Balkenende II

Second Balkenende cabinet
65th cabinet of the Netherlands
Date formed	22 May 2003
Date dissolved	30 June 2006 (Replaced on 7 July 2006)
People and organisations
Head of government	Jan Pieter Balkenende
Head of state	Beatrix of the Netherlands
Member parties	Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) Democrats 66 (D66)
Status in legislature	Centre-right
History
Election(s)	2003 election
Outgoing election	N/A
Incoming formation	2003
Outgoing formation	2006 (demissionary)
Predecessor	Balkenende I
Successor	Balkenende III

The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands formed on 27 May 2003. It consisted of three political parties: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), and Democrats 66 (D66), which was the smallest of the three.

On 29 June 2006, D66 dropped its support for the coalition. The next day, Prime Minister Balkenende offered the resignation of the cabinet to Queen Beatrix. Based on advice from the parliament, the Queen suggested a CDA-VVD minority government should be formed. The third Balkenende cabinet was installed on 7 July 2006.

On 24 January 2003, Queen Beatrix asked Piet Hein Donner (minister of Justice for the CDA in the previous cabinet) to lead the coalition negotiations. The negotiations for the coalition were lengthy. Initially the CDA preferred to continue its right-wing coalition with the VVD, but they did not have sufficient seats in the House of Representatives to continue in government without the support of a third party. Another coalition with Pim Fortuyn List would be likely to be unpopular with voters after the events of the first Balkenende cabinet, and D66 was unwilling to join such a coalition. A government supported by the orthodox Protestant Reformed Political Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) and the Christian democratic ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie, CU) was opposed by the VVD.

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