Netherlands cabinet Rutte
Encyclopedia
The Rutte cabinet is the current Dutch
coalition
cabinet
formed by the political parties
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(VVD) and Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA). The coalition is a minority cabinet
, but is supported by the Party for Freedom
(PVV) to have a small majority in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. The cabinet succeeded the fourth Balkenende cabinet
following the Dutch general election of 2010
, and was installed by Queen Beatrix
on 14 October 2010.
VVD party leader Mark Rutte
is Prime Minister of the Netherlands
and Maxime Verhagen
is Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
on behalf of the CDA.
(PvdA) was briefly looked at, but dismissed. Then negotiations for a "purple plus
" coalition consisting of VVD, PvdA, Democrats 66
(D66) and GreenLeft
(GL) lasted for about three weeks, but the parties could not reach agreement on the amount of budget cuts. Finally, a construction which is rare for the Netherlands was investigated: a minority coalition consisting of VVD and CDA (together 52 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives), supported in parliament by the PVV (24 seats), to make the smallest possible majority of 76 seats. The reason for this construction was that parties agreed that the largest party (VVD) and the largest winner in the elections (PVV) needed to be in power; only the CDA could or wanted to help make a majority, but they were against forming a proper coalition with PVV because of their different views on Islam and immigration. Therefore, negotiations were held to form a coalition agreement between VVD and CDA, and to form a "parliamentary support agreement" between all three parties, which were successfully finished on 30 September 2010.
The opposition parties expect that the coalition will prove to be unstable because at a special CDA conference, about a third of the CDA members voted against the formation of this cabinet. Also, in the CDA parliamentary fraction at least two people indicated they have difficulties with the cabinet, but say they will support it because the majority of the party approves of the cabinet.
When the cabinet took office, the three parties had a minority in the Senate of the Netherlands of 35 out of 75 seats. The parties hoped this would change following the May 2011 elections for the Senate
, but they obtained 37 seats, one short of a majority. However, it is expected that the small Christian party SGP
, which obtained one seat, will support the cabinet in the Senate.
). These positions are divided equally among the coalition members, regardless of their respective size: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
(31 seats in parliament) supplied 6 ministers and 4 state secretaries, and Christian Democratic Appeal
(21 seats) also supplied 6 ministers and 4 state secretaries.
The number of ministers and state secretaries was reduced from the previous cabinet by merging several ministries: the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to form the new Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation; the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
was merged with the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management to form the new Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment
; some tasks of the Ministry of the Interior went to the Ministry of Justice, which was renamed the Ministry of Public Safety and Justice. Also the ministers without portfolio
for Development Cooperation, for Youth and Family, and for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration were scrapped, the latter to be replaced by a minister without portfolio for Immigration and Asylum.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
formed by the political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(VVD) and Christian Democratic Appeal
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...
(CDA). The coalition is a minority cabinet
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, but is supported by the Party for Freedom
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It...
(PVV) to have a small majority in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. The cabinet succeeded the fourth Balkenende cabinet
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
following the Dutch general election of 2010
Dutch general election, 2010
The 2010 Dutch general election was held on Wednesday, 9 June 2010. After the fall of the cabinet Balkenende IV on 20 February, Queen Beatrix accepted the resignation of the Labour Party ministers on 23 February...
, and was installed by Queen Beatrix
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
on 14 October 2010.
VVD party leader Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, as well as Minister of General Affairs in the Rutte cabinet...
is Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
and 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...
is Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the official Deputy of the Head of Government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the Prime Minister the deputy prime minister takes over his functions, such as chairing the Cabinet of the Netherlands...
on behalf of the CDA.
Formation
Following the collapse of the fourth Balkenende cabinet on 20 February 2010, elections for the House of Representatives were held on 9 June 2010. As usual in Dutch politics, none of the parties had a majority and several informateurs were appointed to investigate the formation of a coalition cabinet. A broad coalition consisting of VVD, CDA and the Labour PartyLabour Party (Netherlands)
The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
(PvdA) was briefly looked at, but dismissed. Then negotiations for a "purple plus
Purple (government)
Purple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours...
" coalition consisting of VVD, PvdA, Democrats 66
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...
(D66) and GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
(GL) lasted for about three weeks, but the parties could not reach agreement on the amount of budget cuts. Finally, a construction which is rare for the Netherlands was investigated: a minority coalition consisting of VVD and CDA (together 52 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives), supported in parliament by the PVV (24 seats), to make the smallest possible majority of 76 seats. The reason for this construction was that parties agreed that the largest party (VVD) and the largest winner in the elections (PVV) needed to be in power; only the CDA could or wanted to help make a majority, but they were against forming a proper coalition with PVV because of their different views on Islam and immigration. Therefore, negotiations were held to form a coalition agreement between VVD and CDA, and to form a "parliamentary support agreement" between all three parties, which were successfully finished on 30 September 2010.
The opposition parties expect that the coalition will prove to be unstable because at a special CDA conference, about a third of the CDA members voted against the formation of this cabinet. Also, in the CDA parliamentary fraction at least two people indicated they have difficulties with the cabinet, but say they will support it because the majority of the party approves of the cabinet.
When the cabinet took office, the three parties had a minority in the Senate of the Netherlands of 35 out of 75 seats. The parties hoped this would change following the May 2011 elections for the Senate
Dutch Senate election, 2011
The elections of the Dutch Senate of 2011 were held on 23 May 2011, following the provincial elections on 2 March 2011. The 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the 75 Senate members...
, but they obtained 37 seats, one short of a majority. However, it is expected that the small Christian party SGP
Reformed Political Party
The Reformed Political Party is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform, but is a synonym for Calvinist. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition...
, which obtained one seat, will support the cabinet in the Senate.
Composition
The cabinet consists of 12 ministers and 8 junior ministers (state secretariesState Secretary (Netherlands)
State Secretary is the title of a junior member of the Dutch or Belgian cabinet. Other terms for the title are deputy minister, junior minister or vice-minister...
). These positions are divided equally among the coalition members, regardless of their respective size: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(31 seats in parliament) supplied 6 ministers and 4 state secretaries, and Christian Democratic Appeal
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...
(21 seats) also supplied 6 ministers and 4 state secretaries.
The number of ministers and state secretaries was reduced from the previous cabinet by merging several ministries: the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was formerly the ministry of agriculture of the Netherlands...
was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to form the new Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation; the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment was a Dutch ministry. It was responsible for policies on public housing, spatial planning, the environment and the housing of national government agencies...
was merged with the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management to form the new Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment
Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is a Dutch ministry created in 2010 by the Rutte Cabinet, and is a merger of the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. The minister is Melanie Schultz van...
; some tasks of the Ministry of the Interior went to the Ministry of Justice, which was renamed the Ministry of Public Safety and Justice. Also the ministers without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
for Development Cooperation, for Youth and Family, and for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration were scrapped, the latter to be replaced by a minister without portfolio for Immigration and Asylum.
External links
- Cabinet at the Government of the NetherlandsCabinet of the NetherlandsThe 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:...