The second Balkenende cabinet was the
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems b ...
of the
Government of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke ...
from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
was formed by the
Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the
conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the
social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the
election of 2003. The cabinet was a
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and m ...
coalition and had a slim
majority in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
with
Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010.
Balkenende studied ...
serving as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
.
Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm (born 6 May 1952) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman.
Zalm studied Economics at the Free University Amsterdam obtaining a Master of Economics degree and worked as a ...
, a former
Minister of Finance, served as
Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former
Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
The cabinet served during the unstable 2000s. Domestically,
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
was a major point of attention and it had to deal with the murder of controversial filmmaker and critic
Theo van Gogh, while internationally, it dealt with the
war on terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
and the government support for the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts including multiple cabinet resignations, such as that of Deputy Prime Minister
De Graaf De Graaf () is a Dutch occupational surname. With over 21,000 people, it was the 24th most common name in the Netherlands in 2007. In modern Dutch ''de graaf'' means the count, but in the past it also referred to the head of the municipal council c ...
following the failed introducing of a new referendum system. The cabinet fell prematurely on 30 June 2006 after the Democrats 66 supported a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against Immigration Minister
Rita Verdonk and withdraw its support with the Democrats 66 cabinet members resigning on 3 July 2006 and the cabinet continuing in a
demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the
caretaker third Balkenende cabinet on 7 July 2006.
Formation
On 24 January 2003
Queen Beatrix asked
Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner
Jan Pieter Hendrik "Piet Hein" Donner (born 20 October 1948) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2018.
Early life and ca ...
(CDA) to lead the coalition negotiations. The negotiations for the coalition were lengthy. Initially the CDA preferred to continue its
Centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and m ...
coalition with the VVD, but they did not have sufficient seats in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
to continue in government without the support of a third party. Another coalition with
Pim Fortuyn List
The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The p ...
(LPF) would be likely to be unpopular with voters after the events of the
First Balkenende cabinet, and the D66 was unwilling to join such a coalition. A government supported by the Christian right-wing
Reformed Political Party (SGP) and the social conservative
Christian Union Christian Union may refer to:
* Christian Union (Lithuania), a Lithuanian Christian democratic political party (''Krikščionių sąjunga'' in Lithuanian)
* Christian Union (Netherlands), a Dutch Christian democratic political party (''ChristenUn ...
(CU) was opposed by the VVD.
A long negotiation between CDA and the
Labour Party (PvdA) followed. The CDA and PvdA had come out of the elections as equal partners. The negotiations were troubled by the
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, the bad economic forecasts and personal animosity between incumbent
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010.
Balkenende studied ...
and
Wouter Bos the
Leader of the Labour Party. After a couple of months talks were called off by Balkenende. At this point, D66 decided to join the coalition after all. The cabinet was based on a very slim majority in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
of 78 seats out of 150. When VVD
Member of the House of Representatives Geert Wilders left his party on 2 September 2004 (continuing as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
), the narrow majority of the cabinet slimmed down even further to 77 seats in the
Member of the House of Representatives.
Term
Policy
The cabinet program is based around the slogan: ''Mee doen, Meer Werk, Minder Regels'' (Participation, More Jobs, and Fewer Rules).
The cabinet seeks to address the problems of integration of ethnic minorities (participation), the economic recession (more employment) and the lack of trust in government (Fewer Regulations).
Migration and Integration policy
The most controversial issue the cabinet addressed is the perceived lack of integration of ethnic minorities, especially immigrants from
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. To solve this problem this cabinet has tried to reduce the influx of migrants, and to force migrants to take an integration course. The cabinet appointed
Rita Verdonk (VVD) as a
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
within the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
with the responsibilities for Integration, Immigration and Asylum Affairs.
The number of immigrants allowed into the Netherlands was reduced by enforcing the asylum-seekers law of 2000 rigidly. This law was created under the
Second Kok cabinet by the then Mayor of Amsterdam,
Job Cohen. Controversially, 26,000 asylum-seekers who had lived in the Netherlands for over five years but who had not been granted asylum were deported. Furthermore, partners of Dutch citizens are only allowed to immigrate into the Netherlands if the Dutch partner earns more than 120 percent of the minimum income. This income requirement has been decreased back to 100% of the minimum wage in 2010 as a result of the judgement of the EU Court in the Chakroun case.
Since 2006, family migrants from 'non-Western' countries who want to immigrate into the Netherlands must pass an integration test. It tests the applicant's knowledge of the
Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. '' Afrikaan ...
,
political system
In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state.
It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...
and social conventions. The test must be taken before entering the Netherlands, in a Dutch Embassy or Consulates in the country of origin.
Once in the Netherlands, migrants were obliged to pass a second test before receiving a permanent residence permit or being allowed to naturalise. 'Oudkomers', i.e. foreigners who have lived in the Netherlands for a long time, were obliged by the Dutch government to take the exam as well.
Economic Reform
The cabinet took power at a time when the Netherlands' economy was in poor shape, with increasing unemployment and slight economic contraction. To jump start economic growth, the cabinet has proposed tax cuts and reform of the system of social welfare.
The cabinet has implemented a new law for
disability pensions. Most people enjoyed disability pensions under the old disability law received pensions even if they were only partially disabled and could still work. The pensions of these people have been cut, and so they are forced to return to the workforce. Furthermore, the cabinet has limited the possibility of
early retirement. Without exception all Dutch employees will be forced to work until they have become 65, possibly longer.
The cabinet also has cut government spending by 5700 million
euro
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
, making a total of 11 billion euro, when combined with the cuts announced by the previous cabinet. Among other measures, free dental care, physiotherapy and anti-conception medication were cut, 12000 positions were to be eliminated in the armed forces and some of their bases closed, the link between benefit payment rates and salaries was to be broken, and the rental housing subsidy was reduced. At the same time, 4 billion euro in extra spending was made available, mainly in education and justice.
Government Reform
Another controversial issue is the reform of the Dutch political system. This was proposed to overcome the 'gap between politics and citizens', which became clear in the
2002 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2002.
* 2002 Bahraini parliamentary election
* 2002 Comorian presidential election
* 2002 East Timorese presidential election
* 2002 Fijian municipal election
* 2002 Hong Kong Chief Executive election
* ...
, which were dominated by the populist
Pim Fortuyn who was later
Assassinated during the election campaign. The cabinet appointed
Thom de Graaf (D66) as
Deputy Prime Minister and as a
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
within the
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations with the responsibilities for Government Reform.
Thom de Graaf (D66). De Graaf, who proposed an ambitious reform proposal, was met with much resistance. Two of the most important proposals were the directly elected mayor and the election system.
The Netherlands is one of the last countries in Europe not to have an elected mayor, instead he is appointed by the
Crown. To change this the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
has to be amended. A proposal to do this by former
Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Klaas de Vries (PvdA) in 2001, under the second Kok cabinet, was rejected in second reading by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
. This was because it would allow the controversial plans of De Graaf to be implemented. This would involve a mayor, directly elected by the city's population, who would have considerable power to take care of security and public order. The proposed election system would have preserved
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
but have done so with supplemental regional candidates.
On 23 March 2005, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
voted against a proposal to introduce a constitutional amendment that would allow the directly elected mayor. As a result,
Thom de Graaf (D66) resigned as
Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Government Reform. The coalition parties then renegotiate a new coalition agreement. In the Easter weekend reached an agreement, the so-called Easter Accord. On 31 March 2005
Alexander Pechtold (D66) the
Mayor of Wageningen and
Chairman of the Democrats 66 was appointed as the new
Minister for Government Reform. The position of
Deputy Prime Minister was taken over by
Minister of Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (D66).
Opposition to policy
The cabinet was facing a lot of opposition, from the official opposition in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, from an extra-parliamentary movement, from international circles and from within. The left-wing parties in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
where critical of the government. They perceived the policy on migration and integration as too hard and causing polarization between Dutch people and immigrants, and the economic reforms and budget cuts as untimely, because of the recession.
The extra-parliamentary movement "Keer het Tij" (Turn the Tide) has organized mass demonstrations against the government. Important partners within Keer het Tij where the three main left-wing opposition political parties the
Labour Party (PvdA),
Socialist Party and
GreenLeft (GL), the largest trade union, the
FNV, environmental organisations like
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth ...
and
Milieu Defensie
The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...
, and organisations of migrants. In 2004 they organized a political demonstration in the Hague. At the time the negotiations between the cabinet, the employers and the unions on early retirement had broken off, with the union leaders promising a "hot autumn".
Most international criticism comes from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. Two ministers, the
liberal minister of Foreign Affairs
De Gucht and the
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
vice-prime minister
Van den Bossche Van den Bossche or Vandenbossche is a Dutch surname originating in Flanders. It means either "from the woods" or "from Den Bosch". Notable people with the surname include:
* Aert van den Bossche (fl. 1499-1505), Flemish painter
* Agnes van den Boss ...
of the purple
Cabinet Verhofstadt II, have criticized the style of the Dutch cabinet, calling the prime minister Balkenende "Petty Bourgeois".
Criticism also rose out of the ranks of the largest government partner, the CDA. The former Christian-Democratic Prime Minister
Dries van Agt and former leader of the parliamentary party, De Vries, criticized the cabinet for its anti-social policy. Minister Pechtold has opposed cabinet policy on terrorism and drug law in the media, breaking the unity of cabinet.
Resignations
In December 2003, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, was appointed Secretary-General of the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. He was succeeded by former diplomat Ben Bot.
In June 2004 a personal conflict between State Secretary for Higher Education Nijs and Minister of Education Van der Hoeven caused the departure of Nijs. This in turn caused a reshuffle: State Secretary for Social Affairs Rutte became State Secretary for Higher Education and Henk van Hoof (a state secretary in previous cabinets) became State Secretary for Social Affairs.
State Secretary for Higher Education Mark Rutte left the cabinet to become parliamentary leader of the VVD on 28 June 2006. He was supposed to be succeeded by former alderman of The Hague
Bruno Bruins, but the cabinet fell just a day before he was installed.
2006 cabinet crisis
On 29 June 2006, a cabinet crisis erupted after cabinet member
Rita Verdonk lost the support of the coalition party D66 over the
Ayaan Hirsi Ali identity fraud controversy.
Hirsi Ali, VVD member and Member of parliament at the time, had signed a statement in which she expressed regret that she had misinformed Minister Verdonk regarding her name. On 28 June, Hirsi Ali made it known that her statement was coerced. In a parliamentary debate on 28 June extending into the next day, Verdonk and the Prime Minister maintained that the purpose of this statement was a legal one: Hirsi Ali was required to declare her intention to keep the name Hirsi Ali in order to retain her passport. However, in a crucial moment during the debate, member of parliament Van Beek asked the Prime Minister about the purpose of the apology. The Prime Minister answered that "it was a statement that the Minister for Integration and Immigration had to be able to live with". This was interpreted widely as a political deal-making by Verdonk at the expense of Hirsi Ali and not just a legality.
As a result, a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
was initiated by opposition party
GroenLinks against Minister Verdonk. Coalition party D66 supported this motion with strong words, stating that either the minister had to go, or D66 would leave the cabinet. However, the motion did not get a majority vote. On 29 June, the Prime Minister issued a statement declaring that the ministers unanimously declared that the rejected motion did have no consequences for the cabinet (as it was not supported, the minister was not forced to go). The chairman of the parliamentary D66 group,
Lousewies van der Laan then declared in a new parliamentary session that D66 could no longer support the entire cabinet.
The apparent dissent between the D66 cabinet ministers opinion (that Verdonk did not have to go) and the D66 parliamentary group opinion (that Verdonk had to go) resulted in some tense hours where it appeared that the two D66 cabinet ministers
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and
Alexander Pechtold had broken away from their party, supporting the cabinet but not their party member
Lousewies van der Laan. However, in a reconvened parliamentary session later that evening, Brinkhorst announced that he and Pechtold had resigned and supported their parliamentary group in this issue. The apparent difference was merely based on legality: Since the CDA and VVD ministers did not want to dismiss Verdonk, the D66 ministers could do nothing but state the obvious legal fact that an unsupported motion has no legal consequence. The political decision to leave the coalition was subsequently made by the parliamentary group.
Shortly after, Prime Minister Balkenende announced that all remaining members of the cabinet would offer their resignations (portfolios) to Queen Beatrix. At the end of that day, it was expected that new elections would be called for October 2006 at the earliest.
In the meantime, VVD and CDA blamed D66 for the cabinet's demise: they argued that Verdonk did in fact respect the wishes of parliament when she ordered the re-examination of Hirsi Ali's passport position. On his first day as parliamentary leader of the VVD,
Mark Rutte was furious with D66, labeling their actions as scandalous.
Lousewies van der Laan countered that she wanted only Verdonk and not the entire cabinet to resign, and that it was about the coerced statement, which she interpreted as abuse of power by the minister. She blamed VVD and CDA for keeping Verdonk as minister.
The newspaper
Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) on 30 June
[Het Financieele Dagblad 30 June 2006] commented that it was highly unusual for a cabinet to resign after surviving 29 June
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
. According to the FD, Balkenende made an "expensive miscalculation" and the coalition was not able to cope with "accumulation of governmental screw ups, ego maniacal told-you-so attitude and political profiteering". As Prime Minister, Balkenende should have steered his cabinet around the pitfalls. On the same day, the
Volkskrant commented
[Volkskrant 30 June 2006] that D66 never was a strong supporter of this center-right cabinet and least of all a supporter of Verdonk. The newspaper described Balkenende as a poor leader with his ministers failing to acknowledge him. In short, the cabinet "slipped over a banana skin" according to this paper.
NRC Handelsblad
''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands.
History
''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on ...
's main editorial praised D66 and put the blame on Balkenende for not being able to limit the damage to a single minister. The paper questioned whether the CDA should maintain him as their political leader.
The timing of the cabinet collapse was poorly chosen for the two remaining coalition parties: the economy was improving after 3 years of harsh reforms and little growth; finally, more people were working and unemployment rates showed a decline. The reforms initiated three years ago (one of them a 20 billion euro spending cut) were starting to deliver results. It was felt that CDA and VVD had not been able to benefit from it to its full potential. The polls had already showed improved voter support for VVD and CDA compared to the record-low results the year before.
[ The 29 June Nova poll allotted 38 seats to the CDA, 31 seats to the VVD, and 3 seats to D66; a majority requires 76 seats.
With the collapse of the cabinet some of its initiatives became jeopardized: ]economic liberalization
Economic liberalization (or economic liberalisation) is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...
for gas utility companies, new rules for competition regulators, and liberalizations in the subsidized housing market. A demissionary cabinet
A demissionary cabinet ( nl, demissionair kabinet) is a type of caretaker cabinet in the Netherlands.
A demissionary cabinet continues the current government after a cabinet has ended. This can either be after completion of the full term, be ...
would not have been able to tackle these issues but a minority government still could.
On 30 June 2006, the Prime Minister met with Queen Beatrix offering the resignation of the two D66 ministers and offering their portfolios to the other ministers. He expressed his preference for a minority government, a so-called '' rompkabinet''. Maxime Verhagen
Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen (; born 14 September 1956) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and historian.
Verhagen studied Contemporary history at the Leiden University obtaining a Master of Arts degre ...
of the CDA and Mark Rutte (VVD) also gave their support for this solution when they were invited for consultation with Beatrix. Two important considerations were imminent for them: the Dutch military NATO mission to Uruzgan, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
, and the decision on the 2007 budget to be made in September 2006. The main opposition leaders were in favor of a demissionary cabinet
A demissionary cabinet ( nl, demissionair kabinet) is a type of caretaker cabinet in the Netherlands.
A demissionary cabinet continues the current government after a cabinet has ended. This can either be after completion of the full term, be ...
(without authority for new policies), and elections as soon as possible.
In an interview with NRC Handelsblad
''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands.
History
''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on ...
on 1 July, Alexander Pechtold raised his suspicion that VVD and CDA had already for a long time been prepared to drop D66 from the coalition in favor of the support by Pim Fortuyn List
The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The p ...
(LPF). According to Pechtold this explained the reluctance of VVD and CDA ministers to offer constructive solutions at the height of the crisis. The LPF expressed their support for a minority cabinet on numerous occasions, adding the irony that after the first Balkende cabinet failed in 2003 because of the destructive attitude of LPF, the same LPF was ready to replace D66.
2006 Information round
Also on 1 July, Queen Beatrix appointed Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
Ruud Lubbers as so-called '' informateur'' to see if a so-called rump cabinet could be formed. This would be a cabinet of CDA and VVD with a minority of seats in parliament, which would have to seek support from one or more opposition parties for every decision. At this stage, general elections were planned to take place in November 2006. According to Lubbers the prospective third Balkenende cabinet should be based on the coalition agreement of 2003 and the more recent Easter Accord.
Lubbers' information task was expected to take until 7 July with elections set at 22 November 2006. However, Lubbers was able to present his final conclusions to the Queen already on 5 July. Balkenende was then appointed as the so-called '' formateur'' with the actual task of forming a new cabinet. He appointed new ministers and presented a formal cabinet statement to parliament on 7 July 2006.
Cabinet members
:
:
:
:
:
:
References
External links
;Official
*
Kabinet-Balkenende II
Parlement & Politiek
*
Kabinet Balkenende II
Rijksoverheid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balkenende cabinet, Second
Cabinets of the Netherlands
2003 establishments in the Netherlands
2006 disestablishments in the Netherlands
Cabinets established in 2003
Cabinets disestablished in 2006