Government formation talks in the Netherlands have become the longest on record, 226 days after the 17 March elections delivered a fractured political landscape that made parties more reluctant than ever to compromise.
Dutch government coalitions often take months to form, but this year’s post-election talks have been especially drawn out. For months, parties failed to even move beyond the question of who would be allowed at the negotiation table.
Meanwhile, pressing matters such as climate change, health care and the strained housing market have been left untouched.
“It’s remarkable,” said political historian and cabinet formation expert Carla van Baalen. “We have never seen a situation in which no real talks were held for months following the elections.”
Read more at:
‘A lot of work to do’: Dutch government formation talks drag on for record 226 days | Netherlands | The Guardian
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Showing posts with label Formation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Formation. Show all posts
November 25, 2021
November 5, 2021
The Netherlands: Rutte for Fourth Term? Splintered Dutch Political Landscape
Approaching 7 months since the last Dutch general election, new cabinet formations have been marred by internal struggles, ministerial scandals, and political betrayals hampering party leaders from partaking in constructive discussions. The current and now demissionary Rutte III cabinet holds the record for the longest cabinet formation in Dutch history: a whopping 225 days, a situation politicians hoped they would never encounter again. However, Rutte’s aspirations to become the Netherlands’ longest-serving Prime Minister, in combination with the country’s fragmented political landscape, means Dutch citizens must brace themselves for a long formation if not new elections. Recent breakthroughs to restart the current coalition have signaled a possible end to formations, but if it falls through, new elections are inevitable.
Read more at: Rutte for Fourth Term? Splintered Dutch Political Landscape | Global Risk Insights
Read more at: Rutte for Fourth Term? Splintered Dutch Political Landscape | Global Risk Insights
April 5, 2017
Dutch Political Scene: Why the Dutch need three months to form a government
Two weeks after the Dutch election, the politician leading talks to form
a new coalition says it may take three months or more. But far-right
leader Geert Wilders, whose party came second, is nowhere to be seen.
He may be the firebrand Dutch politician who dominated the country's most divisive election campaign in years, but Geert Wilders and his anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) have no option but to watch from the sideline as four mainstream parties seek to build the Netherlands' next government.
Talks to form a new coalition, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, began immediately after the March 15 general election. But the main party leaders have refused to deal with the PVV, despite it winning the second-largest number of seats in parliament.
Since World War II, Dutch governments have taken an average of 72 days to be decided, compared to four to six weeks for a typical German coalition. The Dutch record is nearly seven months in 1977, but even that pales in comparison to its neighbor, Belgium, who after its 2010 election took 541 days to agree to a coalition.
Center-right politician Edith Schippers, whose job it is to achieve a new alliance to run the country, believes the new government won't be in place until July at the earliest. On Wednesday, she gave parliament a progress report on negotiations, warning that an agreement before Easter was "highly unlikely," Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported.
So why does coalition-building take so long in the Netherlands, especially when Wilders - the most divisive political player - is not participating?
"What makes it difficult is our truly multi-party parliament, with 13 parties now represented in the lower house," Professor Ruud Koole, a political scientist at Leiden University, told DW. He said Rutte's liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) would not be content with a minority government.
"You don't really have big parties anymore that dominate a coalition. The VVD now needs three other parties to participate, and that takes a long time," Koole said.
Read more: Why the Dutch need three months to form a government | News | DW.COM | 30.03.2017
He may be the firebrand Dutch politician who dominated the country's most divisive election campaign in years, but Geert Wilders and his anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) have no option but to watch from the sideline as four mainstream parties seek to build the Netherlands' next government.
Talks to form a new coalition, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, began immediately after the March 15 general election. But the main party leaders have refused to deal with the PVV, despite it winning the second-largest number of seats in parliament.
Since World War II, Dutch governments have taken an average of 72 days to be decided, compared to four to six weeks for a typical German coalition. The Dutch record is nearly seven months in 1977, but even that pales in comparison to its neighbor, Belgium, who after its 2010 election took 541 days to agree to a coalition.
Center-right politician Edith Schippers, whose job it is to achieve a new alliance to run the country, believes the new government won't be in place until July at the earliest. On Wednesday, she gave parliament a progress report on negotiations, warning that an agreement before Easter was "highly unlikely," Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported.
So why does coalition-building take so long in the Netherlands, especially when Wilders - the most divisive political player - is not participating?
"What makes it difficult is our truly multi-party parliament, with 13 parties now represented in the lower house," Professor Ruud Koole, a political scientist at Leiden University, told DW. He said Rutte's liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) would not be content with a minority government.
"You don't really have big parties anymore that dominate a coalition. The VVD now needs three other parties to participate, and that takes a long time," Koole said.
Read more: Why the Dutch need three months to form a government | News | DW.COM | 30.03.2017
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