Second Cabinet Balkenende
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The second Balkenende cabinet was the
executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
of the
Government of the Netherlands The Netherlands is a Parliamentary system, parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a Decentralization, decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. ...
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 * Filin ...
was formed by the
Christian-democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well a ...
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
(CDA), the conservative-liberal
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...
(VVD), and the
social-liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited ...
Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...
(D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
coalition and had a slim
majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
with Christian Democratic Leader
Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...
serving as
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. Liberal Leader
Gerrit Zalm Gerrit Zalm (; born 6 May 1952) is a retired Dutch people, Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Zalm studied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, obtaining a Master of Economics degree ...
, a former
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
, served as
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus de Graaf (; born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State (Netherlands), Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. Early ...
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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
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 and the government support for the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. 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 introduction of a new referendum system. The cabinet fell prematurely on 30 June 2006 after Democrats 66 supported a
motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
against Immigration Minister
Rita Verdonk Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a Dutch politician and businesswoman formerly affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later Proud of the Netherlands (TON), which she founded in 2 ...
and withdrew its support, with all Democrats 66 cabinet members resigning on 3 July 2006 and the cabinet continuing in a
demissionary A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
capacity until it was replaced by the
caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Occupations * Janitor (chiefly in the United States), a person who cleans and maintains buildings such as hospitals and schools * Property caretaker, a person who cares for a property * Caregiver or carer (UK), a person wh ...
third Balkenende cabinet The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-libe ...
on 7 July 2006.


Formation

On 24 January 2003
Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...
asked
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
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 car ...
(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 is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
to continue in government without the support of a third party. Another coalition with
Pim Fortuyn List The Pim Fortuyn List (, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands that existed from 2002 to 2008 at a national level and was named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was ...
(LPF) would be likely to be unpopular with voters after the events of the
First Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn L ...
, and the D66 was unwilling to join such a coalition. A government supported by the Christian right-wing
Reformed Political Party The Reformed Political Party ( , SGP) is a conservative Reformed ChristianThese sources describe the SGP as a Calvinist (Reformed Christian) political party: * * * * political party in the Netherlands. The SGP is the oldest political party in the ...
(SGP) and the social conservative Christian Union (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 An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
, the bad economic forecasts and personal animosity between incumbent
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Party leader, Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal is the most senior politician within the Christian Democratic Appeal (, CDA) in the Netherlands.The current leader has been Henri Bontenbal since 14 August 2023. History The leaders o ...
Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...
and
Wouter Bos Wouter Jacob Bos (; born 14 July 1963) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman. Bos attended the Christian Gymnasium in Zeist from June 1975 until July 1980 and applied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in ...
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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
of 78 seats out of 150. When VVD Member of the House of Representatives
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
), 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 a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. 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 Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a Dutch politician and businesswoman formerly affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later Proud of the Netherlands (TON), which she founded in 2 ...
(VVD) as a
Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
within the
Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
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 The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple (government), Purple cabinet, was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a c ...
by the then Mayor of Amsterdam,
Job Cohen Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as List of mayors of Amsterdam, Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from ...
. 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 languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...
,
political system In political science, a political system means the form of Political organisation, political organization that can be observed, recognised or otherwise declared by a society or state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official gov ...
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 pension A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. North America An example of a disability pension is from a private or Public Pension Plan, or the Canada Pen ...
s. 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 Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
. 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 (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
, 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 Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) in ...
who was later
Assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
during the election campaign. The cabinet appointed
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus de Graaf (; born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State (Netherlands), Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. Early ...
(D66) as
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
and as a
Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
within the
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (; BZK) is the Ministries of the Netherlands, Netherlands' ministry responsible for domestic policy, civil service, public administration, elections, relations with local governments, intelligen ...
with the responsibilities for Government Reform.
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus de Graaf (; born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State (Netherlands), Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. Early ...
(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 A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
. To change this the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
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 el ...
. 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 any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
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 el ...
voted against a proposal to introduce a constitutional amendment that would allow the directly elected mayor. As a result,
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus de Graaf (; born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State (Netherlands), Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. Early ...
(D66) resigned as
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
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 Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66. Pechtold studied Archaeology and History of Dutch Art at Leiden University, and obtained a Master of Arts degree. Pechtold work ...
(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 A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
was taken over by Minister of Economic Affairs
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Early life and education Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. His parents were ...
(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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, 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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
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 Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
and
GreenLeft (, ; GL) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the ...
(GL), the largest trade union, the FNV, environmental organisations like
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
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 educated ...
, 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, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. Two ministers, the
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
minister of Foreign Affairs De Gucht and the
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
vice-prime minister Van den Bossche 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 Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; 2 February 1931 – 5 February 2024) was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader o ...
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 ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. 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 Bruno Johannes Bruins (born 10 July 1963) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as Minister for Medical Care in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 to 19 March 2020, when he resigned. H ...
, 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 Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a Dutch politician and businesswoman formerly affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later Proud of the Netherlands (TON), which she founded in 2 ...
lost the support of the coalition party D66 over the
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; born 13 November 1969) is a Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced mar ...
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 or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
was initiated by opposition party
GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...
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 Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Unit ...
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 Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Early life and education Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. His parents were ...
and
Alexander Pechtold Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66. Pechtold studied Archaeology and History of Dutch Art at Leiden University, and obtained a Master of Arts degree. Pechtold work ...
had broken away from their party, supporting the cabinet but not their party member
Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Unit ...
. 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 Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...
was furious with D66, labeling their actions as scandalous.
Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Unit ...
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 ''Het Financieele Dagblad'' (; ) is a daily Dutch newspaper focused on business and financial matters. The paper was established in 1943. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam. It was among the newspapers participating in the Panama Papers ...
(FD) on 30 JuneHet 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 or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
. 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 ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...
commentedVolkskrant 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 ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
'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 A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
poll allotted 38 seats to the CDA, 31 seats to the
VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right that tries to promote private enterprise and ...
, 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 regulator A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of markets. It identifies and corrects practices causing market impediments and distortions through competition law (also known as antitrust law). In general it is a governm ...
s, and liberalizations in the subsidized housing market. A
demissionary cabinet A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
would not have been able to tackle these issues but a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
still could. On 30 June 2006, the Prime Minister met with
Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...
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 and historian. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2012 under Prime Ministe ...
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, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, 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 () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
(without authority for new policies), and elections as soon as possible. In an interview with
NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
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 (, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands that existed from 2002 to 2008 at a national level and was named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was ...
(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 Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...
appointed
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
and former
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of 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, l ...
Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refug ...
as so-called ''
informateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
'' to see if a so-called
rump cabinet A rump cabinet is a Cabinet (government), cabinet from which one or more Coalition government, coalition partners have withdrawn and which has minority support in parliament. Netherlands In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands a rump cabine ...
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 The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-libe ...
should be based on the
coalition agreement A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an e ...
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 A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
'' 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

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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