Politics and Elections in the Netherlands: Rutte III era

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's the same logic as here and once it reaches the same level of absurd intensity will doubtless result in similarly bad outcomes. You end up with local government very detached and remote and, as a result, inherently unpopular - especially as this all tends to go hand-in-hand with big financial squeezes of the sort that make positive action from local government impossible.

[njwes]

Just braindead neoliberalism at its finest. The same line of thinking that leads people to think that, eg, reducing the number of UK MPs to 100 would be an awesome idea.

[DavidB.]

Just braindead neoliberalism at its finest. The same line of thinking that leads people to think that, eg, reducing the number of UK MPs to 100 would be an awesome idea.

Another idea that used to be in the VVD election manifesto, just like the mergers and the decentralization of healthcare services.

[DavidB.]

- The coalition agreement is likely to be presented early next week. The four parties are in the process of finishing it and will then ask their parliamentary groups for approval.

- Rumor has it that Hugo de Jonge (CDA) is not returning at the Ministry of Public Health and that it is still unclear whether he'll return as a minister at all - interesting given that De Jonge himself wanted to continue (but not a lot of people in the country agree...). Instead, Prof. Ernst Kuipers, who has been very visible in the Covid era as the president of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and the chairman of the National Network Urgent Healthcare, is named as a potential option - apparently he is a D66 member. With trust in the government's Covid policy at an all-time low, Kuipers would probably be a less polarizing choice than De Jonge, although "Voldemort" (as FVD like to call Kuipers) isn't too popular with lockdown skeptics either.

- D66 leader Sigrid Kaag would apparently return as Minister of Foreign Affairs. There was much speculation about her getting the Finance Ministry, but I always doubted whether she actually wanted that - international politics seems to be her one and only passion. However, her return at Foreign Affairs would be striking given that she had to resign in September over the mishandling of the situation in Afghanistan. It is unusual for a minister to return within a few months at the same position - especially in a new government that claims to do things differently. In a similar case, former Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis (VVD) was forced to resign from the Rutte-II government just before the presentation of Rutte-III, in which she was supposed to become Minister of Foreign Affairs, and ended up without any ministerial position - note that in her case she wouldn't even return to her previous position and it was still deemed politically unwise to appoint her. But with Rutte returning as Prime Minister after the childcare benefits scandal, we're clearly living in the era of "nothing matters".

- Hans Vijlbrief (D66), the current Deputy Minister of Finance, would apparently receive a promotion and become Minister of Finance. Vijlbrief has had a long career within the Finance Ministry and later within the European Union and would replace Wopke Hoekstra (CDA), who is returning in a different ministerial position (perhaps Social Affairs) but lost the Finance Ministry due to the fact that D66 is now the second-biggest party. Vijlbrief is probably less likely to make statements that anger Southern European countries than Hoekstra, though I doubt Dutch policy will actually change that much.

- The new government is supposed to be about 50% male/50% female.

- Apparently there is still a lot of distrust between the parties that are forming the government. At the same time, public trust in the institutions is declining quickly, mostly due to the fact that wherever you stand politically, the government's Covid policy has been incomprehensible. Not a great outlook for the new government, who cannot afford new elections: according to the latest I&O poll, the parties have already lost 17 seats altogether (VVD -5, D66 -6, CDA -6).

[DavidB.]

The new coalition agreement will probably be presented this week - perhaps as early as tomorrow - but will not include a financial paragraph, which is highly unusual. The budgetary consequences of the new government's plans will only be calculated when it takes office early next year. If its ideas turn out to be too expensive, the four parties would have to get back to the negotiating table immediately upon taking office already. Risky stuff.

[DavidB.]

All four parliamentary groups of VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie have approved the coalition agreement, which will be presented tomorrow and debated in parliament on Thursday. Parliament is then expected to nominate Mark Rutte as the "formateur", meaning that he has to finalize the negotiations by finding ministers and deputy ministers with sufficient parliamentary support. The new government would take office in January.

[DavidB.]

The coalition agreement was presented on Wednesday. Will write an effortpost on its contents tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are).

[Conservatopia]

The coalition agreement was presented on Wednesday. Will write an effortpost on its contents tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are).

It's good to have you posting again.

[DavidB.]

Yesterday, VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie have presented their coalition agreement "Looking after each other, looking ahead to the future". The agreement starts with the wish to change the way politics is done - without a lot of plans to do so. It is said that "dualism" should be strengthened, with more distance between the government and parliament (specifically the four parliamentary groups of the government parties), but nothing in the coalition agreement suggests this will actually happen. The coalition agreement amounts to 50 pages, 20 fewer than last time - but hardly the concise agreement aimed for.

Nothing says "new style of government" and "closer to the people" than unironically including the following prozaic sentence: "With regard to the procedure to be followed within the framework of a new style of governing, the leaders of the four parliamentary groups concluded at the start of the formation that the negotiations would be aimed towards a concise, non-detailed coalition agreement with policy targets within which framework a governing program with instruments to reach these targets could be drawn up by the prospective government." It doesn't sound a lot more coherent or clear in Dutch.

A lot of money is then promised to the victims of the childcare benefits scandal and of the Groningen earthquakes affair, in which people received no compensation after their houses were damaged due to earthquakes that have taken place because of the extraction of natural gas. We believe it when we see it.

The coalition agreement then includes seven chapters. I will discuss the main points. Between [brackets] interpretation/analysis. In bold the main points.

1. Democracy and the rule of law

- More attention for the effects of laws on people's lives, both before and after passing them.
- More leniency when people are confronted with disproportional effects of laws. More space for civil servants and other officials to interpret laws in ways that favor ordinary people.
- More dualism [no concrete proposals here]. Cooperation with “constructive opposition parties” [in the first place: PvdA, GL, SGP, Volt. The former two are still very angry for not being included in the government. After a while, however, the grapes will probably become less sour.]
- More independence for bodies that inspect the functioning of government institutions.
- Looking for ways to introduce constitutional review in a way that suits Dutch political culture. [Currently, courts cannot rule that certain laws are unconstitutional.]
- Abolishing the system of income-based government benefits, in the first place for the childcare system. Instead, parents who use childcare will receive an allowance covering 95% of the costs. [This is a big change that essentially makes childcare mostly free for everyone, including people who earn too much to receive benefits now. People with lower incomes do not risk losing their benefits when they start earning some more money or simply have to work more.]
- Increasing subsidies for media.

2. Sustainable country

Climate and energy

- The Climate Law will become more strict: carbon emissions will be reduced by at least 55% in 2030 compared to 1990. [Current Climate Law: 49%]. The government will target its policy towards a higher goal: 60%.
- After 2030, the targets are 70% in 2035 and 80% in 2040.
- The new government will include a Minister for Climate and Energy.
- The government aims to build two more nuclear power plants. The existing nuclear power plant in Borssele will continue operating longer than currently planned. In addition to nuclear energy, the government will focus on wind turbines at sea, “green gas”, hydrogen energy, and solar panels on roofs.
- The government will set up a “Climate and Transition Fund” for the energy transition with 35 billion euros allocated in total until 2030.
- A new law will be introduced to ensure procedures with regard to the energy transition take less time.
- Specific deals will be made with the 10 to 20 companies responsible for the highest carbon emissions in the Netherlands. [The 30 companies responsible for the highest emissions are responsible for 40% of all carbon emissions in the Netherlands.]
- The flight tax will be increased.

Infrastructure

- By 2030, a pay-per-use system will replace the road tax. Payment will not depend on time and place. [This proposal used to be extremely controversial; VVD and CDA have delayed its introduction for decades, mostly out of fear that progressive parties would make driving even more expensive. Some parties support the introduction of a system that would disincentivize driving during rush hours and in crowded areas. This will probably happen in the future, but is not part of the agreement - VVD and CDA would not have agreed to it. Privacy will be out of the window with a government device tracking your car all the time.] The few existing sites where toll has to be paid - including some roads that have not yet been opened, such as a new highway tunnel in the Rotterdam area and a new highway bridge crossing the Rhine close to Arnhem - will then be phased out.

Agriculture and nature
- A National Program Rural Areas - total budget: 25 billion euros until 2035 - will be introduced to deal with issues regarding nature, agriculture, pollution, and nitrogen emissions. Measures to reduce nitrogen emissions will be based on the specific situation within an area. If reduction targets cannot be reached with the voluntary participation of farmers, we will enter their barnyards in order to look for solutions together.

[This is a very controversial issue and the text can be interpreted in various ways. There have been a lot of protests by farmers following the government’s drastic measures after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict that the government’s licensing of nitrogen emissions rights is not in line with EU law, which the government - in my opinion not completely correctly - interpreted as: nitrogen emissions need to be reduced. D66 caused much bad blood and polarization by claiming they’d reduce cattle by 50%. The main question is whether the government will forcefully buy out farmers who themselves want to continue, which the CDA have sought to avoid. The new Minister of Agriculture will probably decide what “entering barnyards to look for solutions” actually means].

Public housing and urban planning
- There will be a new Ministry of Public Housing and Urban Planning. [The ministry will take the lead in ensuring new houses will be built while maintaining a balance between housing, nature, and industry while taking into account climate and nature issues. It was clear this ministry would be created: this has broad public support. All sorts of government institutions and non-government organizations were unhappy with the lack of central planning with regard to urban planning decisions. Our country is too small to not have this type of planning.]
- 100,000 houses per year will be built - both within and outside existing urban areas. There will be a focus on housing for young people, middle incomes, and elderly people. At least two thirds of these houses will be in the “affordable” segment [until 355.000 euros].
- 7,5 billion euros will be allocated within the next 10 years in order to ensure newly built neighborhoods’ incorporation within existing road and public transportation systems.
- Upon requesting a mortgage, the current level of student debt will be taken into account instead of the amount of student debt you started off with. [This is an improvement but still contrary to the Rutte II government’s promise that student debt wouldn’t be taken into account at all. Under Rutte II, student grants were abolished and replaced by the “social student loan system”, due to which a generation of students is now entering the housing market with sizeable amounts of debt.]

Infrastructure
- No changes in speed limits. [Due to the nitrogens verdict, the speed limit on motorways was lowered to 100 km/h by day while continuing to be 130 km/h in the evening and by night (7 PM until 6 AM). This was a big loss for the VVD, who had been responsible for introducing 130 instead of 120 under Rutte-I. D66 and ChristenUnie wanted to lower the limit by night as well, but this was unacceptable to VVD and CDA.]
- With European funds, the government will try to construct a new railway line to the north of the country, boosting its economic potential.
- More investment in public transportation, “public transit hubs” where people can switch from car to public transit or to new types of shared mobility, international night trains,
- 1.2 billion euros will be allocated to the maintenance of existing infrastructure.


3. Safety, security, and strong society

- Big investment in the police system and the justice system to prevent undermining crime [this is the term for drug-related mafia type of crimes that undermine local governments and corrupt local businesses, who are coerced or forced to facilitate the production or distribution of drugs].
- Higher sentences for grave crimes and for those who facilitate grave crimes.
- Continuing the pilot of the legal production of weed within a select number of cities. One big city will be added to the pilot. The government will evaluate the pilot in 2024. [This is a win for VVD, CDA and ChristenUnie. No weed legalization within this term, which means “conservative” Germany will do it before we do it. Though of course weed is already accessible almost everywhere, but simply “tolerated”.]
- A commission will be introduced to do research on the status MDMA should have and whether it should be legalized for medicinal purposes. [D66 want MDMA legalization. I guess this is the most they could get. Another commission with a report.].
- Prostitutes will need to get registered. [CU and CDA want this.]

[Mostly status quo stuff here, but mostly written in VVD language, some higher sentencing, and a lot of money invested here.]

4. Livelihood security and equality of opportunities

Education

- Special needs secondary education will take place in regular secondary schools.
- The government will pay 95% of childcare facility fees for children until the age of 12, eliminating childcare subsidies for low-income families.
- More space for level-based differentiation in secondary schools. [A number of parties want it to be possible for children to follow courses on multiple levels at the same time. Currently, if you are on the highest level of secondary school, you have to take all courses on that level, etc.]
- Student grants will be reintroduced in 2023/24, replacing the “social student loan system”. [The Rutte-II government abolished student grants in 2014, which made studying much more expensive. CDA and ChristenUnie were always opposed to the loan system. D66 made a U-turn before the 2021 general election. By then, support for the loan system had evaporated - only the VVD continued to back it.]
- Students and ex-students in the “no grants generation” receive limited compensation. [Compensation is estimated at 1000 to 3000 euros per student, which is much less than the student grants.]
- There will be a ban on anti-democratic educational material.
- There will be a ban on educational funding by organizations that are deemed to undermine Dutch liberal democracy.
- There will be more legal options for the government to intervene when schools - formal and informal - or their representatives operate in an antidemocracy way or prevent integration.
- Article 23 of the Constitution, guaranteeing equal funding for religious and non-religious schools, will not be amended. [VVD and D66 wanted to amend Article 23 so that religious schools have less freedom to teach very conservative religious ideas. This is a big red line for CU.]

Labour market

- The minimum wage will be increased by 7,5% to about 11,80 euros per hour within the coming four years. [I doubt this is any increase at all after inflation. It will also mean we have a lower minimum wage than Germany, as they seem to introduce a 12-euro minimum wage].
- 500 million euros will be invested every year in order to reform the labour market and to tackle poverty and debt issues.
- Decreasing the difference between permanent and flexible contracts. Too many people have a flexible or temporary contract. This causes job insecurity. Temporary contracts, flexible contracts and “zero hour contracts” will be regulated more strictly [to improve workers’ position].

Other

- There will be a multiannual plan against racism and discrimination.
- There will be more focus on preventing undesired foreign influence from non-free countries on Dutch society.

5. Prosperous country

- Focus on small and mid-sized businesses, on “green growth”, and on spreading economic growth throughout the entire country.
- Investing 170 billion euros per year in the cultural sector.
- Investing in the digital transition: the Netherlands should become the “digital intersection” of Europe.
- People receive their own “digital identity” with an “online ID”. [I don’t know much about this, but I heard this has the potential to be a massive breach of personal privacy.]
- Big platforms will be held responsible for deleting desinformation and hate speech.

[Short summary, but it doesn’t seem as if a lot of laws will change here - it’s just a lot of money being spent.]

6. Healthcare
- The government will introduce a sugar tax, increase cigarette prices to 10 euros, increase taxes on soft drinks that contain sugar, and abolish VAT on vegetables and fruits.
- Copayments for the healthcare system remain stable at 385 euro per year as a maximum.
- There will be research into the reasons for abortion in order to decrease the number of undesired pregnancies and the number of abortions. Contraceptives will be available for free for vulnerable groups.
- Members of Parliament can decide for themselves on a number of laws that would lower the threshold to abortion and on a law that would allow healthy elderly people to receive euthanasia when they feel their lives are “finished” even if they do not suffer. [Last time around, CU got to block a number of controversial laws from being introduced - this time, D66 demanded the right to introduce these laws and told CU and CDA they can vote against it, counting on a left/liberal majority to pass them.]
- Stem cell research will be made easier by changing one law. Two other proposals are introduced by D66 and VVD, but will not be voted on during this term. [CU probably could not handle too many “progressive” changes on laws like these.]

7. International

- Foreign policy based on five principles:
1. Fostering international cooperation by playing a leading role in the EU and in other international organizations, by improving the trans-Atlantic relationship and new partnerships,
2. More focus on Dutch interests internationally,
3. Decreasing dependence on strategic goods and resources from outside the EU,
4. Continuing to promote respect for human rights internationally,
5. Better and more accessible services for Dutch nationals abroad.
- The Netherlands will take a leading role in making the EU more decisive, economically stronger, greener, and safer. The Netherlands will work together with like-minded countries and if necessary form “leading groups” when other EU countries are not ready for certain proposals, for instance in the area of climate, migration, security, trade, and preventing tax evasion.
- Member states that violate common values or the rule of law will be confronted with the Rule of Law Mechanism.
- The Netherlands will support EU strategic autonomy and wants to abolish the veto on civil missions, human rights violations, and sanctions. The government will explore whether it is desirable to abolish the veto in more areas.
- Exploring the creation of a European Security Council.
- A prudent macroeconomic policy within the eurozone. Modernizing the Stability and Growth Pact is viewed constructively as long as debts are sustainable and enforcement can be effective.
- Increasing the democratic legitimacy of the European Parliament by giving it the mandate to make European Commissioners resign.
- Intensive cooperation with and support of Western Balkans countries to enter the EU. A strict but fair approach towards accession.
- Doing everything to achieve justice for the MH17 victims.
- Increasing Defense spending by 10 billion euros over the next four years and 3 billion structurally per year. Strengthening the military by strongly increasing its funding. [A big step towards the 2% NATO norm].
- Increasing funding for development cooperation by 500 million euros per year.

Migration

- Focusing on partnerships with third countries to send back people who cannot claim asylum and to prevent irregular migration flows. Countries that do not want to cooperate, lose instruments that are important to them, such as funding within the framework of development cooperation or access to travel visa. Countries that do cooperate receive access to instruments such as pathways to legal temporary labour migration.
- Strengthening the outer borders of the EU.
- Possibly introducing an annual cap on the number of migrants entering the country.
- Investing in the Dutch asylum system.
- Increasing the number of refugees allowed in annually under the UN system from 500 to 900.
- Refugees that would be allowed in because of exceptional situations in which European solidarity is needed count here too.
- Increasing the legal options to deport people who have no right to stay in the Netherlands but do not want to leave by introducing the possibility to declare them "persona non grata".


Brief analysis
Contrary to what was mentioned in the media, the coalition agreement does include a financial framework, which means room for opposition parties to amend the budget is limited. This will be challenging when Rutte-IV has to look for majorities in the Senate: the four parties do not have a majority there.

All in all, the coalition agreement is mostly a status-quo agreement - there were extensive sections I did not cover in my above summary because there was nothing new in it.

D66 is the clear winner of the negotiations, especially with regard to international affairs, climate policy, and agriculture. But this was expected: VVD and CDA had to compromise on policy after refusing to negotiate with PvdA and GL.

CU leader Gert Jan Segers accidentally forgot some papers with negotiation proposals on the train. This has mainly benefited the VVD: nothing will happen to their voters' mortgage tax breaks anymore and the migration section has their footprint all over it - through the backdoor, illegality will become criminal. Other areas in which the VVD clearly won are justice, security, defense, and energy (embracing nuclear energy is a huge breakthrough). Still, the sections on the EU, the introduction of the pay-per-use system for cars, and climate policy will be tough for many VVD voters.

CU have lost some points (euthanasia, most notably), but also obtained a number of very clear policy wins with regard to poverty alleviation, debt reduction, the prevention of abortion, and drug policy.

Meanwhile, this is an agreement that is very close to the CDA program on almost all issues - but at the same time there is nothing that can be seen as a clear CDA win in it. Will be tough for them to maintain a profile (but what profile...?) with a more right-wing, a more Christian/left-wing and a more progressive party within the coalition.

[NewYorkExpress]

Thierry Baudet is in hot water over social media posts comparing people who are unvaccinated against COVID to Holocaust victims.

A right-wing Dutch MP has been ordered to delete social media posts comparing Covid restrictions to the Holocaust.

Thierry Baudet, leader of the Forum for Democracy party, had said on Twitter that unvaccinated people were "the new Jews" and "those who look away from the exclusions" were "the new Nazis".

His posts prompted legal action from Holocaust survivors and Jewish groups.

A court has told him to delete the posts within 48 hours or risk a daily fine of €25,000 (£21,100).

A judge ruled against him for "pointlessly offending Holocaust victims and their relatives".

He has also been banned from posting any images of the Holocaust during debates over Dutch Covid rules.


In a series of social media posts in November, Baudet drew comparisons between the unvaccinated and the victims of Nazi persecution because of Dutch Covid-19 rules that block access to some public places to those who have not been jabbed.


Baudet also posted a picture of a Nazi concentration camp, with the caption: "How is it POSSIBLE to not see how history is repeating itself?"

[DavidB.]

Netherlands going in total lockdown again tonight - at least until January 14th. Incredible stuff.

[DC Al Fine]

Netherlands going in total lockdown again tonight - at least until January 14th. Incredible stuff.

How's the public taking this round of lockdown?

[DavidB.]

Netherlands going in total lockdown again tonight - at least until January 14th. Incredible stuff.

How's the public taking this round of lockdown?

It's a complex question. One thing is clear: approval of the government's approach is at an all-time low. According to a recent study by the RIVM conducted earlier this month, the Dutch equivalent of the CDC, only 15% of the public trusted the government in tackling Covid-19, 46% did not trust the government, and 39% were neutral. But opposition to the government's approach comes both from people who are sick of the lockdowns and from people who think the government has rather been way too lax and should intervene earlier and stronger.

Support for individual restrictions such as mask mandates, mandatory social distancing, and Covid passports remains rather high. Though the RIVM themselves say their figures are not representative for the Dutch population because it is disproportionately higher educated people, women, and older people responding to them (i.e. the people most likely to support Covid restrictions), and much less often younger people and people with a migration background (i.e. the people least likely to support Covid restrictions). There may also be a strong social desirability bias towards answering in favor of Covid restrictions, as speaking out against lockdowns still comes with a stigma within many social circles.

Patience is running out among small business owners, cultural institutions, people who engage in amateur sports... The gap between those who support restrictive measures and those who don't keeps increasing, the sense that people are being forced to get vaccinated is increasing, and many young people in big cities feel very much ignored and get bored. If this goes on for too long or even more restrictive measures are introduced (the much hated nighttime curfew, for instance), I could foresee new riots like the ones we've seen in early 2021 and last month in Rotterdam, and, perhaps more severe in the long run: a serious rupture in the way millions of people view the government. Trust in institutions was always high, but researchers have pointed out that the Netherlands is at risk of becoming a low trust society in which citizens do not trust government institutions anymore. Perhaps the single defining characteristic of the government's Covid approach has been that it is responding so haphazardly, with rules changing all the time seemingly for no reason - in many people's perception more so than in our neighboring countries. This is killing for public trust in government action.

All in all, the effects of lockdowns are decreasing, mostly because an increasing number of people have decided to simply go on with their lives. This is particularly the case for younger people. At the same time, it is still very noticeable that it has become less crowded on the streets since the new lockdown has come into effect, and most people seem to make an effort to follow the rules quite diligently.

[DavidB.]

All names of the ministers and deputy ministers in the new government are now confirmed:

Prime Minister - Mark Rutte (VVD). Set to become the longest serving Prime Minister during his new term. Utterly remarkable how he managed to survive politically after April.
Finance Minister - Sigrid Kaag (D66). Will also be Deputy Prime Minister. Was a senior career diplomat at the UN, Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation and later Minister of Foreign Affairs in the previous government. Had to resign over the mishandling of the Afghanistan evacuations. Was rumored not to be interested in the Finance Ministry, but Finance Ministers tend to be very popular and this matters in the next election. Kaag will be the Netherlands' first female Finance Minister.
Foreign Affairs Minister - Wopke Hoekstra (CDA). Will also be Deputy Prime Minister. Former McKinsey partner, Senator and Finance Minister. Party leaders serving at Foreign Affairs has been a historically unfortunate combination. But apparently he wanted to do it anyway. Foreign Affairs is a position in which he can come across as "statesmanlike", which matters for the next election.
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation - Liesje Schreinemacher (VVD). Member of the European Parliament, former barrister, former political assistant to then Defense minister Jeanine Hennis. Rather young and unexperienced - one of the surprises of the new government.
Minister for Poverty Reduction, Participation, and Pensions - Carola Schouten (ChristenUnie). Will also be Deputy Prime Minister. The former Minister for Agriculture will now be serving at this new government position, which suits the ChristenUnie well and reflects a broader sense in The Hague that more should be done to combat growing poverty and debt problems.
Minister of Justice and Security - Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (VVD). Former MP and (briefly) Deputy Minister of Climate and Energy. One of the rising stars of the VVD. Daughter of Turkish/Kurdish refugees who were human rights advocates. First minister at this very difficult department without a law degree.
Minister for Legal Protection - Franc Weerwind (D66). Mayor of Almere, former mayor of Velsen. Was the first black mayor of a big city. Will be the second black minister after Abraham George Ellis in 1903 (!). But no legal background.
Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Sports - Prof Dr Ernst Kuipers (D66). Medical expert in the field of gastroenterology. Chairman on the board of the Erasmus Medical Center. Chairman of the National Network Urgent Healthcare - and therefore already known to the public due to his role during the Covid pandemic.
Minister for Long-Term Care and Sports - Conny Helder (VVD). Has been on the board of big healthcare organizations.
Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate - Micky Adriaansens (VVD). Senator and top consultant for TwynstraGudde.
Minister for Climate and Energy - Rob Jetten (D66). Former D66 parliamentary group leader and interim party leader who stepped aside for Kaag to take over. Architect of D66' recent electoral success by shifting the party's focus further to the issue of climate change. Will now be at this new ministry and fight with Adriaansens over the primacy at this "super-ministry". Will also be responsible for building new nuclear power plants, which he used to oppose.
Minister of Education, Culture and Science - Prof Dr Robbert Dijkgraaf (D66). Theoretical physicist and string theorist. Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, U.S. Former president of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science. Will start off with a lot of credit in academia as "one of their own", but education ministers tend to become unpopular with the "grassroots" rather quickly. Dijkgraaf's advantage: a bazooka with 5 billion euros to invest structually. He will also be responsible for re-introducing student grants.
Minister for Primary and Secondary Education - Dennis Wiersma (VVD). Another young VVD rising star. Former MP and now acting Deputy Minister of Social Affairs.
Minister of Defense - Kajsa Ollongren (D66). Former career bureaucrat. No background in Defense whatsoever. Mostly known for a very bad stint as Minister of Interior Affairs where she abolished the referendum and became one of the most unpopular ministers. Another low point of hers was flashing her notes during the formation, leaking sensitive information leading to the big formation stalemate. Her return in the government is somewhat of a surprise.
Minister of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations - Hanke Bruins Slot (CDA). Former MP (2010-2019), officer in the armed forces, and hockey player. Becomes minister at a position that has been stripped of almost all its duties over the last years. Biggest question: what will she be doing with her time?
Minister for Public Housing and Urban Planning - Hugo de Jonge (CDA). The former CDA leader and current acting Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister gets another chance in the government, this time at a position that is perhaps less polarizing. Will now be responsible for building 100,000 houses annually. Let's see how he handles this...
Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management - Mark Harbers (VVD). MP and former Deputy Minister of Immigration & Asylum who had to resign in that capacity. Rutte loyalist at a perennial VVD position. Will hopefully sabotage the rollout of the pay-per-use car tax system, but I won't hold my breath.
Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality - Henk Staghouwer (ChristenUnie). Had never heard of the guy. Is apparently on the Groningen provincial government. Is bound to become really unpopular within the agricultural sector really soon. Frankly don't understand why the ChristenUnie accepted this ministry again.
Minister for Nature and Nitrogens - Christianne van der Wal (VVD). VVD party chairwoman and member of the provincial government in Gelderland. Rutte loyalist. Will be responsible for rolling out the government's nitrogen reduction agenda.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Participation - Karien van Gennip (CDA). Former McKinsey consultant, MP and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs. Afterwards held positions at ING Bank and in the healthcare business.

Half of the 20 ministers are women (interestingly, only the D66 delegation will not be 50% female; of the VVD ministers, 5 out of 8 are women). The team has been thoroughly reshuffled, with very few faces from Rutte-III - but while there are many new faces, most of them are known as long-term party loyalists.



Deputy ministers:
Eric van den Burg (VVD) - Asylum and Migration (at the ministry of Justice and Security)
Alexandra van Huffelen (D66) - Kingdom Relations and Digitalization (at the ministry of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations)
Gunay Uslu (D66) - Culture and Media (at the ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences)
Marnix van Rij (CDA) - Taxes (at Finance)
Aukje de Vries (VVD) - Tax Credits and Customs (at Finance)
Christophe van der Maat (VVD) - Defense
Vivianne Heijnen  (CDA) - Infrastructure and Water Management
Hans Vijlbrief (D66) - Mines (at Economic Affairs and Climate)
Maarten van Ooijen (ChristenUnie) - Youth and Prevention (at Public Health)

[PSOL]

Outside of the ROOD network, another split of SP primarily based among the collectives of Amsterdam are Socialists 010. If I am not mistaken, this is the group of the former Youth League leader.

[DavidB.]

Outside of the ROOD network, another split of SP primarily based among the collectives of Amsterdam are Socialists 010. If I am not mistaken, this is the group of the former Youth League leader.

You should tell them that. They'll love it

Socialists 010 are not in Amsterdam ("020") but in Rotterdam ("010"). They were the most active members in the SP Rotterdam who were then kicked out during the last purge of everyone who's had anything to do with youth organization ROOD. Leader Arno van der Veen was indeed the former national ROOD leader and he was supposed to lead the SP Rotterdam in the March 2022 local election until his membership was cancelled.

It remains to be seen whether the SP will run with a new list in Rotterdam to compete with Socialists 010 - if that's the case the latter's electoral prospects are weak, as ordinary people don't care about this sort of factional infighting and Socialists 010 have zero name recognition.

It is worth noting that the SP Rotterdam already used to be on the more "internationalist" and "intersectional" side within the mother party, as opposed to the national leadership. In 2018, they concluded an alliance with GroenLinks, PvdA and - controversially - Muslim party NIDA, which was then broken due to pressure from the national SP because of NIDA statements comparing Israel to ISIS.

[PSOL]

Allegedly this party is “anti-Idpol” so the leadership there may be of two different camps.

[DavidB.]

Allegedly this party is “anti-Idpol” so the leadership there may be of two different camps.

Wouldn't necessarily say they are "pro-Idpol" (they are thoroughly Marxist) but they do emphasize combatting racism as part of their struggle a lot more than the SP. To me there is no indication of ideological disagreement within the leadership of Socialists 010, though the probability of ideological disagreement is always quite high within movements like that...

But honestly I think this has been quite enough about this little splinter. Not going to write up endless effortposts about the new government and its plans for you to clot up this thread with low-effort disinformation about niche local Marxist parties (you didn't even get the city right). Will put you on iggy if you continue.

[PSOL]

Nah I’m done, just wanted to put that blurb out. I’ll add some more when it comes and you are free to comment on it or not.

[windjammer]

I'm glad to see that the Netherlands is going to side with France on nuclear energy.

[Zinneke]

Nah I’m done, just wanted to put that blurb out. I’ll add some more when it comes and you are free to comment on it or not.

If ever you need help distinguishing between Amsterdammers and Rotterdammers, just remember the latter are considered far less condescending!

[DavidB.]

The new government may have a problem as Mona Keijzer (CDA), who was fired from the previous government as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs in the fall when she publicly spoke out against the government's lockdowns and proposals for vaccination mandates, is considering taking up her seat in parliament, a scenario the CDA had tried to avoid. The seat would be hers when Wopke Hoekstra resigns from parliament to become minister next week. If the CDA declare her persona non grata, Keijzer, who crossed the "preference threshold" by receiving more than 18,000 personal votes in March, could still take up the seat and the government would already be down to 76 seats, a majority of 1.

[freek]

The new government is sworn in today. Sigrid Kaag was not present, she tested positive for Covid yesterday.

 

[freek]

The new government may have a problem as Mona Keijzer (CDA), who was fired from the previous government as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs in the fall when she publicly spoke out against the government's lockdowns and proposals for vaccination mandates, is considering taking up her seat in parliament, a scenario the CDA had tried to avoid. The seat would be hers when Wopke Hoekstra resigns from parliament to become minister next week. If the CDA declare her persona non grata, Keijzer, who crossed the "preference threshold" by receiving more than 18,000 personal votes in March, could still take up the seat and the government would already be down to 76 seats, a majority of 1.

Mona Keijzer announced today she is declining the seat.

[DavidB.]

Perfect moment for a new thread, just like last time.