2003 Dutch cabinet formation
Encyclopedia
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. After severe disagreements in the formation of a CDA
-PvdA cabinet, a CDA
-VVD-D66
cabinet was formed on May 27, 2003, with Balkenende
as prime minister.
(CDA) and Frans Leijnse (PvdA) as informateurs
. Jan Peter Balkenende
negotiated with Maxime Verhagen
and Joop Wijn
on behalf of CDA, Wouter Bos
, together with Ferd Crone and Jet Bussemaker
on behalf of the PvdA.
This first information round stranded however on April 12 on what Balkenende called lack of chemistry. Concerning the last proposal of the CDA the informateurs in their report wrote: "given the nature of the measures which had been set out, we however saw (...) in this proposal no basis for any consultation that offered a view on a more satisfactory outcome with regard to the economic indicators and an expedient agreement".
According to CDA-party chairman Marja van Bijsterveldt, the PvdA added new requirements during the negotiations all the time: if you observe that after many weeks in the formation process you end up in a swamp of new plans and statistical macroeconomic calculations with unfavorable consequences for economic growth, the budget deficit and employment, then it is warranted to change course.
According to PvdA negotiator Wouter Bos it was actually the CDA that suddenly brushed aside all programs agreed upon and instead came up with entirely new proposals: We have spent two and a half month for nothing on talks and have been fooled. This is an enormous slap in the face and I also think a slap in the face of the advisers. I feel terribly cheated.
There was much dissatisfaction with the failed information attempt, since the process lasted rather long, without any results and also because in the meanwhile the country lacked a proper stable missionair cabinet. Moreover, the CDA-PvdA option was the only possible majority cabinet formed by just two parties.
(VVD) as new advisors with the task of investigating the possibilities of a majority cabinet existing of CDA and VVD and one or more other parties.
In the second information round the advisors examined three possible cabinets that included CDA and VVD:
Given the demise of the First Balkenende cabinet
, the LPF was not a viable candidate but both other options seemed feasible. On April 29 CDA and VVD opted for a coalition with the left-wing liberals of D66. The small Christian parties ChristianUnion
and SGP were side-tracked particularly due to the ideological distance between the liberal VVD and the Orthodox Reformed SGP.
After the advisers had submitted their report, Queen Beatrix requested on May first that they should continue their research and focus themselves at filling in all practicalities and deepening of discussion and aim for a rapid program for a cabinet of CDA, VVD and d66.
From then on the negotiations proceeded successfully. On May 15 the negotiators announced they were close to a common programme of policy. On May 16 the parliamentary parties of CDA, VVD and D66 agreed on this coalition agreement. In addition, D66 put the question of participation in this new cabinet up for approval by their party congress which was held on May 18.
did report to queen Beatrix and the same evening Jan Peter Balkenende
was appointed as Formateur
. Maxime Verhagen was appointed as leader of the CDA parliamentary party and together with Gerrit Zalm
(VVD) and Boris Dittrich (D66) he started new negotiations on the formation of a new cabinet.
Within a week all ministers and state secretaries for the new cabinet had been identified. Because the previous cabinet with two of the three prospective coalition partners already in it had been installed only a year ago, 17 members of the new cabinet held their post and only 9 new members had to be appointed.
One flaw of the First Balkenende cabinet was corrected with the installation of the second: it contained more female members. On May 27, 2003 the Second Balkenende cabinet
was sworn in the queen.
fell prematurely on June 30, 2006 after the D66 bailed out over objections to Rita Verdonk
's handling of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali
citizenship controversy. After the 2006 Dutch general elections
two key players in the 2003 formation Balkenende and Bos face of for another round in the 2006-2007 Dutch cabinet formation.
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:...
after the Dutch general election, 2003
Dutch general election, 2003
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.-Background:...
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. After severe disagreements in the formation of a 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...
-PvdA cabinet, a 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...
-VVD-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...
cabinet was formed on May 27, 2003, with 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...
as prime minister.
First information round
The first round of negotiations started on February 5 aimed at a CDA-PvdA coalition. There was large consensus in the House of Representatives and the general public that that a cabinet based on these parties would properly reflect the outcome of the elections. The queen appointed Piet Hein DonnerPiet 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....
(CDA) and Frans Leijnse (PvdA) as informateurs
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,...
. 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...
negotiated with 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...
and Joop Wijn
Joop Wijn
Joannes Gerardus Wijn was Minister of Economic Affairs in the third Balkenende cabinet of the Netherlands....
on behalf of 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...
, together with Ferd Crone and Jet Bussemaker
Jet Bussemaker
Mariëtte Bussemaker is a former Dutch politician and is state secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport.Jet Bussemaker attended primary and secondary education in Oegstgeest...
on behalf of the PvdA.
This first information round stranded however on April 12 on what Balkenende called lack of chemistry. Concerning the last proposal of the CDA the informateurs in their report wrote: "given the nature of the measures which had been set out, we however saw (...) in this proposal no basis for any consultation that offered a view on a more satisfactory outcome with regard to the economic indicators and an expedient agreement".
According to CDA-party chairman Marja van Bijsterveldt, the PvdA added new requirements during the negotiations all the time: if you observe that after many weeks in the formation process you end up in a swamp of new plans and statistical macroeconomic calculations with unfavorable consequences for economic growth, the budget deficit and employment, then it is warranted to change course.
According to PvdA negotiator Wouter Bos it was actually the CDA that suddenly brushed aside all programs agreed upon and instead came up with entirely new proposals: We have spent two and a half month for nothing on talks and have been fooled. This is an enormous slap in the face and I also think a slap in the face of the advisers. I feel terribly cheated.
There was much dissatisfaction with the failed information attempt, since the process lasted rather long, without any results and also because in the meanwhile the country lacked a proper stable missionair cabinet. Moreover, the CDA-PvdA option was the only possible majority cabinet formed by just two parties.
Second information round
On April 15 the queen appointed the political adviser Jan Hoekstra (CDA) and minister of state Frits Korthals AltesFrits Korthals Altes
Frederik "Frits" Korthals Altes is a Dutch politician, who served as justice minister during the first and second cabinets of prime minister Ruud Lubbers. He is an honorary member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ....
(VVD) as new advisors with the task of investigating the possibilities of a majority cabinet existing of CDA and VVD and one or more other parties.
In the second information round the advisors examined three possible cabinets that included CDA and VVD:
- CDA, VVD and LPF, a continuation of the first Balkenende cabinetFirst Balkenende cabinetThe 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...
, which had fallen just months before; - CDA, VVD, ChristenUnie and SGP, the so-called Staphorster variation, named after the SGP stronghold StaphorstStaphorstStaphorst is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.-History:The villages of Staphorst and its southern neighbour Rouveen came into existence as in the 13th century monks started to bring the bogs and swamps into culture. All the farms were built along the long road through the bog...
; - CDA, VVD and D66.
Given the demise 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...
, the LPF was not a viable candidate but both other options seemed feasible. On April 29 CDA and VVD opted for a coalition with the left-wing liberals of D66. The small Christian parties 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...
and SGP were side-tracked particularly due to the ideological distance between the liberal VVD and the Orthodox Reformed SGP.
After the advisers had submitted their report, Queen Beatrix requested on May first that they should continue their research and focus themselves at filling in all practicalities and deepening of discussion and aim for a rapid program for a cabinet of CDA, VVD and d66.
From then on the negotiations proceeded successfully. On May 15 the negotiators announced they were close to a common programme of policy. On May 16 the parliamentary parties of CDA, VVD and D66 agreed on this coalition agreement. In addition, D66 put the question of participation in this new cabinet up for approval by their party congress which was held on May 18.
Formation
After a parliamentary debate concerning the information and the coalition agreement on May 20, the informateursFormateur
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,...
did report to queen Beatrix and the same evening 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 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,...
. Maxime Verhagen was appointed as leader of the CDA parliamentary party and together with 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...
(VVD) and Boris Dittrich (D66) he started new negotiations on the formation of a new cabinet.
Within a week all ministers and state secretaries for the new cabinet had been identified. Because the previous cabinet with two of the three prospective coalition partners already in it had been installed only a year ago, 17 members of the new cabinet held their post and only 9 new members had to be appointed.
One flaw of the First Balkenende cabinet was corrected with the installation of the second: it contained more female members. On May 27, 2003 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...
was sworn in the queen.
Aftermath
The Second Balkenende cabinetSecond 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...
fell prematurely on June 30, 2006 after the D66 bailed out over objections to 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...
's handling of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
citizenship controversy. After the 2006 Dutch general elections
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....
two key players in the 2003 formation Balkenende and Bos face of for another round in the 2006-2007 Dutch cabinet formation.