Justice minister takes leadership of largest Dutch party

[pieter]

Folks,

The Netherlands will enter a new era after Dutch prime minister announced to step down as prime minister and party leader of the largest Dutch political party, the Conservative VVD party, a center right, conservative political party with large liberal and conservative wings. It is the most influential and largest party. The VVD was and is often supported by the Dutch Financial and economical elite, the Dutch bourgeoisie, entepreneurs, the Dutch upper middle class, Dutch aristocrats and many people who do not vote leftwing. The VVD party is a supporter of the Free Market economy, Laissez Faire, and is traditionally more pragmatic and business oriented than the more ideological Social Democrats (PvdA), Christian Democrats (CDA), Progressive Social Liberals (D66), The Greens (GreenLeft), Socialists (SP), and the Nationalist Rightwing Populists (Geert Wilders Freedom Party PVV, the JA21 party of Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga, and Forum for Democracy of Thierry Baudet).


The demissionary Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, leader of the largest Dutch party in the present parliament, the VVD.

It was extremely hard for the VVD to find someone who wants to replace Mark Rutte, because the stakes are high, to step into the position of Mark Rutte, you have to have caliber, you have to take a lot of responsibilities, and you will face huge amounts of pressure. If the VVD stays the largest political party, the next party leader will probably be the next Prime Minister also. Being the Dutch prime minister means that you are the most powerful and influential person in the Netherlands. More powerful than our ceremonial King and Queen. You are not only in charge of domestic affairs and security, but also an international leader who has to deal with international crises and with strong and powerful foreigh leaders and diplomats from the USA, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Ukraine, Israel, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil (amongst others).

Mark Rutte leaves the stage as one of the most disliked and hated Dutch prime ministers ever. Many Dutch people cheered his leaving, but didn't realise that Rutte needs to be replaced, and that a successor better need to be as respected and strong as Rutte and his predecessors Jan Peter Balkenende, Wim Kok and Ruud Lubbers. This is not a fun show or soccer game, this is serious business and the future of the Netherlands and our allies are linked or tied to a strong Dutch leadership. We are aligned with NATO, the EU, The Council of Europe, the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg) cooperation, IMF, World Bank, United Nations and etc.

Not only the largest political party of the Netherlands has leadership problems, also the Christian Democrats (CDA) have leadership problems, since CDA party leader and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wopke Hoekstra (born 30 September 1975), announced he will not be the CDA leader for the coming elections of November 2023. Mona Keijzer who is very popular amongst Christian Democratic voters and CDA party members does not want to succeed Wopke Hoekstra as leader of the CDA. The former politician informed the largest Dutch newspaper, the rightwing conservative De Telegraaf of this. “I do not see it happening that things suddenly change within the CDA.”


Maria Cornelia Gezina "Mona" Keijzer (born 9 October 1968) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant. She served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy alongside Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius from 26 October 2017 until 25 September 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), she served in the House of Representatives between 2012 and 2017, and again for six months from 31 March 2021 until 27 September 2021. She focused on matters of nursing, home care and culture. Before becoming a full-time politician she worked as an environmental jurist for the municipalities of Waterland and Almere, as well as for the province of Gelderland. Mona Keijzer is the favorite candidate for the CDA party leadership, but she declined the offer, stating; “I do not see it happening that things suddenly change within the CDA.”

In the largest Dutch political party, the VVD, 2 people have come up who want to be the leader of the party and probably the new future VVD prime minister if the VVD stays the largest party. These 2 people are Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, Minister of Justice and Security in the Fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022, and on Monday former VVD MP (Member of Parliament) André Bosman came forward stating he would contest the leadership.


Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, Minister of Justice and Security in the Fourth Rutte. She has announced that she wants to be Mark Rutte's successor as VVD party leader.

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius was born in Ankara, Turkey, and emigrated to the Netherlands as a child.[4] Her family is from a Turkish-Kurdish background and originally from Tunceli.

After attending her secondary education at the Vallei College in Amersfoort between 1991 and 1997, Yeşilgöz then studied social and cultural sciences at the VU University Amsterdam where she obtained a Master's degree in Culture, Organization and Management in 2003.

Political career

From 2014 to 2017, Yeşilgöz-Zegerius held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam. She was placed fourth on the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) list in the 2014 municipal election.

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election. She initially served as her party's spokesperson for justice and security, but her portfolio later included climate policy and energy policy. On 25 May 2021, she was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the demissionary third Rutte cabinet, serving alongside Mona Keijzer. On 10 January 2022, she was appointed Minister of Justice and Security in the fourth Rutte cabinet. After Rutte's resignation on the 10 July 2023, Yeşilgöz-Zegerius has been mentioned as one of his possible successors. On 12 July she officially announced her candidacy and according Telegraaf the party board will announce her as the preferred candidate.


Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius one day ago when she was asked if she wants to follow up Mark Rutte. She said; "That is a honourful position"



Prime Minister Mark Rutte with Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius


André Bosman, VVD Member of Parliament, the the House of Representatives. He has announced that she wants to be Mark Rutte's successor as VVD party leader.

In the Netherlands we have experience with complicated coalition governments, administrations, which in the American context would be coalition administrations of Democrats, Republicans and Independent ministers and presidents. In the British context Tory (Conservative), Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition governments. Conclusion Dutch coalitions and circumstances would be impossible in the UK and the USA. Maybe Denmark and Germany had similar coalition governments, for instance the Große Koalition (Grand Coalition) governments of the two largest parties, usually the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) with the Social Democrats (SPD).

Germany

While Germany has historically tended to favour narrow coalitions of one of the two largest parties with the FDP or with the Greens, four grand coalitions have been formed on a federal level: the Kiesinger cabinet (1966–1969), the First Merkel cabinet (2005–2009), the Third Merkel cabinet (2013-2018), and the Fourth Merkel cabinet (2018–2021). Under the Weimar Republic, the Great Coalition included all of the major parties of the left, centre, and centre-right who formed the basis of most governments - the SPD, the Catholic Centre Party, the German Democratic Party (DDP), and the German People's Party (DVP). The two examples were the first and second Stresemann cabinets (August–November 1923) and, less ephemerally, the second Müller cabinet (1928-1930).

Netherlands

Behind the present day political situation in the Netherlands, the political crisis, the fall of the Forth Rutte Cabinet (2021-2023) and the announcement of the Dutch Prime Minister there is political history, financial and economical history, national, regional, local and European and international developments. In the history of complicated coalition administrations in the Netherlands there were earlier crisises, conflicts within coalitions between prime ministers and their ministers of financial or economical affiars or between the leaders of various coalition government parties.

For instance during the election of 1972 Labour (PvdA) leader Joop Den Uyl after a long cabinet formation formed the Den Uyl Cabinet and became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, taking office on 11 May 1973. The cabinet was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA), the conservative christian-democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP) and Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), the progressive Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1972. The cabinet was a Centre-left grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Joop den Uyl serving as Prime Minister. It was called the most leftwing administration in the history of the Netherlands parliamentary history. The the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) was a center left to leftwing political party, the progressive Political Party of Radicals (PPR) was a leftwing, Christian-radical, progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands and the Democrats 66 (D'66 back then and D66 today) was a center left political party. Next to that had the conservative calvinst Reformned Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) also a leftwing wing of progressive ARP people whom were close to the PPR and the Labour Party (PvdA). And within the conservative Catholic People's Party (KVP) you also had progressives, often young party activists or members. The Catholic People's Party (KVP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and the Christian Historian Union (CHU) merged on 11 october 1980, becoming the large Christian Democratic Appeal (Dutch: Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA), the largest christian party in the Netherlands. The CDA was in coalition governments during the eighties, early nineties (until 1994) and the Balkenende cabinets from 2002 until 2010.

The PPR was part of what we called 'litte left' or 'small left', 'Klein links' in the Netherlands. Part of Klein Links ('Little Left') in Parliament were the radical left Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN), the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), the Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the leftwing, Christian socialist, Evangelic Peoples Party (EVP). In 1989 CPN, PSP, PPR and the EVP merged into GroenLinks (GreenLeft).

The Den Uyl Cabinet collapsed on 22 March 1977 following years of tensions in the ruling coalition. During the election of 1977 Den Uyl served as Lijsttrekker (= Party leader) but following a difficult cabinet formation failed to create a new coalition. Den Uyl left office following the installation of the First Van Agt Cabinet on 19 December 1977 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as Parliamentary leader.


Vice President of the United States George H. W. Bush and Labour Leader Joop den Uyl in The Hague on 26 June 1985

The Second Van Agt cabinet 1981-1982


Cabinet-Van Agt II

Another coalition government that fell was the Second Van Agt cabinet (11 September 1981 - 29 May 1982). The Second Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 11 September 1981 until 29 May 1982. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1981. The cabinet was a Centre-left grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Christian-Democratic Leader Dries van Agt serving as Prime Minister. Former Labour Prime Minister Joop den Uyl the Labour Leader served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and was given the portfolio of Netherlands Antilles Affars, Progressive-Liberal Leader Jan Terlouw served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs.


Progressive-Liberal D'66 party Leader Jan Terlouw served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, behind him stands Labour Leader Joop Den Uyl, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Second Van Agt cabinet

The cabinet served in the early years of the turbulent 1980s. Domestically it had to deal with the 1980s recession and a growing inflation but it was able to implement a major social reform to social security. The cabinet suffered several major internal conflicts between the cabinet members of the center right Christian Democratic Appeal and the center left Labour Party (PvdA), especially the poor working relationship between Prime Minister Van Agt and Deputy Prime Minister Den Uyl (a former Prime Minister himself) which lead to the fall of the cabinet just 243 days into its term on 12 May 1982 with the Labour Party cabinet members resigning on 29 May 1982 and the cabinet was replaced with the caretaker Third Van Agt cabinet.


The poor working relationship between Prime Minister Dries van Agt and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Joop Den Uyl lead to the fall of the Cabinet-Van Agt II

Third Van Agt Cabinet - Caretaker Cabinet


The Third Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 29 May 1982 until 4 November 1982

The Third Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 29 May 1982 until 4 November 1982. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the fall of the previous Cabinet Van Agt II. The caretaker rump cabinet was a centrist coalition and had a minority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Dries van Agt continuing as Prime Minister and dual served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Progressive-Liberal Leader Jan Terlouw continued as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs from previous cabinet.

The cabinet served in the early years of the economic expansion of the 1980s. Domestically its primary objective was to make preparations for a snap election in 1982, and it had to deal with a growing inflation following the recession in the 1980s and the Cent was removed as an active currency. Following the election the cabinet continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the First Lubbers cabinet.

Second Kok cabinet - 1998-2002



And yet another coalition cabinet that fell was the second Kok cabinet. The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 after the election of 1998. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Wim Kok serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Liberal politician Annemarie Jorritsma the Minister of Transport and Water Management in the previous cabinet served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, former Progressive-Liberal Leader Els Borst continued as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport and served as Deputy Prime Minister.

The cabinet served during the economic expansion of the late 1990s and early unstable 2000s.

The cabinet served during the economic expansion of the late 1990s and early unstable 2000s. Domestically, it was able to implement several major social reforms such as legalizing same-sex marriage, and had to deal with the assassination of Pim Fortuyn. Internationally, it had to deal with several crises such as the fallout of the Srebrenica massacre and the response to September 11 attacks. The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts including multiple cabinet resignations; the cabinet itself resigned prematurely on two occasions: first following a major political crisis in May 1999, and second, following the conclusions of a report into the Srebrenica massacre on 16 April 2002 and continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced following the election of 2002.


Minister Frank de Grave and United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen at The Pentagon on 25 September 2000.

The aim of the cabinet was to continue the policy of cabinet Kok I, which was concerned with economizing, tax reduction and making an end to unemployment. Wim Kok was the Prime Minister, Annemarie Jorritsma as the Deputy Prime Minister for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, and Els Borst for Democrats 66. The cabinet was considered boring, because both left-wing and right-wing political parties were a part of it. There was no strong opposition in the parliament. The cabinet completed processes of liberalisation which were started by the previous cabinet: the legalisation of prostitution in 2000, same-sex marriage in 2001 and Euthanasia in 2002. This cabinet was notable for resigning twice. The first time was in May 1999, when Democrats 66 stepped out of the coalition when proposed legislation entered by this party was blocked; through negotiations the crisis was solved and the cabinet stayed together. The second and final time was on 16 April 2002, just one month before the next election, when Prime Minister Kok wished to resign over the NIOD report into the genocide of Srebrenica in 1995 and the other ministers had no choice but to follow him. The Second Kok cabinet remained in place as a Demissionary cabinet until 22 July 2002, when it was replaced by the First Balkenende cabinet.


A report about the Genocide of Srebrenica lead to the fall of the Second Kok cabinet

In the Netherlands, there have been several cabinets which can be described as grand coalitions (Dutch; grote coalitie German; Große Koalition). The Roman/Red coalitions of the 1940s and 1950s under Prime Minister Willem Drees were composed of the Christian democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) at its core and several smaller parties as backup (Drees–Van Schaik). The Purple coalitions in the 1990s under Prime Minister Wim Kok were between the Labour Party (PvdA), the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party (First Kok cabinet). The Second Rutte cabinet a grand coalition cabinet which also can be described as a purple coalition was composed of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA). A more traditional grand coalition cabinet was the Third Lubbers cabinet, comprising the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Labour Party (PvdA).


Willem Drees Sr. (5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and historian who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 7 August 1948 to 22 December 1958.

Netherlands history and status

The History of the Low Countries, history of the Low Countries from prehistoric times to 1579. For historical purposes, the name Low Countries is generally understood to include the territory of what are today the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as well as parts of northern France. However, Belgium, although it was not constituted as an independent kingdom until 1831, became a distinct entity after 1585, when the southern provinces were definitively reconquered by Spain and separated from the northern sector. For a brief period, from 1814 to 1830, an attempt was made to unite the Low Countries into one kingdom again, but both regions by that time had developed cultures too different to form a single entity under a central government. Here, therefore, the history of the Low Countries will be surveyed as a whole to the late 16th century. The later individual histories of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg are treated in the separate articles on those countries.

In most stages of the prehistory of the Low Countries, the regions north of the lower courses of the Rhine and Meuse (Maas) rivers were part of a north European culture area, while those to the south had close relations to central and western Europe.

Spanish Habsburg Netherlands

The rule of the Spanish Habsburgs over the Netherlands in the period 1482 – 1585/(Southern Netherlands/Belgium) 1795 had a significant influence. Not only have some darker Dutch people Spanish roots, also on architecture, culture, some customs and heritages there is the Spanish influence, even in Calvinist (anti-Spanish Roman Catholic) circles. The dark Zeelandic farmers, sometimes black hair and black eyes, must have Spanish ancestors going back centuries. Next to the blue and blond eyed Dutch Holland and other Dutch import to the Zeelandic islands (the Non-Zeelandic Dutch that entered Zeeland, like my family).

Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austria, died. Their grandson, Emperor Charles V, was born in the Habsburg Netherlands and made Brussels one of his capitals.

Becoming known as the Seventeen Provinces in 1549, they were held by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556, known as the Spanish Netherlands from that time on. In 1581, in the midst of the Dutch Revolt, the Seven United Provinces seceded from the rest of this territory to form the Dutch Republic. The remaining Spanish Southern Netherlands became the Austrian Netherlands in 1714, after Austrian acquisition under the Treaty of Rastatt. De facto Habsburg rule ended with the annexation by the revolutionary French First Republic in 1795. Austria, however, did not relinquish its claim over the province until 1797 in the Treaty of Campo Formio.

The Eighty Years' War (1 August 1566 – 30 January 1648



The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (Dutch: Nederlandse Opstand) (c. 1566/1568–1648)[note 3] was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands[note 4] between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, taxation, and the rights and privileges of the nobility and cities.

After the initial stages, Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Netherlands, deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebel-held territories. However, widespread mutinies in the Spanish army caused a general uprising. Under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the Catholic and Protestant-dominated provinces sought to establish religious peace while jointly opposing the king's regime with the Pacification of Ghent, but the general rebellion failed to sustain itself.

Despite Governor of Spanish Netherlands and General for Spain, the Duke of Parma's steady military and diplomatic successes, the Union of Utrecht continued their resistance, proclaiming their independence through the 1581 Act of Abjuration, and establishing the Protestant-dominated Dutch Republic in 1588. In the Ten Years thereafter, the Republic (whose heartland was no longer threatened) made conquests in the north and east and received diplomatic recognition from France and England in 1596. The Dutch colonial empire emerged, which began with Dutch attacks on Portugal's overseas territories.

Facing a stalemate, the two sides agreed to a Twelve Years' Truce in 1609; when it expired in 1621, fighting resumed as part of the broader Thirty Years' War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster (a treaty part of the Peace of Westphalia), when Spain retained Southern Netherlands and recognised the Dutch Republic as an independent country.

The Eighty Years War shaped the Dutch mindset, Fighting for Liberty, keeping Spanish, French, Prussian invaders out, but in the same time trading with everyone, becoming gifted diplomats, traders and building a huge International Colonial Empire with good and bad sides. The East Indies Company (VOC) and the West Indies Company (WEC) brought great wealth to the Netherlands, but a wealth that came at the cost of West-African slaves (Ghana), exploitation of Indonesians, and slave work in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. Many Dutch slaves were sold to Southern American countries and others. Many Black Brazilians, Cubans and others have Dutch slave heritage. And etc.

Holland became the site of marked economic change during the second half of the 14th century. The drainage of the peat bogs had produced land which was not well suited to the cultivation of bread grains, and cattle raising had become the major means of subsistence. That occupation’s reduced labour requirements drove a portion of the rural population into the cities, where some found jobs in crafts and seafaring. Dairy products continued to be exported to the larger cities in Flanders and Brabant, but grain now had to be imported, largely from Artois and, increasingly from the 15th century, the Baltic region. The Dutch also learned the technique of preserving herring common to that region; the shift of the herring shoals to the North Sea had helped the Dutch take the lead in this trade. In addition, they developed a shipbuilding industry for which they again needed imports, this time of wood, iron, tar, and pitch from the Flemish Hanse area. They succeeded in building a competitive fleet that could offer transportation at a lower cost than that of the Hanse. The Dutch then were able to penetrate the Baltic Sea region, not only to buy sorely needed raw materials but increasingly also to sell and transport. None of the Dutch products were exclusive to them, the goods being often of even lesser quality than those offered by their competitors; their price, however, was always more advantageous, thanks to their excellent cargo facilities. Apart from the herring industry, the Dutch competed in cloth and, even more effectively, in beer: their quality of barley, clear water, and hops enabled them to brew a product of distinctive character for which demand grew. The cities of Delft, Gouda, and Haarlem became major beer-exporting centres, shipping to the southern Netherlands and to the Baltic regions as well. The Dutch also exported some bulk salt. When the production of salt derived from peat proved to be of insufficient quantity and quality for salting fish, the Dutch imported raw maritime salt from the French Atlantic coasts and refined it in their peat-fueled ovens. This was suitable for the fish industry and could also be exported to the Baltic area, the traditional production from Lüneburg, Ger., having slowed down.

Generally speaking, a commercial capitalism was developing that stimulated the entire economy of the Netherlands. Competition in the cloth industry was growing especially strong between urban and expanding rural manufacturers. The towns battled these rural clothmakers in vain, though in 1531 Holland issued an edict to restrict them throughout the county, but with little success. Moreover, Holland itself had begun to play an increasingly important economic role; new industries were developing, but fishing, shipping, and trade remained its main means of support apart from arable farming and cattle breeding. Dordrecht, one of the major commercial centres of the Low Countries, was rivaled by Rotterdam and Gorinchem and, by the 16th century, was outstripped by Amsterdam, which cornered an increasing proportion of Baltic trade, as evidenced from the lists of the toll in the Sound (between Sweden and Denmark).

The regions along the Meuse and IJssel also maintained their commercial activity. In the bishopric of Liège there was even a metal industry with blast furnaces, paid for by capital raised by traders. Coal mining in the area between the Meuse and the Sambre was also organized according to modern capitalist methods.

The cultivation of commercially exploitable crops also developed in country areas—hemp for rope making, hops and barley for brewing, flax for the manufacture of linen. Yet all this was at the expense of wheat farming. Grain had to be imported in increasingly large quantities, and, whenever grain imports fell off, the people, particularly the lower classes, went hungry. The economic apparatus had become more versatile and brought greater prosperity, but at the same time, precisely because of this specialization, it had become more vulnerable. The distribution of prosperity was variable; the great mass of the people in the towns suffered the consequences and bore the main burden of the rise in prices occasioned by inflation.

The Low Countries played an important part in the artistic, scientific, and religious life of Europe. In the late Middle Ages, when prosperity was increasing and the princely houses, particularly that of the Burgundians, as well as the middle classes in the towns, were encouraging progress, the Low Countries began to make independent contributions to cultural life.

Development of Dutch humanism

Within the modern devotion, where great importance was attached to good teaching, Dutch humanism was able to develop freely. Of importance was the foundation in 1425 of the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain); it received in 1517 the Collegium Trilingue where Latin, Greek, and Hebrew were taught. The greatest Dutch humanist was Erasmus (1469–1536), whose fame spread throughout the world and who had been taught in the schools of the Brethren of the Common Life. He drew his inspiration, as did many other humanists, from antiquity and was famed for his pure Latin. He was in touch with the greatest minds of his time, visited England (Cambridge) and Italy, and worked for some years in Basel and in Freiburg. Erasmus’ greatest achievement was to turn the science of theology, which had degenerated into meaningless Neoscholastic disputes, back to the study of sources by philological criticism and by publishing a new edition of the Greek New Testament. Although he vociferously criticized the church and even the princes, he avoided out of conviction a break with the church and pleaded for religious tolerance.

The humanists were principally intellectuals, however, expressing themselves in literary and scientific treatises and having little impact on the broad masses of the people. Many of them, like Erasmus, desired no break with the church and did not accept that break when it became a fact by the appearance of Martin Luther. Instead, they wanted reformation within the church. It was otherwise for the reforming movements that brought turmoil to the Low Countries in the first half of the 16th century. Even Lutheranism had few followers, despite its early appearance (Luther’s dogmas were condemned by the Catholic University of Leuven as early as 1520). There was a Lutheran community in Antwerp; but otherwise, support was limited to individual priests and intellectuals. Another Protestant group, the Sacramentarians, differed with Luther over the question of the Eucharist; they denied the consubstantiation of Christ in the Eucharist, although their stance enjoyed little support from the people.

An uproar was caused by the Anabaptists (so called because they rejected the baptism of infants and therefore had themselves rebaptized as adults), who refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the prince or to serve in the armed forces or in government per se and who believed in a lumen internum (“inner light”). This baptist movement won great popularity in the Low Countries after 1530; from the very beginning there were two branches—the social revolutionaries and the “quiet baptists.” The first of these was characterized by a lively enthusiasm and a willingness, once the external trappings of the church had been rejected, to organize itself into communities, which soon formed close ties with each other. Prophesies by the social-revolutionary branch of the imminent coming of Christ and of a New Jerusalem fascinated the masses, while their fanaticism and readiness to sacrifice themselves made a deep impression on a population suffering poverty and misery. In 1534 a section of the Anabaptists moved to Münster in Westphalia, where they supposed that the New Jerusalem would be built; and in 1535 an abortive attempt was made to take over the town hall in Amsterdam. After a long siege, the bishop of Münster succeeded in reconquering his town, and the Anabaptists suffered terrible vengeance. Only the “quiet baptists” were able to continue, under the leadership of the Frisian pastor Menno Simons (these Mennonites are even today strongly represented in the provinces of Groningen, Friesland, and Noord-Holland).

The future of the movement for reformation in the Netherlands was assured, however, not by the biblical humanists nor by the Anabaptists but by a movement less intellectual than the first and more realistic than the second—Calvinism.

The theology of John Calvin (1509–64) was radical, strict, logical, and consistent. Its central theme was the absolute might and greatness of God, which made man a sinful creature of no significance who hoped merely to win God’s grace by honouring him in daily hard work. Calvinism found its way to the Netherlands by way of France, though there may have been some direct influence from Geneva, Calvin’s town. Calvinist writings were known in Antwerp as early as 1545, while the first translation into Dutch of his Christianae religionis institutio is dated 1560, which was also the year in which support for him spread in the Netherlands, largely because the Calvinists preached their creed in public and held open-air services.

Calvinist teaching appealed not only to the lower classes but also to the intellectual and middle classes because of its glorification of work, its discipline, its organization into communities, and its communal singing of the psalms. The government, however, saw the movement as a threat to its plans for unity and centralization, which were supported by the Roman Catholic church, and it took stern measures against Calvinism. Calvinists forcibly removed their coreligionists from prisons and occasionally even attacked monasteries. This group’s rejection of icons, paintings, statues, and valuables in churches sometimes led them to remove them and hand them over to the town magistrates. But this idealism became corrupted, and the leaders were unable to retain control of the movement.

It should be noted that Calvinism and other forms of Protestantism had spread rapidly among the urban middle classes after 1550 in defiance of rule by Roman Catholic Spain. From 1551 to 1565 the number of persons persecuted in the county of Flanders for heresy rose from 187 to 1322. In Antwerp, the largest city of the Low Countries, with some 100,000 inhabitants around 1565, one-third of the population openly declared for Calvinist, Lutheran, or other Protestant denominations; another third declared itself to be Roman Catholic, while the last third was undeclared. Similar proportions are assumed to have existed in the other main cities, while the rural textile area in southwest Flanders counted large numbers of Anabaptists and Calvinists. It was among these Calvinists that an iconoclast movement to desecrate churches and destroy church images began in August 1566, spreading within a week to more than 150 villages and towns in the southern principalities.

The movement was weakened, however, when it lost the support of the nobility, and especially the lower nobility, which had been sympathetic to Calvinism. The government now besieged and captured the Calvinist centre, Valenciennes, by defeating a Calvinist army at Oosterweel (1567), near Antwerp. The result was a great exodus of Calvinists. Nevertheless, Calvin’s ideas had penetrated deeply, and his supporters, who had emigrated to England, East Friesland, and the Pfalz of Germany, were able to maintain their unity and support their coreligionists in the Low Countries. The Calvinists were to become the driving force behind the revolt against Spanish rule.

The Dutch society

The social structure that evolved with the economic transformation of Dutch life was complex and was marked by the predominance of the business classes that later centuries called the bourgeoisie, although with some significant differences. The social “betters” of Dutch aristocracy were only to a limited extent landed nobles, most of whom lived in the economically less advanced inland provinces. Most of the Dutch elite were wealthy townsmen whose fortunes were made as merchants and financiers, but they frequently shifted their activities to government, becoming what the Dutch called regents, members of the ruling bodies of town and province, and drawing most of their incomes from these posts and from investments in government bonds and real estate.

The common people comprised both a numerous class of artisans and small businessmen, whose prosperity provided the base for the generally high Dutch standard of living, and a very large class of sailors, shipbuilders, fishermen, and other workers. Dutch workers were in general well paid, but they were also burdened by unusually high taxes. The farmers, producing chiefly cash crops, prospered in a country that needed large amounts of food and raw materials for its urban (and seagoing) population. The quality of life was marked by less disparity between classes than prevailed elsewhere, although the difference between a great merchant’s home on the Herengracht in Amsterdam and a dockworker’s hovel was all too obvious. What was striking was the comparative simplicity even of the wealthy classes and the sense of status and dignity among the ordinary people, although the exuberance that had earlier marked the society was toned down or even eliminated by the strict Calvinist morality preached and to some extent enforced by the official church. There was, too, a good deal of mingling between the burgher regents who possessed great wealth and political power and the landed gentry and lesser nobility who formed the traditional elite.

The Netherlands in the 19th century



The 19th century saw the transformation of the Netherlands from a absolutist authoritarian Monarchy into a parliamentary, liberal state.

When the crisis of the 1848 revolutions broke, first in France and then in central Europe, an alarmed William II (born February 19, 1817, Brussels [Belgium]—died November 23, 1890, Apeldoorn, Netherlands), the conservative king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg, turned to the leading liberal thinker, J.R. Thorbecke, to guide the change. A new constitution was written, largely modeled on the British (and Belgian) pattern, which gave effective supremacy to the States General and made the monarch a servant and not the master of government. The king died the next year, and the work of transformation continued under his son, William III (1849–90), who named Thorbecke prime minister. The constitutional monarchy was consolidated, even though Thorbecke stepped down in 1853 because of Protestant rioting against the reestablishment of a Roman Catholic hierarchy, with its archbishopric at Utrecht.


Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1848, amidst the liberal democratic revolutions of 1848. The new constitution transformed the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, with the States General and the Council of Ministers becoming more powerful than the king. The amended constitution also granted individual rights to residents and citizens of the kingdom. This made the constitution one of the more progressive at the time. Thorbecke is generally considered a founding father of the modern political system of the Netherlands.

Gradually, over the next century, the scope of Dutch democracy was extended to include ever-broader sections of the Dutch population in the franchise; universal male suffrage was achieved during World War I, and suffrage was extended to women in 1919. During this period modern political parties took shape, organized along religious and ideological lines; the principal groups were formed by Calvinists (the Anti-Revolutionary Party), socialists, liberals, and Roman Catholics. Other smaller minority parties developed subsequently. The central issue of political controversy became the schoolstrijd (“school conflict”), which pitted the liberal (and later socialist) advocates of state schools against the combined Calvinist and Catholic parties, which demanded state support for private (“special”) schools equivalent to that provided to state schools. For several decades, liberals remained generally in control and made few concessions on the school issue. But when the Protestant leader Abraham Kuyper formed a coalition with the Catholics in 1888, the religious parties were able to gain power and to favour the special schools over the public schools. Their policy was assailed by the secular parties, the traditional liberals, the progressives, and the socialists. The liberals, however, were at odds with the other secular parties on other issues, notably economic policies and the extension of the suffrage. The liberals tended to be the most conservative party on economic issues and favoured a restricted electorate; the progressives were vigorously democratic in outlook, as were the socialists, who also favoured universal suffrage, protection of the right to strike, labour legislation, and other welfare measures.

These struggles between various ideologies—Catholic, Calvinist, socialist, and liberal—gradually resulted in the growth of the system of “pillars,” by means of which the country was split into more or less self-contained worlds, in which each group could live a largely separate life within the Dutch state. This distinctive political culture, known as “the politics of accommodation,” “pillarization,” or verzuiling, was to characterize Dutch public life for much of the 20th century, up to at least the 1960s.


This funny video about Pillarisation shows the four groups; 1) Protestants (Calvinists), 2) Roman Catholics, 3) Classical liberals (the Dutch Bourgeoisie) and 4) the Socialists (Dutch workers). The first Protestant Calvinist family (dressed in Black) translated; "Hello we are a Protestant family, the children are Protestant, (child) hello, and the dog is also 'Protestant', we buy bread at the Protestant baker, we have our own Protestant Greengrocer, our own Protestant butcher, (child, boy) we go to a Protestant school, there you see not a single Roman Catholic, because we hate Roman Catholics, boooo, booo." Their protestant christian parents stop the booiing, and the father says, 'No, we hate the Catholics not, but he hardly can speak the word Ca..th..o..lics, and you hear his contempt for Roman Catholics in the way he says Roman Catholics, but they are christians and despite their antipathy for Roman Catholics they can't preach hate, but the hostility is in their tone." After the Protestants comes the Roman Catholic family and they say similar things. The Roman Catholic family, which are very funny if you understand Dutch; the Roman Catholic family; "Hi, we are Fons and Maria and we are very Roman Catholic, we have our own Church, and we have our own baker, and he only bakes Catholic bread. Mary; at least that's eatable and delicious, we also go to a Roman Catholic school, only Catholic things; Fons; so actually we don't see those pesky Protestants at all; Maria (with a dismissive gesture), No, dude, we never see them. Fons; Thanks to that pilarization; Mary; "Long live the pilarization, Yes!!!"

The last group are a few poor exploited socialist workers; They say; "We Socialists are agains the liberals, CAPITALISTS, rich stinkers, bunch of splurges, and the working-class boy spits on the floor in contempt."[/font][/i]

Another major issue of the latter half of the 19th century was the role of the Dutch East Indies. Until the 1860s, the Dutch operated a highly profitable monopoly regime there called the “Culture System,” which had been introduced to force the production of certain crops for export. Its profits helped balance the Dutch domestic budget and allowed essential investment in transportation and public services. At the same time, private enterprise clamoured for a share of the profits. Finally, there were humanitarian objections to the harsh conditions in the distant archipelago. As a result, the colony was opened up and deregulated, yet it continued to provide a significant part of Dutch national income all the way up to the outbreak of World War II.

The Netherlands is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness.

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised prostitution and euthanasia, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. Its mixed-market advanced economy has the thirteenth-highest per capita income globally.

The late 20th century


The late Queen Beatrix

After the war many aspects of Dutch life changed dramatically. Wilhelmina and her government returned from exile to reestablish a regime more strongly democratic than ever before. Anticipating the characteristic difficulties of postwar reconstruction, the government, industry, and labour agreed upon a plan for industrial and commercial expansion, with avoidance of the rapid expansion of prices or wages that would bring a threat of inflation. The plan worked effectively for more than two decades, and the Dutch were able to avoid drastic inflation until the breakdown of such corporatist consensus in the 1960s.

Dutch industrialization moved forward with speed and depth, expanding to include the large-scale production of steel, electronics, and petrochemicals. Putting aside the policy of neutrality as a failure, the Netherlands entered vigorously into the postwar Western alliances, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the various organizations of European unity (the Common Market; later the European Community within the European Union); however, its influence was limited, even though it joined with Belgium and Luxembourg in a closer union (Benelux). Indonesia, where Dutch authority was reestablished after wartime occupation by Japanese forces, soon became the scene of a nationalist revolution. After some hesitation as well as bitterness, the Dutch were obliged to grant it full independence. In the Caribbean area, the Netherlands Antilles remained part of the Dutch kingdom, although no longer under the authority of the government at The Hague, and in 2010 it ceased to exist as a political entity as its constituent units achieved various degrees of independence within the Dutch kingdom; the island of Aruba had gained an autonomous status within the Antilles in 1986. Surinam became independent in 1975 and was renamed the Republic of Suriname in 1978.

Dutch political alignments since the mid-20th century have evolved only gradually and until the 1990s were always dependent on the Christian Democrat parties of the centre. The first postwar governments were dominated by an alliance of the Labour and Catholic parties, which continued until the Labour Party went into opposition in 1958. Thereafter, with the exception of 1973–77, when the country had a left-led government, and 1981–82 and 1989–91, when it was ruled by a centre-left coalition, governments were formed by centre-right coalitions. After the early 1980s the government was faced not only with recurrent economic problems but also with the emotion-charged issue of siting U.S. nuclear cruise missiles (as part of the NATO defense strategy) in the country. It finally reached the decision in 1985, against widespread popular opposition, that 48 missiles would be sited by 1988. The issue was dissolved by the subsequent ending of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

During the 1960s the generally peaceful mood of Dutch public life was broken by rioting of youth and labour groups, especially in Amsterdam. The most difficult crisis affected the royal family. The marriage (1966) of Princess Beatrix, the heiress to Queen Juliana (who had succeeded Wilhelmina on her abdication in 1948), to a German diplomat aroused acrimonious debate. The unsanctioned marriage of Princess Irene to a Spanish Carlist prince had already come as a shock even to Roman Catholics, but it was less difficult politically because she lost her right of succession. Juliana’s husband and consort, Prince Bernhard, was involved in a bribery scandal and withdrew from public office. Juliana abdicated in 1980 and was succeeded as queen by Beatrix.

By the 1970s Dutch politics, like Dutch society in general, had largely ceased to practice what was strictly defined as pillarization. Pillarization had received official confirmation in the Pacification of 1917 and removed most of the tinder from Dutch politics, but it also kept ordinary Dutchmen ideologically separated from each other to a greater degree than in most other Western countries. Yet, because the leaders of the pillar organizations worked well with each other and the right of each pillar to exist and function was unquestioned, public life generally ran smoothly.

In the 1960s the system began to disintegrate. New radical political parties were formed, and, in the face of rapid secularization of the vote, the various Christian parties joined together in the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). However, the religious vote has continued to decline, and in the 1990s there were “purple” coalitions for the first time, between the (red) Labour Party and the (blue) Liberals (conservatives). The Communist Party, once influential beyond its small numbers, disbanded in 1991. The far-left groups joined with environmentalists to form an electoral group called Green-Left, which garnered about 5 percent of the vote beginning in the late 1990s.

Into the 21st century

In the 1990s, while the economy prospered, environmental concerns increased, not only because of the country’s vulnerability to rising sea levels, river flooding, and the effects of pollution but also because Dutch industry and agriculture were themselves major sources of pollution. In 2006 the Dutch government spurred the European Union (EU) to take a larger role in combating the effects of climate change.

In the later 20th century, the Netherlands had gained a reputation for liberal social policies, such as the toleration of prostitution and of the limited use and sale of marijuana and hashish. Same-sex marriages and euthanasia were legalized, and penal sentences were relatively light. The Netherlands also was one of the most heavily planned and regulated Western societies, though there were efforts to reduce the role of the state in the 1980s and ’90s.

Although the Dutch tradition of tolerance generally extended to its immigrant population, anti-immigrant politician Pim Fortuyn was able to tap into increasing Dutch uneasiness in 2002. Just nine days before that year’s election, Fortuyn was assassinated—the country’s first modern political killing. Nevertheless, his party gained enough support to become part of a centre-right governing coalition. Because of disputes within Fortuyn’s party, however, the government resigned after only three months in office. In subsequent years, other anti-immigration parties rose in prestige, such as the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid; PVV). Tension over immigration continued, with national debates on immigrant amnesty and assimilation, the clash of Christian and Islamic culture, and occasional acts of violence, notably the politically charged murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004. By 2006 the government required all potential immigrants to pass a test on Dutch culture and language (taken in their home country) before they could enter the Netherlands.

In 2003 Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, head of the CDA, formed a centrist coalition with the liberal Democrats ’66 and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie; VVD). In the parliamentary elections of 2006, the Socialist Party made large gains, though the CDA retained its majority with Balkenende at the helm in a governing coalition with the Labour Party and the Christian Union. But the political landscape has changed a great deal in the Netherlands since the 1990s, symbolized by the two dramatic political assassinations. In 2005, in the first national referendum held in two centuries, Dutch voters rejected the new constitution of the EU, a result almost inconceivable in a country that, before about 2000, was classically pro-Europe and, perhaps more importantly, had generally been happy to leave such matters to its Eurocentric political elite. Having taken its populist turn, the Netherlands is now perhaps a less unusual country. It remains prosperous, but its welfare state is less distinctively generous, and the famed liberal state has been reined in, while skepticism of European integration and anti-Islam sentiments are increasingly loudly voiced.

Michael J. Wintle - Encyclopedia Britannica

Following disagreements over the continued presence of Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan, the Labour Party withdrew from the Netherlands’ governing coalition in February 2010. The Labour Party had demanded that the Dutch force return home by August 2010, as anticipated, while the CDA had backed an extended deployment. The collapse of the government triggered parliamentary elections in June, with results that reflected both a growing anxiety over the economy—because of concern in the euro zone about the expanding sovereign debt crisis—and a new surge of anti-immigrant sentiment. The prime beneficiary of the latter was the anti-Islam PVV, led by Geert Wilders, which finished a strong third to the virtually deadlocked Liberal and Labour parties, with the CDA dropping about half its seats to finish fourth. As no party had secured an outright majority, it took months of negotiation before the Liberals and the CDA agreed, in October, to form a centre-right governing coalition, with Liberal leader Mark Rutte as prime minister. Although Wilders’s party was excluded from the cabinet, its key role in policy making was assured, as the minority government required the PVV’s parliamentary support in order to pass legislation.

Throughout 2011, Rutte’s coalition government introduced a series of austerity measures designed to reduce the country’s deficit. Protests erupted as voters voiced their opposition to cuts to popular social welfare programs, and Wilders began to distance himself from the coalition. When Rutte in April 2012 presented a budget designed to bring the Netherlands into line with the EU’s recently adopted deficit cap, Wilders responded by withdrawing his support for the coalition. The government collapsed, and Rutte remained in office as the head of a caretaker administration while early elections were scheduled. In those elections in September 2012, Dutch voters moved sharply toward the centre. Support for minor parties, such as the CDA, the PVV, and Green-Left, collapsed as both the VVD and the Labour Party reaped the benefits of an electorate that craved stability. Together, the VVD and the Labour Party—with 41 and 39 seats, respectively—commanded a majority of the 150-seat parliament, and the two parties formed a coalition government.

In a television address to the Dutch people on January 28, 2013, Queen Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate the throne to her son Prince Willem-Alexander. Following a tradition of abdication established by her mother, Juliana, and her grandmother Wilhelmina, Beatrix said that it was time for a new generation to rule. On April 30, 2013, Willem-Alexander ascended the throne to become the first Dutch king in over a century. His wife, Máxima, became queen consort, and their eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, was named princess of Orange as the first in line of succession.


On April 30, 2013, Willem-Alexander ascended the throne to become the first Dutch king in over a century

On July 17, 2014, the Netherlands found itself drawn into the Russian-backed conflict in eastern Ukraine when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in rebel-held territory. The plane had been carrying 298 people, two-thirds of whom hailed from the Netherlands, and the Dutch Safety Board took the lead role in the investigation of the disaster. An examination of the wreckage determined that the plane had been hit by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile, and investigators determined that it had been fired from an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Russia disputed the conclusions, claiming that the investigation was “politically motivated.”

Wilders faced hate crime charges in a trial that began on October 31, 2016, after the anti-immigrant politician’s attorneys failed to have the case dismissed. Wilders, who had been previously tried and acquitted of inciting hatred toward Muslims in 2011, faced new charges in connection with a 2014 rally at which he promised that the number of Moroccans allowed to enter the Netherlands would be reduced. On December 9 he was found guilty of inciting discrimination, but the court declined to impose a sentence. Amid a surging wave of populism worldwide, Wilders’s Euroskeptic PVV continued to poll strongly ahead of the March 2017 general election. The party performed well below expectations, however, finishing a distant second to Rutte’s VVD. Pledges made by Dutch mainstream parties all but ensured that the PVV would be shut out of coalition talks.

Netherlands 2023

In 2023 the Dutch economy swiftly returned to its pre-pandemic growth path, but rapidly rising inflation started to weigh on growth, magnifying existing challenges, such as the urgency of the transition to net zero, ageing-related fiscal pressures, and pervasive labour shortages. Significant investments in low-carbon infrastructure and technologies are needed to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and exposure to global energy price fluctuations. Healthy public finances allowed for fiscal support to protect households and firms from surging energy prices, but population ageing will increase fiscal pressure going forward.

After the pandemic containment measures were lifted in the first half of the year, the economy initially picked up very quickly. This rapid growth and the sharp rise in energy and commodity prices due to the war in Ukraine resulted in an unprecedented 11.5% inflation rate. Energy-intensive businesses in particular, such as bakeries and greenhouse farms, saw their costs rise. Household purchasing power declined sharply, especially for lower-income households.

The Dutch economy continues to expand, despite very high inflation. Consumer spending has been resilient thanks to strong employment growth and an extensive support package put in place by the authorities in 2022. Growth is expected to slow down to 1.8% in 2023 and 1.2% in 2024 as the tightening financial conditions are projected to affect investment growth and as consumers adjust their spending to the high price levels. The government deficit in 2023 is expected to increase to 2.1% of GDP due to, among others, a combination of increased spending on (energy) support measures and lower gas receipts. The deficit ratio is forecast to decrease to 1.7% in 2024. Government debt is projected to decrease to 48.8% by 2024.

Government and politics

The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815, and due to the efforts of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke became a parliamentary democracy in 1848. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. The Netherlands was ranked as the 17th best electoral democracy in the world by V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 and 9th most democratic country in the world by the Democracy Index (The Economist) in 2022.

The monarch is the head of state, at present King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers. By law, the King has the right to be periodically briefed and consulted on government affairs. Depending on the personalities and relationships of the King and the ministers, the monarch might have influence beyond the power granted by the Constitution of the Netherlands.

The executive power is formed by the Council of Ministers, the deliberative organ of the Dutch cabinet. The cabinet usually consists of 13 to 16 ministers and a varying number of state secretaries. One to three ministers are ministers without portfolio. The head of government is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. The Prime Minister is a primus inter pares, with no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. Mark Rutte has been Prime Minister since October 2010; the Prime Minister had been the leader of the largest party of the governing coalition continuously since 1973.

The cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament (First and Second Chambers, the House of Representatives -Tweede Kamer [Second Chamber]- and the Senate -Eerste Kamer [First Chamber]), the States General, which also has legislative powers. The 150 members of the House of Representatives (De Tweede Kamer), the lower house, are elected in direct elections on the basis of party-list proportional representation. These are held every four years, or sooner in case the cabinet falls (for example: when one of the chambers carries a motion of no confidence, the cabinet offers its resignation to the monarch). The provincial assemblies, the States Provincial, are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the Senate (Eerste Kamer), the upper house, which has the power to reject laws, but not propose or amend them.

Political culture

Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. The Dutch (Social-economical) polder model is characterised by the tripartist cooperation between employers' organisations such as VNO-NCW, labour unions such as the Federation Dutch Labour Movement ((Dutch: Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV), and the government. trade unions and employers organisations meet regularly with the government in the Social-Economic Council (SER, Sociaal-Economische Raad). This body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily.

The Netherlands has a tradition of social tolerance. In the 18th century, while the Dutch Reformed Church was the state religion, Catholicism, other forms of Protestantism, such as Baptists and Lutherans, as well as Judaism were tolerated but discriminated against.

In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. This tradition of tolerance influences Dutch criminal justice policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT rights, euthanasia, and abortion, which are among the most liberal in the world.

Economy of Netherlands

Since World War II, the Netherlands has been a highly industrialized country occupying a central position in the economic life of western Europe. Although agriculture accounts for a small percentage of the national income and labour force, it remains a highly specialized contributor to Dutch exports. Because of the scarcity of mineral resources—with the important exception of natural gas—the country is dependent on large imports of basic materials.

The Netherlands has a market economy, but the state traditionally has been a significant participant in such fields as transportation, resource extraction, and heavy industry. The government also employs a substantial percentage of the total labour force and effects investment policy. Nonetheless, during the 1980s, when the ideological climate favoured market economics, considerable privatization was initiated, government economic intervention was reduced, and the welfare state was restructured. State-owned companies such as DSM (Dutch State Mines) and KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) were among those privatized. Nonetheless, the Netherlands has, relatively speaking, a highly regulated mixed economy.

Since World War II, economic development has been consciously stimulated by government policy, and state subsidies have been granted to attract industry and services toward the relatively underdeveloped north and certain other pockets of economic stagnation. Despite these subsidies, the western part of the country remains the centre of new activity, especially in the service sector.

Political parties

No single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and as a result, coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since suffrage became universal in 1917, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the Center right social conservative Christian Democrats (currently the CDA), Social Democrats (currently the PvdA), and Liberals (currently the VVD and the progressive social Liberal D66, a centrist party, which is inbetween the 'clear' left on one side and the 'clear' centre right [VVD and CDA] and the right/far right on the other side).

These parties co-operated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian Democrats had always been a partner: so either a centre-left coalition of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats was ruling or a centre-right coalition of Christian Democrats and Liberals (P.S- For American readers, European Liberals are more rightwing or center right than the Amertican 'center left' Liberals, there is a huge difference between European nliberalism and American liberalism. European Liberals could be the moderate conservative liberal wing of the Republican party). In the 1970s, the party system became more volatile: the Christian Democratic parties lost seats, due to secularism, levelling, egalisation and new leftwing ideologies (New Left, Labour Unionism, and progressive leftist developments at public primary schools, high schools and universities -Pieter remembers his Labour -New Left leaning-, Communist and Pacifist Socialist teachers- -often with long hair, purple or green jeans and etc.) while new parties became successful, such as the radical democrat and progressive liberal Democrats 66 (D66) or the ecologist party GroenLinks (GreenLeft; GL).

In the 1994 election, the Christian Democratic CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by the VVD, D66, and the Labour Party PvdA. In the 2002 elections, this cabinet lost its majority, because of an increased support for the CDA and the rise of the right-wing LPF, a new political party, around Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated a week before the elections. A short-lived Rightwing cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, which was led by the CDA Leader Jan Peter Balkenende. After the 2003 elections, in which the LPF lost most of its seats, a cabinet was formed by the CDA, VVD, and D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious programme of reforming the welfare state, the healthcare system, and immigration policy.

In June 2006, the cabinet fell after D66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against the Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk, who had instigated an investigation of the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a VVD MP. A caretaker cabinet was formed by the CDA and VVD, and general elections were held on 22 November 2006. In these elections, the Christian Democratic CDA remained the largest party and the leftwing Populist Socialist Party (SP) made the largest gains. The formation of a new cabinet took three months, resulting in a coalition of CDA, PvdA, and Christian Union.

On 20 February 2010, the cabinet fell when the PvdA refused to prolong the involvement of the Dutch Army in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. Snap elections were held on 9 June 2010, with devastating results for the previously largest party, the CDA, which lost about half of its seats, resulting in 21 seats. The VVD became the largest party with 31 seats, closely followed by the PvdA with 30 seats. The big winner of the 2010 elections was the Rightwing Populist Dutch Nationalist Geert Wilders, whose right wing Freedom Party PVV, the ideological successor to the LPF of Pim Fortuyn (19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), more than doubled its number of seats. Negotiation talks for a new government resulted in a minority government, led by VVD (a first) in coalition with CDA, which was sworn in on 14 October 2010. This unprecedented minority government was supported by Geert Wilders Rightwing Populist Far right Freedom Party PVV, but proved ultimately to be unstable, when on 21 April 2012, Wilders, leader of PVV, unexpectedly 'torpedoed seven weeks of austerity talks' on new austerity measures, paving the way for early elections.

VVD and PvdA (Labour) won a majority in the House of Representatives during the 2012 general election. On 5 November 2012 they formed the second Rutte cabinet. After the 2017 general election, VVD, Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66) and ChristenUnie (Christian Union) formed the third Rutte cabinet. This cabinet resigned in January 2021, two months before the general election, after a child welfare fraud scandal. In March 2021, centre-right VVD of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the winner of the elections, securing 34 out of 150 seats. The second biggest party was the centre-left D66 with 24 seats. Geert Wilders' far-right party lost support. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2010, formed his fourth coalition government, the Fourth Rutte cabinet, consisting of the same parties as the previous one.

The Fourth Rutte cabinet fell on 7 July 2023 after failing to reach an agreement on separate treatment of refugees fleeing from war. As a result, the cabinet became demissionary.

The cabinet fell on Friday 7 July 2023 after failing to reach an agreement on separate treatment of refugees fleeing from war. As a result, the cabinet became demissionary. Mark Rutte offered the resignation of the cabinet to the King on Saturday 8 July and announced his leave from politics altogether on Monday 10 July, bringing to a close more than thirteen years of his leadership of the plurality party of the VVD. Many oppositions parties are hoping this signals the end of Rutte's style of politics in the Netherlands, which has been characterized as neoliberal and closed off from outsiders.

The government becoming demissionary has consequences for a variety of measures that were meant to alleviate the current issues in the Netherlands, as any policy considered "controversial" will not be acted on and will be left to be decided by the upcoming election. This has resulted in, among other things, a failure to reach new labour accords with the trade unions for higher wages and improved working conditions, despite record profits for corporations; failure to reach an accord with the agricultural sector, creating more uncertainty for farmers and uncertainty of attaining the nitrogen targets, prolonging the housing shortage, and every other large political issue previously mentioned.

According to election law, an election will have to be held as soon as possible, which will be at the earliest half-way through November. Given the large gains made by the Farmer–Citizen Movement party (BBB) during the 2023 Dutch provincial elections, the nitrogen crisis is expected to be one of the central talking points in the upcoming election.

Agriculture

The country’s agricultural land is divided into grassland, arable farmland, and horticultural land. Dutch dairy farming is highly developed; the milk yield per acre of grassland and the yield per cow are among the highest in the world. A good percentage of the total milk production is exported after being processed into such dairy products as butter, cheese, and condensed milk. Meat and eggs are produced in intensively farmed livestock holdings, where enormous numbers of pigs, calves, and poultry are kept in large sheds and fed mainly on imported fodder. Most cereals for human consumption as well as fodder are imported.

Karl,

Maybe you will recognize some Danish politics in the Dutch politics and difficulties of forming coalitions, because there are some similarities between the Danish and Dutch Constitutional Monarchies. Fact is that the Danish Social Democrats (Labour) are a significant power and form the Danish administration today, while the Dutch Labour Party today is a small opposition party next to the larger VVD, D66, PVV, GreenLeft and BBB parties. Today it won't be possible for Dutch Labour to form a government or be part of a government. The political majority today is on the right, and the center right with the VVD. Today Dutch Labour (PvdA) is similar in seize compared to the GreenLeft (GroenLinks) and Socialist Party (SP), and that is very strange and radical in the sense of Dutch parliamentary history. In the Past Labour (PvdA) was on of the 3 largest parties in parliament, next to the center right VVD and CDA parties.
In German or Danish context, could you imagine the German Labour party SPD (206 of the 736 Bundestag seats) being as large as Die Linke (having only 39 of the 736 Bundestage seats) with Alternative für Deutschland, being larger in seize than the SPD. You probably couldn't, but in the Netherlands that is the case, Geert Wilders Freedom Party (PVV) has 17 seats in the House of Representatives and the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) only 9. This forced Labour (PvdA) to combine forces with GroenLinks (GreenLeft) and in both chambers of the Dutch bicameral parliament Labour (PvdA) and GreeLeft (The Dutch Greens) operate with United lists and thus Fractions. Can you imagine a United SPD-Bündnis 90/Die Grünen fraction in the German Bundestag with 324 of the total of 736 Bundestage seats? The Dutch political spectrum and thus party landscape is transforming itself. It will never be again like in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties. That time is gone. The Netherlands was always political divided between 3 main groups; 1) The Confessional Christian political parties, 2) The Liberals (the classical liberals) and 3) The Social Democrats (Labour and the Labour movement).

This traditional divide has expanded to 1) The Confessional Christian political parties, 2) Liberars/The Conservative liberals (the classical liberals) and 3) The Social Democrats (Labour and the Labour movement), 4) the radical democrat and progressive liberal Democrats 66 (D66) (They exist since 1966, and that's where their name comes from) 5) The Greens (GreenLeft and the Party for Animals (Animal rights, but also increasingly focussed on social human subjects -it became a mature environmentalist and social political party-)0, 6) Righwing Populist National conservatives, 7) Minority rights and Immigrants right political interest parties (The Denk and Bij1 political parties in parliament) and last but not least 8) the Farmers interests parties and movements and Farmers Populist ideology (BBB Farmer Citizen Movement; Farmer Citizens Movement, and next to the BBB, the FDF [Farmers Defence Force], and Agractie)

In Denmark the situation would be like in the Netherlands when Socialdemokratiet of the Danish Labour prime minister Mette Frederiksen would be as large as Enhedslisten – De Rød-Grønne. Today Socialdemokratiet is the largest Danish party in the the Folketing (Danish parliament), with 50 seats out of the total of 179 Folketing seats. The Enhedslisten – De Rød-Grønne party has only 9 seats. The Dutch Labour party PvdA looked at the Danish party Socialdemokratiet and the British Labour party, but couldn't or didn't manage to implement the Danish or British Labour methods in the Netherlands, British Labour being more leftist and the Danish Socialdemokratiet being more rightist (tough on immigration, elements of Danish Patriotism and Scandinavian Social Democratic wellfare state and social policies. The Danish Social Democrats stated that they can only continue and keep their Danish version of the Scandinavian social security and social system if they limit immigration, limit the influx of refugees, and send back refugees to safe area's after conflicts ended or civil wars and wars became less intenst. The Danish model is similar to the Swedish, Norwegian, Finlandic and Icelandic models, but different, because they have their specific Danish model -part of the Scandinanviam system-).

Pieter

[pieter]

Justice minister Dilan Yeşilgöz sets sights on VVD leadership

July 12, 2023


Dilan Yeşilgöz ahead of Monday's debate on the cabinet collapse. Photo: Robin Utrecht ANP

As expected, justice minister Dilan Yeşilgöz has confirmed she wants to succeed Mark Rutte as leader of the right-wing Liberal VVD in an interview with the rightwing conservative newspaper De Telegraaf.

The VVD is “my club”, Yesilgöz told the paper. Her plan, she said, is to make the Netherlands “stronger and more resilient”. According to broadcaster NOS, Yeşilgöz is also the party leadership’s preferred candidate. They are due to make a statement later this week.

Yeşilgöz, 46, has been justice minister since last year and was previously a junior minister and MP. Until 2017, she was a member of the Amsterdam city council.

Although not VVD voters’ top choice for the job, she is considered a strong candidate and 68% of VVD supporters in a recent RTL poll (commercial national Broadcast corporation, tv and Radio) said they would support her as party leader.

Several other prominent VVD backers, including the favourite Klaas Dijkhoff, have already ruled themselves out for the job.


Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security) in London. image EPA, Neil Hall


Klaas Henricus Dominicus Maria Dijkhoff (born 13 January 1981) is a Dutch legal scholar and politician who led the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. He previously was Minister of Defence (2017) and State Secretary for Security and Justice (2015–2017). Klaas Dijkhof is the favorite of the VVD electorate. He was a succesful and flamboyant leader of the VVD government fraction in the Dutch House of Representatives. He is a Brabander who speaks with a Soft G, and has some popularity due to his Southern Dutch background amongst Limburg and North Branant province voters but also other Dutch people outside the Randstad/Holland region in the West. Many Dutch people outside the Randstad believe that Dutch politics is dominated by Randstad people from Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leiden and Utrecht. The Randstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɑntstɑt] (listen); "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that houses almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Netherlands' four biggest cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht), their suburbs, and many towns in between, that all grew and merged into each other. Among other things, it includes the Port of Rotterdam (the world's busiest seaport outside Asia), the Port of Amsterdam (Europe's fourth-busiest seaport), and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (the busiest airport in Europe by aircraft movements). With a population of approximately 8.4 million people it is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Europe, comparable in population size to the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region or the San Francisco Bay Area, and covers an area of approximately 11,372 km2 (4,391 sq mi).

VVD voters will get to choose who should be their new leader and, potentially, the next prime minister. On Monday former MP André Bosman came forward stating he would contest the leadership.

Yeşilgöz was born in Ankara and came to the Netherlands in 1984 with her mother and sister to join her father, a Kurdish human rights activist, who had fled Turkey three years earlier.

She has taken a strong line on immigration as justice minister, claiming last weekend that the refugee system was being abused by people repeatedly bringing in family members.

She also led last week’s negotiations to try to solve the impasse on asylum within the four party coalition.


Justice minister Dilan Yeşilgöz

[karl]

Pieter

An excellent historic representative historic presentation of Your Netherlands from the Spanish Hapsburg times, the 80 years war and the 12 years war for breathing room to development of Dutch Commercial Capitalism to the present, and to this, compete successfully against The German Hanse. And yes, you are right on the mark with currant Danish politics with upon which you have brought out quite successfully in the following:

{Socialdemokratiet being more rightist (tough on immigration, elements of Danish Patriotism and Scandinavian Social Democratic wellfare state and social policies. The Danish Social Democrats stated that they can only continue and keep their Danish version of the Scandinavian social security and social system if they limit immigration, limit the influx of refugees, and send back refugees to safe area's after conflicts ended or civil wars and wars became less intens. The Danish model is similar to the Swedish, Norwegian, Finlandic and Icelandic models, but different, because they have their specific Danish model -part of the Scandinanviam system-).

Even though Mr. Rutte has chosen this time and date to leave his position rather right or wrong, is still not a good time with currant unrest in France and the war in Ukraine. For perhaps I am not on cue with the right or wrong of his decision, but none the less, he is experienced and knows his work, for this is not a personal situation, but for the protection of all that the Netherlands and people to hold out of harms way.

Karl

[pieter]

Dear Karl,

We did not compete successfully against The German Hanse, because we were part of the Hanseatic League, a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across seven modern-day countries, ranging from Estonia in the north and east, to the Netherlands in the west, and Kraków, Poland, in the south.



There are 22 Hanseatic cities and towns in the Netherlands alone. The Hanseatic network was well-known phenomenon in countries such as Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Norway. The vast majority of the Hanseatic cities are located in the east of the Netherlands, mainly along the water.



The Dutch Hanseatic cities are:

1) Arnhem -
2) Bolsward -
3) Denver
4) Doesburg
5) Elburg
6) Groningen -
7) Harderwijk
8) Hasselt
9) Hattem
10) Hindeloopen
11) Camps
12) Maasbommel
13) Nijmegen
14) Oldenzaal
15) Omen
16) Rice
17) Roermond
18) Stavoren
19) Tiel
20) Venlo
21) Zaltbommel
22) Zutphen
23) Zwolle





You probably know a little from German and Danish history how tense Europe can be with national, regional, local and ethnic, political, socio-cultural and religious tensions (also in the sense of secular atheists vs religious).

You are right about France, but what the 'limited' news from press & media that only report short news of the day, does not show that the problems that currently exist in France are bigger and broader than France alone and that it is therefore It is not fair and correct to attribute these problems to France alone, because the whole of Western Europe is affected by these problems. Everyone is the big riot and looting and arson in the UK in August 2011, when London, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham and Wolverhampton burn.

Pakistani and other looters, attackers, thieves, criminals, vandalists and rioters turned England upside down with hit and run agreements" that they then made with Blackberry's messaging service, because those messages can be closed off to the outside world.

Belgium has explosive neigbourhoods with ethnic tensions between on one side migrants and on the other side native Belgian Walloon Hooligans and Flemish Far right activists in Walloon and Flemish cities and in the Belgian capital. Before people think that the rouble started with the native Belgian Hooligans and Far right activists. No, the troubles started with rioting migrant youth, whom started burning and plundering buildings and houses, vandalising streets and cars, and attacking the police. Later came the white native Belgians whom also started attacking the migrants and the police. The Belgian police had to deal with these 2 groups. Similar things you will see in Sweden, every now and then in Denmark (Copenhagen and maybe other Danish cities and towns), Norway and Switzerland. The Netherlands has it's own problems in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Groningen, Arnhem, Eindhoven and other cities with ethnic tensions and tensions between the Police and migrant youth and migrant men.

In Belgium, in a copy cat of the French riots, some fires were lit in Brussels on 29 June and one person was arrested for rebellion. All told, in two days a little over 100 people (including many minors) were arrested in Brussels and in Liège (where there were no incidents), most of them preemptively. In Switzerland, of the seven people arrested in Lausanne for breaking shop windows six were minors, two of whom were not Swiss citizens. In the Canadian province of Québec, a demonstration happened in Montréal in front of the Eaton Centre.

You folks have no idea how many crisis situations Mark Rutte has had the past 13 years. He has been hated and vilified and humiliated by opposition politicians. He forgot things he should have remembered and I wonder if he lied or really forgot these important things.

He had to deal with threats and death threats. And it is not known whether it comes from serious criminals, conspiracy theory believers or fanatical political opponents. He has to look over his shoulder, to the left and right, above him and below him if he is high up somewhere.

Oponents want his position, the opposition for yearts tried to topple him. He was a political survivor, with certain political talent, tactical and strategic insight. He was matter-of-fact, pragmatic and focused on solving problems and managing a country in a difficult time in a difficult world.

He became prime minister of a country in 2010, which after 911, the political murders of Pim Fortuyn (May 6, 2002) and Theo van Gogh (November 2, 2004), and the murders of lawyer Derk Wiersum (August 30, 1975 – Amsterdam, September 18 2019) and journalist Peter R. de Vries (November 14, 1956 – July 15, 2021) was hardened, divided and in crisis.

Rutte could no longer do anything right and became the piss pole, the target, the scapegoat for everything that was wrong. But he went on with his stoic smiling poker face. He was called the Teflon man in the Netherlands. Teflon is a type of plastic that is very smooth and does not have chemical reactions with other substances. Another name for it would be 'rubber man'.

He managed 4 cabinets for shorted and longer periods. He managed to keep people (ministers of various political parties together ) until 2 Cabinets fell.

The Rutte I Cabient fell just 18 months into its term on 23 April 2012 after the Party for Freedom withdrew its support following a disagreeing with the coalition over stronger austerity measures to reduce the deficit following the financial crisis. The cabinet continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the second Rutte cabinet following the election of 2012.

The third Rutte cabinet fell on 15 January 2021 as a response to a critical report about the childcare allowance affair.

The Forth Rutte cabinet fell on 7 July 2023 after failing to reach an agreement on separate treatment of refugees fleeing from war. As a result, the cabinet became demissionary.

Rutte continues today as a demissionary prime minister, so the facto he is stil the prime minister, but people know that after the elections he won't terurn, not as VVD party leader, nor as VVD prime minister of a Fifth Rutte cabinet. There will never be a Fifth Rutte cabinet. Maybe there will be a Yeşilgöz Cabinet I, a Dijkhoff I cabinet if Dijkhoff will change his position and will compete for the internal VVD elections for the leadership position with Dilan Yeşilgöz and André Bosman.

You never know in politics, and even the possibility will be there that Mark Rutte will be forced to be/stay demissionary prime minister for a while if political parties do not manage to form a new coalition. Fact remains that the internal relations within the Rutte Cabinet IV are ice cold. Mark Rutte's relationship with the ministers of the other coalition partners Christian Union, D66 of Sigrid kaag and the CDA of Wopke Hoekstra.

The VVD and the CDA today have a task to find responsible, experienced, dedicated, reliable, firm, political trained, strong and charismatic leaders, because the Netherlands needs strong political parties who can make a coalition adminstration. We don't need another Dutch Labour party (PvdA) developmemt and story.

Opinion polls suggested that popular support for the PvdA fell into a gradual decline in the years after the 2012 election. The party was polled as low as 5% by Peil on 8 May 2016.[12][13] In December 2016 Samson was defeated by Lodewijk Asscher in a party leadership election.

In the Dutch general election of 2017, the PvdA suffered the biggest defeat in Dutch electoral history, receiving only 5.7% of the votes and losing 29 of its 38 seats. Asscher did not resign from his post, claiming the defeat was his predecessor's responsibility. The party experienced a degree of revival in 2019, obtaining the most votes in that year's European Parliament election. This marked the first time the PvdA had finished first in a national election since 1998.

I am not a VVD party member, voter or supporter, but a dramatic loss of this conservative liberal party would lead to instability and weak coalition adminstrations with to many political parties.

There is a possibility that during the elections of November 2023 the BBB (Farmer Citizens Movement) party of Caroline van der Plas will be the largest political party, and a Cabinet with prime minoisrter Caroline van der Plas is also a possibility.


Caroline Ann Maria van der Plas (born 6 June 1967) is a Dutch journalist and politician who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2021. A former member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which she left in 2019, she is the founder and current party leader of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB).

But more likely candidates for the Dutch prime ministership are the more experienced Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, Minister of Justice and Security in the Fourth Rutte Cabinet and Sigrid Kaag, the present miniser of Financial Affairs in the same Cabinet. Kaag is leader of the progressive social liberal and Centrist D66 party.


Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius on the left and Minister of Financial Affairs Sigrid Kaag, party leader of D66 on the right

Pieter

[pieter]

The answer comes quick after my previous post. Sigrid Kaag will step down as D66 leader and will not be the new Prime Minister after the elections of November 2023.





NOS News•
today, 00:17
•Edited today, 01:12

Kaag leaves as D66 leader: 'My work puts a strain on my family'



D66 leader Sigrid Kaag will not be the party leader in the next elections and will leave politics. She says this in an interview in Trouw. "My work takes a toll on my family," she says to the newspaper. Kaag will continue to serve as outgoing Minister of Finance.

Her departure is not unexpected. In May of this year, Kaag's daughters called on their mother to do something else, outside of Dutch politics, in the TV program College Tour. Kaag is heavily protected due to threats. Last year there was a man with a burning torch in front of her private address.

"Looking back... in 2017 I came to the Netherlands because I really thought: I can mean something here and try to do the right thing. But it asked too much of them," says the deputy prime minister now. "I don't think I should ask this again from my family."



"I also came to the Netherlands to give my children a basis. But they have received such a distorted and image of their own country. I do not wish that on them. I would like to see things calm down again for them. they can have their own experiences that are independent of what your mother or your father does or what people think of them."

Kaag emphasizes that her departure from politics is her own decision and that she could just stay on if it was up to the party board. "They fully supported me if I wanted to continue and have only encouraged it." She does not yet know what Kaag will do now.



Three coalition parties without a leader



At D66 there will soon be party leader elections. The candidates can report next week, the newspaper writes. Minister Rob Jetten of Climate, Minister Ollongren of Defense and party chairman Paternotte, among others, are in the picture as successor to Kaag.


Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren and Climate Minister Rob Jetten are possible candidates to succeed Sigrid Kaag as party leader of D66

Before Kaag held her current ministerial post at Finance, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs and before that Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. She became active in Dutch politics in 2017. Before that, she held positions abroad as a diplomat for many years. She was the United Nations Special Envoy to Lebanon and Syria. Her daughters also grew up abroad.

Now that Kaag has announced her departure, three of the four coalition parties are without a leader within a week. On Monday, VVD leader Rutte announced that he would leave politics after thirteen years as prime minister. That same day, CDA leader Hoekstra announced that he was not available as party leader. Whether he will return to politics is still unclear. The new elections will not be held until mid-November at the earliest.

[pieter]

Emotional Prime Minister during press conference. The MH17 plane disaster touched him most in the emotional sense.

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

Frits Wester, parliamentary correspondent for RTL Nieuws in The Hague. He is one of the most important and experienced Dutch professional political commentators and correspondents.

D66 Minister of Financial Affairs Sigrid Kaag and D66 party leader has also announced that she is leaving politics. A team of ministers remains, of which a large part is saying goodbye. Keeping that team motivated will be a tough job for Prime Minister Rutte, says political reporter Frits Wester. Frits Wester (born 29 March 1962) is a Dutch journalist. He is best known as parliamentary correspondent for RTL Nieuws, the news journal of the national Commercial Dutch TV Broadcaster RTL.

Prime Miniser Mark Rutte about Sigrid Kaag;

Much respect for Minister of Finance Sigrid Kaag to put her party leadership aside and leave politics after the upcoming elections. As a minister in various cabinets, party leader of D66 and as a person, she has meant a lot to the Netherlands. Privately, she had to pay an unacceptably high price for this. I admire her courage and thank her for our good cooperation in recent years and for her unbridled commitment to our country.

www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/video/video/5395343/frits-wester-vertrek-rutte-vvd-politiek

7 years ago in better times with Prime Minister Mark Rutte