Dutch cabinet formation

The formation of a Dutch cabinet is the process of negotiating an agreement that will get majority support in parliament and results in the appointment of the council of ministers. Dutch cabinet formations tend to be a time consuming process, and is for the most part not codified in the constitution.

The cabinet of the Netherlands is the executive body of the Dutch government. It consists of ministers and junior ministers (staats-secretaris). The cabinet requires support from both chambers of the Dutch parliament to pass laws. Thus to form a stable government sufficient, and most preferably majority support in both chambers is required.

Due to several factors--the multi-party system and the nationwide party-list system of proportional representation--no political party (in the modern sense) has ever had a majority in parliament since 1900. Indeed, since the adoption of the current proportional representation system in 1918, no party has even come close to the number of seats needed for a majority in its own right. To gain sufficient support in both chambers it is therefore necessary to reach an agreement of multiple parties to form a stable government. The negotiations leading to this agreement are the cabinet formation period in the Netherlands.

Cabinet formation is engaged in, in two situations. After general elections the house of representatives is renewed. The changing size of party representations in this most important of the two chambers, will require a new cabinet to be constituted. Even if the same parties continue, the agreement has to be renegotiated to fit election promises and shift in powers. Another reason for cabinet formation can be the fall of a cabinet, i.e. those cases where the agreement between parties breaks down. In the latter case (in principle) a new cabinet can be formed without general elections, although in practice the house of representatives is almost always disbanded and early general elections are called.

Forming a cabinet can be a time-consuming process. The monarch has a formal role in appointing the newly created cabinet and in accepting the resignation of a fallen cabinet.

First, the leaders of all the elected parties meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives to appoint a 'scout'. Next, the monarch meets the chairs of each parliamentary party in the House of Representatives, the political leaders of all parties. The talks concern how to interpret the election results, which parties should form the new cabinet and who should be appointed (in)formateur.

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Wikipedia