Politics of the Netherlands
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- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Constitution
- Monarchy
- Cabinet
- Prime Minister
- Parliament
- Political parties
- Elections
- Council of State
- Supreme Court
- Template:EUPolitics
- Drugs policy
- Foreign relations
- Terminology
Template:Politicsboxend Politics of the Netherlands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy, where the prime minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the council of ministers, and of a pluriform multi-party system with about 15 parties at national elections. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
There are three territorial levels of government: the state, the provinces and the municipalities. At all three levels direct elections are held, resulting in coalitions (aka cabinets), without an overriding amount of power invested in one person. For example, the prime minister is just one of the ministers. However, a province's king's commissioner and a municipality's mayor, who are appointed by the crown are more than just figureheads, unlike the king at the national level. Traditionally, the largest party participates in the coalition and its leader becomes prime minister, except in 1971, 1977 and 1982, when PvdA came out as biggest party, but KVP/CDA formed a coalition with other parties and supplied the prime minister.
At the national level, the most important part of parliament (the Staten Generaal), is the Tweede Kamer ('Second Chamber'), aka Lagerhuis ('lower house'), which has 150 members, and is chosen directly once every four years (if a cabinet stays full term) by proportional representation, which means that 1/150th of all votes equals one seat. The political system delivers Full Representation and is by many [1] considered to be the perfect form of proportional representation. Like a number of other European countries with proportional representation, the Netherlands have always had coalition governments. The Eerste Kamer ('First Chamber' or 'Higher House') has 75 members, who are elected indirectly by the directly elected provincial councils. Only the Tweede Kamer can initiate laws. This is usually done by the ministers, who form the government, together with the king (who only has a ceremonial function, though).
The present constitution, which dates from 1814 and has been amended several times (the most important changes having been in 1840, 1848, 1917 and 1983), protects individual and political freedoms, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Church and state are separate. Universal suffrage was instituted in 1917 (for women in 1918) and the voting age was lowered to 18 years in 1972.
Historical overview
Before 1917, the Netherlands had a first past the post constituency system with census suffrage (per the constitution of 1814), in which only wealthy men had the right to vote (in practice 15% of the men). Under influence of the rising socialist movement (under Pieter Jelles Troelstra of the SDAP) the requirements were gradually slackened until in 1917 the present voting system of a representative democracy with universal suffrage (for men) was instituted, expanded in 1918 to include women.
Until 1966, Dutch politics were characterised by pillarisation: society was separated in several segments (pillars) which didn't have much contact, except at the top. All these pillars had their own organisations, most importantly the political parties. There were four pillars, which provided the five most important parties, the socialist PvdA, the conservative-liberal VVD, the Catholic KVP and the two conservative-Protestant parties, the CHU and the ARP. Religion was the strongest basis for voting, much more than income (which only differentiated to some extent between PvdA and VVD, although even almost 20% of the higher incomes voted PvdA). Since no party ever gained an absolute majority, these political parties had to work together in coalition governments. These alternated between a centre left coalition of PvdA, KVP, ARP and CHU and a centre right coalition of VVD, KVP, ARP and CHU.
From the 1918 until the 1963 elections, the Catholic party (first RKSP, then KVP) was the biggest party and had an almost constant electorate of around 30%, all Catholics (and 80% of the Catholics voted KVP - the strongest 'pillar'). During the 1960s, KVP's percentage almost halved to 17,7% in 1972. After WWII, the communist CPN had their biggest share with 10,6%, but over the years that gradually dropped to a few percent in the 1970s. Over the same period, the VVD rose from 6% to 18%. So by the 1970's, confessional (religious) parties had lost much of their electorate and non-confessional voters had partly shifted from left to right. Non-religious voters, however, still largely voted PvdA.
In the 1960's, new, non-confessional, parties started to appear, which were mostly popular with young voters, who were less religious. The post-war babyboom meant that there had been a demographic shift to lower ages. On top of that, the voting age was lowered, first from 23 to 21 years in 1963 and then to 18 years in 1972. The most successful new party was the progressive liberal D66, who had a pro-democracy, anti-pillarisation program. After 1966 pillarisation began to break down and a period of polarisation and conflict started. Many parties remained. The three Christian parties however lost many votes and were forced to cooperate. In 1977 they formed the Christian-democratic CDA, which became a major force in Dutch politics, partaking in governments from 1977 until 1994.
Because of the rise of VVD and the formation of CDA (and despite the appearance of new parties), these two and the PvdA remained as the 'big three' and media attention, which had previously been divided fairly evenly between parties, now focused on these three. In 1990, four small left-wing parties decided to also unite, in GroenLinks, with considerable success. Starting in 1994, the very left-wing Socialistische Partij (SP) rose even more spectacularly under Jan Marijnissen.
In 1994 the CDA lost many votes and for the first time in ninety years a cabinet was formed without a Christian-democratic party. The cabinet was formed by VVD, D66 and PvdA, forming a bridge between left and right, called Paars (purple - a mix of red and blue), which lasted two terms. Although enjoying a period of economic prosperity, the cabinet lost its majority in the 2002 elections due to the rise of LPF, the new political party around the flamboyant Pim Fortuyn, who campaigned on an anti-immigration program. Fortuyn was shot dead a week before the elections took place. In the elections the LPF went from nothing to 17% of the vote, entering the Second Chamber of parliament with 23 seats. A cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD and LPF, under 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 elections in January of 2003, the LPF dropped to only 8 seats in the Second Chamber. The Balkenende II cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD and D66. Against popular sentiment, the cabinet continued an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the healthcare system and immigration policies and is still in power today. The next general election are scheduled for 3 April 2007.
Regionally, the most striking differentiation was the popularity of KVP in the Catholic southern provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. This still holds true for CDA, albeit to a much lesser extent. For other parties, what regional differentiation there was has all but disappeared, except for the communist CPN, which, until it merged into Groenlinks, got almost all its votes from the provinces North Holland and Groningen. In the small municipality of Reiderland, they even always had a vast absolute majority since WWII, a quite unique phenomenon in a parliamentary democracy.
Also, voters hardly differentiate between the level of elections. They will generally vote for a specific party, irrespective of whether the election is national, provincial or municipal. More specifically, regional votes are often strongly influenced by the national politics of the day. This effect is so strong that results of regional elections are often added up to give an indication of what the results of national elections would have been if they had been held that day. And in 1966 and 1982, the cabinet even fell as a result of provincial elections (but continued for a short while as minority caretaker cabinets - the only two since WWII).
Given the consensus-based nature of Dutch Government, elections do not generally result in any drastic change in foreign or domestic policy, although polls indicate a dramatic swing to the left for the next elections, which would contrast sharply with the present cabinet, which is one of the most right wing cabinets since the late 19th centuryTemplate:Citation needed; . The municipal election results of 7 March 2006 were an early indication of this, with the left wing parties taking back the votes they lost in 2002.
Executive branch
Template:Office-table |Queen |Beatrix | |30 April 1980 |- |Heir Apparent |Willem Alexander | | |- |Prime Minister |Jan Peter Balkenende | | |- |Coalition |Balkenende II |CDA, VVD, D66 |22 July 2002 |} The executive branch of government is officially headed by the Monarch, who (in name) appoints the Ministers and State Secretaries of the cabinet.
The Monarch is the titular head of state. The monarch's function is largely ceremonial, but he does appoint the formateur, who forms the Council of Ministers following elections. In day to day reality his power is restricted to an advisory function. According to the constitution (art 34.2), "The king is immune, the ministers are responsible." The monarch is supposed to sign all laws put before him. If he refuses to do so this would lead to a constitutional crisis. In the words of former prime minister Wim Kok, "If [the monarch] would make use of the right not to sign, that would constitute a crisis" [2]. In theory the monarch could use this right not to sign as a threat to exert a non-cooperative power, but because of the severity of the method, this has only been done once, by Queen Juliana, when she declared she would never sign any death warrants Template:Citation needed. Related to this is the Lockheed bribe affair, when both Juliana and her daughter Beatrix threatened to end the monarchy if Juliana's husband Bernhard were to be prosecuted [3]. The current incumbent is Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of the cabinet, and, as such, coordinates the policy of the government. (Dutch names for 'prime minister' are minister president, eerste minister ('first minister') and (most commonly) premier (from the French 'premier ministre'). He has some formal powers, the two most important of which are the power to set the agenda of meetings of the cabinet and the adoption of the rules for laws and regulations, which state the basic rules for legislation and regulations. The prime minister is a primus inter pares and functions as the "face" of the government to the public. Usually, the prime minister is also minister of General Affairs (Minister van Algemene Zaken). Until 1945, the position of head of the council of ministers officially switched between the ministers, although practices differed throughout history. In 1945, the position was formally instituted. In practice the cabinet requires the support of the Second Chamber (otherwise it would not have any influence over legislation), so the Monarch will ask the representatives to form a coalition which will select a cabinet. The Constitution of the Netherlands does not permit somebody to be a member of both cabinet and the Second Chamber, so any cabinet members appointed from the house are replaced from the party lists. The only exception for this rule is if, after an election for the Second Chamber, for members of the outgoing government. Until the appointment of a new government, they are allowed to sit in the Second Chamber and vote, although they usual do so only in special circumstances.
The Council of Ministers (Ministerraad) plans and implements government policy. The Monarch and the Council of Ministers together are called the Crown. Most ministers also head government ministries, although ministers-without-portfolio exist. Dutch ministers cannot simultaneously be members of parliament. Formally the Council is collectively responsible to the States General (parliament), which means parliament cannot dismiss individual ministers. However, it is standing practice for a minister to step down, once he does not enjoy the support of the majority in the Second Chamber anymore.
The Cabinet consists of the ministers and junior ministers, called "state secretaries". The Cabinet has the power to take decisions to a limited extent, as far as specified by parliament.
The Council of State (Raad van State) is a constitutionally established advisory body to the government. The Council has no executive power, but must be consulted by the cabinet on proposed legislation before a law is submitted to the parliament. The Council of State also serves as a channel of appeal for citizens against executive branch decisions. It's members are appointed by the Crown and are mostly distinguished judges, politicians, high-ranking civil servants and university professors. The monarch is the official president of the Council; in practice the vice-president acts as the executive head. Apart from the monarch, other members of the royal house may obtain the right to attend meetings without having the power to vote. At present Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Princess Máxima have that right.
Legislative branch
The Dutch constitution states that the legislative branch consists out of the government and both houses of parliament (although the former is largely part of the latter).
The States-General (Staten-Generaal) has two chambers, the First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) and the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer). Historically, Dutch governments have been based on the support of a majority in both houses of parliament. The Second Chamber is by far the more important of the two houses. It alone has the right to initiate legislation and amend bills submitted by the Council of Ministers. It shares with the First Chamber the right to question ministers and state secretaries.
The Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) consists of 150 members, elected directly for a 4-year term--unless the government falls prematurely--on the basis of a nationwide system of proportional representation. This system means that members represent the whole country--rather than individual districts as in the United States--and are normally elected on a party slate, not on a personal basis, although it is possible for citizens to cast their vote for an individual MP. The only election threshold existing for small-party representation is for parties to obtain at least 1/150th part of the vote, as for parties receiving less votes there is no round-up of votes when votes are transformed into seats. Campaigns usually last 6 weeks, and the election budgets of each party tend to be less than $500,000. The electoral system and the strength of the three major parties makes a coalition government almost inevitable. The last election of the Second Chamber was in January 2003 (early elections).
The First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) is composed of 75 members elected for 4-year terms by the 12 provincial legislatures. It cannot initiate or amend legislation, but its approval of bills passed by the Second Chamber is required before bills become law. The First Chamber generally meets only once a week, and its members usually have other full-time jobs. The current First Chamber was elected following provincial elections in March 2003.
Candidates at the elections of the Second Chamber are chosen from party lists resulting in proportional representation. The way representatives are elected is subject to debate, as the minister of Administrative Renewal has proposed a new voting system based on additional member system.
Administrative division
There are three overall territorial levels of government; the State, the Provinces and the Municipalities. These are organised in very similar ways, with a directly elected body of representatives (Second Chamber, Provinciale Staten and City Council respectively), who amongst themselves choose an administration (Cabinet, Gedeputeerde Staten and Wethouders), headed by a chairman (Monarch, Commissaris van de Koning and Mayor). The main differences between the levels are the absence of an equivalent of the First Chamber at the lower levels and that the chairmen at those lower levels are indirectly chosen, whereas the Monarch's position is heredetary. The power of the Commissaris and the Mayor are, however, also more real than that of the Monarch. Also, the Eerste Kamer is (indirectly) elected by the members of the Provinciale Staten.
The first-level administrative divisions are the 12 provinces, each governed by a locally elected provincial council and a provincial executive appointed by members of the provincial council. The province is formally headed by a queen's commissioner appointed by the Crown. The provinces are Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Flevoland, Gelderland, Utrecht, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg
The next administrative division is into gemeenten (municipalities) governed by a town council chosen by all adults for a four years term, and a burgemeester (mayor) appointed by the Crown. The appointment procedure was recently brought for dicussion. The appointment procedure is considered undemocratic and alternatives are:
- Direct election of the mayor by the people: two candidates are nominated by the Crown.
- Appointment by the town council from a nomination made by the Crown.
In addition to these three levels that apply throughout the country, some cities, such as Amsterdam, are divided into smaller communities, each with their own council (stadsdeelraden).
Judicial branch
The judiciary comprises 19 district courts (rechtbanken (pl.)), five courts of appeal (gerechtshoven' (pl.)), two administrative courts (Centrale Raad van Beroep and the College van beroep voor het bedrijfsleven) and a Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) which has 24 justices. All judicial appointments are made by the Crown. Judges nominally are appointed for life but actually are retired at age 70.
Local government.
Political pressure groups
Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises; large multinational firms
International organisation participation
The Netherlands is one of the founding members of what today is the European Union. It was one of the first countries to start European integration, through the Benelux in 1944 and the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. Being a small country with a history of neutrality it was the host country for the important Maastricht Treaty and Amsterdam Treaty and is the seat of the International Court of Justice.
The Netherlands partakes in the following international organisations:
Europe
European Union, Benelux, Council of Europe, Economic and Monetary Union, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
United Nations
United Nations, ECE (Economic Commission for Europe), Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UNU (United Nations University)
Political
Group of Ten (economic 1962), IDA, International Labour Organization, International Maritime Organization, OAS (Organization of American States) (observer), NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) (guest), NATO
Law
International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, IOM, PCA, Interpol
Trade and Monetary
BIS, EIB, IADB, ICC, International Monetary Fund, WCL, WCO, ESCAP
Science and Technology
ESA, IEA, Inmarsat, Intelsat, ISO, NEA, NSG, ITU, CERN
Other
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, EAPC, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IOC, OECD, OPCW, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee
Local Elections
Besides national elections, local municipalities have their own elections. In general the same (national) parties are important players, while many voters decide based on a mixture of national and local issues. There is however also a strong representation of local parties (e.g. Leefbaar Utrecht in Utrecht). The numbers of seats in the municipal council is based on the number of inhabitants. After the election, the municipal council appoints the aldermen, who together with a crown appointed mayor form the municipal executive. Local elections are not (generally) on the same date as national elections. With local elections scheduled for March 7, 2006; and national elections only in 2007. This causes that local elections are seen as an important poll for the popularity of national parties.
Political parties and elections
Template:Elect Template:Netherlands general election, 2003 Template:Netherlands senate, 2003
Dutch cabinets since World War II
Note: first party mentioned provided prime minister. The cabinets are named after the prime minister. But the cabinets Kok were nicknamed Paars (purple) to reflect the cooperation between PvdA (Labour - red) and VVD (right wing Liberal - blue) without the CDA. Before the two Purple cabinets of Wim Kok for 80 years the CDA (or the parties that later joined to form the CDA - KVP , ARP and CHU) had been in the government, sometimes with the socialists (PvdA), sometimes with the liberals (VVD) as their coalition partner. Note further that the figures under % are the percentage of seats the coalition held in the Second Chamber of parliament.
Seats per Party
The figure to the right shows the seat distribution in the Dutch second chamber from the first general elections after WWII (1946), to the current situation. The left wing parties are on the bottom, the christian parties in the center, with the right wing parties closer to the top. Occasionally one (or few) issue parties have arisen that are shown at the extreme top.
Vertical lines indicate general elections. Although in principle every four years, the necessary coalition governments do not always finish their term without a governmental crisis, which is often followed by new elections. Hence the regular periods numbering less than four years.
In the following two tables, the seats per party are shown for each cabinet since WWII and the percentage of seats for that cabinet. There is no overlap between present parties and those before WWII.
[blank] = not enough votes to get a seat in government
- = party didn't exist then or did not participate nationally
= = not applicable
bold = party in cabinet
red = percentage of seats of the cabinet. (Note that the other numbers are seats, not percentages.)
GrL = Groen Links
ChU = Christen Unie
LN = Leefbaar Nederland
U55 = Unie 55+
| P vd |
V V |
C D |
L P |
D' 66 |
% |
S P |
Gr L |
Ch U |
S G |
R P |
G P |
L N |
A O |
U 55 |
C P |
C D |
P P |
P S |
C P |
E V |
B P |
D S' |
||
| 2003- | Balkenende II |
42 |
28 |
44 |
8 |
6 |
52 |
9 |
8 |
3 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|||
| 02-03 |
Balkenende I | 23 |
24 |
43 |
26 |
7 |
62 |
9 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||
| 98-02 |
Kok II |
45 |
38 |
29 |
- |
14 |
65 |
5 |
11 |
- |
3 |
3 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|||
| 94-98 |
Kok I |
37 |
31 |
34 |
- |
24 |
61 |
2 |
5 |
- |
2 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||
| 89-94 |
Lubbers III |
49 |
22 |
54 |
- |
12 |
69 |
6 |
- |
3 |
1 |
2 |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
||||
| 86-89 |
Lubbers II |
52 |
27 |
54 |
- |
9 |
54 |
- |
- |
3 |
1 |
1 |
- |
2 |
1 |
- |
- |
|||||||
| 82-86 |
Lubbers I |
47 |
36 |
45 |
- |
6 |
54 |
- |
- |
3 |
2 |
1 |
- |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
- |
|||||
| 82 |
van Agt III |
44 |
26 |
48 |
- |
17 |
43 |
- |
- |
3 |
2 |
1 |
- |
3 |
3 |
3 |
- |
|||||||
| 81-82 |
van Agt II |
44 |
26 |
48 |
- |
17 |
73 |
- |
- |
3 |
2 |
1 |
- |
3 |
3 |
3 |
- |
- |
||||||
| 77-81 |
van Agt I |
53 |
28 |
49 |
- |
8 |
51 |
- |
- |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
3 |
1 |
2 |
- |
1 |
1 |
LW = Lijst Welter
| P vd |
V V |
K V |
A R |
C H |
D S' |
P P |
D' 66 |
% |
C P |
P S |
S G |
G P |
R K |
B P |
N M |
K N |
L W |
P vd |
|||
| 73-77 |
den Uyl |
43 |
22 |
27 |
14 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
65 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
- |
||||
| 71-73 |
Biesheuvel I+II |
39 |
16 |
35 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
11 |
55 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
- |
1 |
2 |
- |
|||
| 67-71 |
de Jong |
37 |
17 |
42 |
15 |
12 |
- |
- |
7 |
57 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
- |
7 |
- |
||||
| 66-67 |
Zijlstra |
= |
= |
50 |
13 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
42 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
|
| 65-66 |
Cals |
43 |
= |
50 |
13 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
71 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
|
| 63-65 |
Marijnen |
43 |
16 |
50 |
13 |
13 |
- |
- |
- |
61 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
- |
3 |
- |
||||
| 59-63 |
de Quay |
48 |
19 |
49 |
14 |
12 |
- |
- |
- |
50 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
- |
- |
||||||
| 58-59 |
Beel II |
= |
= |
49 |
15 |
13 |
= |
= |
= |
51 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
|
| after expansion from 100 to 150 seats |
50 |
13 |
49 |
15 |
13 |
- |
- |
- |
7 |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
|||||||
| 56-58 |
Drees IV |
34 |
9 |
33 |
10 |
8 |
- |
- |
- |
85 |
4 |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
|||||
| 52-56 |
Drees III |
30 |
9 |
30 |
12 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
81 |
6 |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
||||
| 51-52 |
Drees II |
27 |
8 |
32 |
= |
9 |
= |
= |
= |
76 |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
= |
|
| 48-51 |
Drees I |
27 |
8 |
32 |
13 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
76 |
8 |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
||||
| 46-48 |
Beel I |
29 |
- |
32 |
13 |
8 |
- |
- |
- |
61 |
10 |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
6 |
|||||
| 45-46 |
Schermerhorn - Drees (no elections - appointed by queen) |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 39-45 |
War cabinets without elections | ||||||||||||||||||||
Years of formation of Political Parties
| SGP |
1918 |
|
| PvdA |
1946 |
SDAP+VDB+CDU |
| VVD |
1948 |
successor PvdV |
| D'66 |
1966 |
|
| PPR |
1968 |
split off from KVP and ARP |
| DS'70 |
1970 |
split off from PvdA |
| SP |
1971 |
split off from CPN |
| CDA |
1980 |
KVP+ARP+CHU (already cooperatied since 1973) |
| GroenLinks |
1990 |
CPN+EVP+PPR+PSP |
| ChristenUnie |
2000 |
GPV+RPF |
| LPF |
2002 |
split off from Leefbaar Nederland |
See also
- Netherlands
- Dutch monarchy
- Drug policy of the Netherlands
- Political parties of the Netherlands
- Civil procedure code of the Netherlands
External links
- www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Extremely detailed statistics and historical facts about elections, cabinets, parties, etc for the entire periodit:Politica dei Paesi Bassi
nl:Nederland - Overheid en Politiek pt:Política dos Países Baixos