabinet after having campaigned on a "new governance culture" in the election. An extra-parliamentary cabinet would be defined by greater distance between the cabinet and the parliamentary groups of coalition parties in the House of Representatives. Informateur Kim Putters recommended the formation of an "extra-parliamentary program cabinet", meaning the coalition parties would draft a shorter coalition agreement, which the cabinet would later expand into a governing agreement. [16]
A few months after its creation, newspaper NRC concluded the Schoof cabinet no longer resembled an extra-parliamentary cabinet. It noted that frequent talks occurred between parliamentary leaders and cabinet members and that coalition parties negotiated with the cabinet about the 2025 budget. Political scientist Arco Timmermans agreed the cabinet could not be considered extra-parliamentary, saying that more effort from parliamentary leaders would be required to keep distance. [16] Wim Voermans, another political scientists, argued that a cabinet could only be extra-parliamentary if there would have been no involvement from the parliament in its formation and the drafting of its agreement. [17]
The party affiliations shown below indicate the party by which a cabinet member was given. Some cabinet members are a member of a different party or of no party.
Title | Minister | Term of office | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Name | Party | Start | End | ||
Prime Minister | Dick Schoof | Indep. | 2 July 2024 | Incumbent | ||
First Deputy Prime Minister | Fleur Agema | PVV | 2 July 2024 | Incumbent | ||
Second Deputy Prime Minister | Sophie Hermans | VVD | 2 July 2024 | Incumbent | ||
Third Deputy Prime Minister | Eddy van Hijum | NSC | 2 July 2024 | Incumbent | ||
Fourth Deputy Prime Minister | Mona Keijzer | BBB | 2 July 2024 | Incumbent |
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm, a former Minister of Finance, served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
Ronald Hans Anton Plasterk is a Dutch retired politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). He has a PhD degree in biology, specialising in molecular genetics. He is founder and CEO of Frame Cancer Therapeutics. He was appointed professor at the University of Amsterdam in September 2018.
Yde Johan "Eddy" van Hijum is a Dutch politician who has served as the minister of social affairs and employment and third deputy prime minister in the Schoof cabinet since 2024.
Maria Cornelia Gezina "Mona" Keijzer is a Dutch politician and former civil servant who is the minister of housing and spatial planning in the Schoof cabinet since 2024. A member of the Farmer–Citizen Movement, she won a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2023 Dutch general election.
Reinette Joanne Klever is a Dutch politician, asset manager and broadcaster. She has served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024, on behalf of the Party for Freedom (PVV).
Marjolein Hillegonda Monica Faber-van de Klashorst is a Dutch politician for the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), who has served as Minister of Asylum and Migration in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. Previously, she was a member of the Provincial Council of Gelderland (2011–2023), of the Senate (2014–2023), and of the House of Representatives (2023–2024).
Gijs Pepijn Tuinman is a Dutch military officer and politician of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), who has served as State Secretary for Defence in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the preceding seven months. Tuinman is one of the only three living knights of the Military Order of William, the oldest and highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Eppo Egbert Willem Bruins is a Dutch politician and physicist. He has been serving as Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024 on behalf of New Social Contract (NSC). He was a member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Union (CU) from 2015 to 2021.
Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria "Dick" Schoof is a Dutch politician serving as the prime minister of the Netherlands in the Schoof cabinet since 2 July 2024.
Sophia Theodora Monique "Sophie" Hermans is a Dutch politician currently serving as Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Climate and Green Growth in the Schoof cabinet. Hermans previously served as a member of the House of Representatives representing People's Party for Freedom and Democracy between 2017 and 2024.
Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025 but a snap election was called after the fourth Rutte cabinet collapsed on 7 July 2023 due to immigration policy disagreements between the coalition parties. The incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that he would not lead his party into the election and that he would retire from politics.
Ruben Pieter Brekelmans is a Dutch politician serving as the minister of defence in the Schoof cabinet since 2024. Brekelmans previously served as a member of the House of Representatives on behalf of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). As a parliamentarian, he focused on foreign affairs and migration.
Mariëlle Lucienne Josepha Paul is a Dutch politician. A member of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), she was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election, and she became Minister for Primary and Secondary Education as part of the fourth Rutte cabinet in July 2023. She continued with the same portfolio in the Schoof cabinet as State Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education and Equal Opportunities starting in July 2024. Paul previously worked as a communications director for several multinational corporations.
Eric van der Burg is a Dutch politician, who served as State Secretary for Justice and Security in the fourth Rutte cabinet between January 2022 and July 2024. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), he was elected to the Senate in 2019. Van der Burg previously had a lengthy political career in the municipality of Amsterdam which culminated in his brief service as ad interim Mayor of Amsterdam in 2017.
The fourth Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 10 January 2022 until 2 July 2024. The cabinet was a continuation of the third Rutte cabinet and was formed by the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the social liberal Democrats 66 (D66) and the Christian democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU) after the election of 2021. The cabinet fell on 7 July 2023, after failing to reach an agreement on separate treatment of refugees fleeing from war. It continued serving as a demissionary cabinet until the Schoof cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.
General elections are scheduled to be held in the Netherlands in March 2028 to elect members of the House of Representatives, although they may be held at an earlier date if snap elections are called.
Following the Dutch general election of 22 November 2023, a process of cabinet formation was launched, resulting in the formation of the Schoof cabinet on 2 July 2024, comprising the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB). Despite intentions to form an extra-parliamentary cabinet, the cabinet is generally considered a parliamentary cabinet.
Femke Marije Wiersma is a Dutch agricultural lobbyist and politician of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB). She has served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. Previously, she was a member of the Provincial Executive of Friesland.
The 2025 Netherlands budget was presented to the States General on 17 September 2024, a day also known as Prinsjesdag. It was the first budget of the Schoof cabinet and of Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen.
When the Schoof cabinet was formed in 2024, it agreed to declare an asylum crisis in the Netherlands. Through the introduction of an emergency act, it intends to temporarily suspend certain provisions of the asylum legislation.
No party affiliation (proposed by NSC)