Politics

The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common strife for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole.

Constitution

The constitution lists the basic civil and social rights of the Dutch citizens and it describes the position and function of the institutions that have executive, legislative and judiciary power.

It should be noted that the constitution of the Netherlands is only applicable in the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Kingdom as a whole has its own Statute, describing its federate political system which also includes the Caribbean islands of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

The Netherlands do not have a Constitutional Court and judges do not have the authority to review laws on their constitutionality. International treaties and the Statute of the Kingdom, however overrule Dutch law and the constitution and judges are allowed to review laws against these in a particular court case. Furthermore all legislation that is not a law in the strict sense of the word (such as policy guidelines or laws proposed by provincial or municipal government) can be tested on their constitutionality.

Amendments to the constitution must be approved by both Houses of the States-General twice. The first time around, this requires a simple majority of fifty percent plus one vote. After parliament has been dissolved and general elections are held, both Houses must approve the proposed amendments with a two thirds majority.

Political Institutions

Major political institutions are the monarchy, the cabinet, the States General (parliament) and the judicial system. There are three other High Colleges of state, which stand on equal foot with parliament but have a less political role, of which the Council of State is the most important. Other levels of government are the municipalities, the waterboards and the provinces. Although not mentioned in the constitution, political parties and the social partners organised in the Social Economic Council are important political institutions as well.

It is important to realise that the Netherlands does not have a traditional separation of powers: according to the States-General and the government (the Queen and cabinet) share the legislative power. All legislation has to pass through the Raad van State and the social-economic council advises the government on most social-economic legislation. The executive power is reserved for government. Note however that the Social-Economic Council has the special right to make and enforce legislation on several sectors, mostly in agriculture. The judicial power is divided into two separate systems of courts. For criminal law the independent Hoge Raad is the highest court. For administrative law the Raad van State is the highest court, which is ex officio chaired by the Queen.

Monarchy

The Netherlands have been a monarchy since March 16, 1815, and have been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau ever since.

The present monarchy was originally founded in 1813. After the expulsion of the French, the Prince of Orange was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of The Netherlands. The new monarchy was confirmed in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna as part of the re-arrangement of Europe after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. The House of Orange-Nassau were given the present day Netherlands and Belgium to govern as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

The current monarch is Queen Beatrix. The heir apparent is Willem-Alexander, her son.

Constitutionally, the Queen is head of state and has a role in the formation of government and in the legislative process. She has to co-sign every law to make it valid. The monarch is also ex officio chair of the Council of State, which advises the cabinet on every piece of legislation and is the final court for administrative law. Although the Queen takes these functions seriously, she refrains from exerting her power in these positions. The Queen also plays a central role in the formation of a cabinet after general elections or a cabinet crisis. Since coalition cabinets of two or more parties are the rule, this process has influence on government policy for years to come. She appoints the (in)formateur, who chairs the formation talks, after consulting the leaders of all parties represented in parliament. When the formation talks have been concluded the Queen appoints the cabinet. Because this advice is a matter of public record, the Queen can not easily take a direction which is contrary to the advice of a majority in parliament. On the other hand, what is actually talked about behind the closed doors of the palace is not known. When a cabinet falls, the prime minister has to request the Queen to dismiss the cabinet.

Cabinet

The government of the Netherlands constitutionally consists of the Queen and the cabinet ministers. The Queen's role is limited to the formation of government and she does not actively interfere in daily decision-making. The ministers together form the Council of Ministers. This executive council initiates laws and policy. It meets every Friday in the Trêveszaal at the Binnenhof. While most of the ministers head government ministries, since 1939 it has been permissible to appoint ministers without portfolio.

The Cabinet is composed of all cabinet ministers and junior ministers, the staatssecretarissen. Junior ministers take over part of responsibilities of minister. They only attend the meetings of the Council of Ministers if the Council invites them regarding a specific subject.

The Council of Ministers makes decisions by means of collegiate governance. All ministers, including the Prime Minister, are (theoretically) equal. Behind the closed doors of the Trêveszaal, ministers can freely debate proposed decisions and express their opinion on any aspect of cabinet policy. Once a decision is made by the council, all individual members are bound by it and are obliged to support it publicly. If a member of the cabinet does not agree with a particular decision he will have to step down. Generally much effort is put into reaching relative consensus on any decision. A process of voting within the Council does exist, but is hardly ever used.

The cabinet is collectively responsible to Parliament, and must enjoy its confidence. It is not possible to for a minister to be a member of parliament, although many ministers are selected from parliament and have to give up their seat as a result. Ministers or junior ministers who are no longer supported by a parliamentary majority are expected by convention to step down.

As a result of the electoral system and the lack of dominating parties, coalition cabinets, composed out of two or three parties, are the norm.

Prime Minister

The official task of the Prime Minister is to coordinate government policy. The Prime Minister is chairman of the Council of Ministers and as such has the power to set the agenda of its meetings. In addition, the Prime minister is also Minister of General Affairs. The task of this small department is basically supporting the Prime Minister in their tasks as described above and organising publicity around government proposals and decisions. The position of the Prime Minister has become more important since the Second World War.

States-General

The Dutch Parliament or States-General consists of a Lower House or Second Chamber and an Upper House or First Chamber, also referred to as the Senate. Both houses of Parliament discuss proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet. The Second Chamber also has the right to propose or amend legislation.

Members of the Second Chamber, generally considered the more important House, are elected directly every four years with a list proportional representation. Members are chosen on personal title, so in the relatively rare case that a member no longer agrees with his (or her) party, the member can decide to stay in the chamber, either as an independent representative, or connected to another parliamentary party. If a member decides to resign, the empty seat falls to the original party collecting the votes, and can be filled by a member of that party. Coalition governments may fall before their term ends, which usually results in early dissolution of the Second Chamber and new elections.

Members of the First Chamber are elected indirectly by provincial councillors, again every four years, just after the elections of the provincial councils, via a system of proportional representation. This election method reflects the historical roots of the First Chamber as a representative body of the different regional entities that formed the Netherlands. Nowadays, the Senate is mainly considered to be a body of elderly statesmen reconsidering legislation at ease, away from the pressure of daily political and media hypes.

Council of State

The Council of State is an advisory body of cabinet on constitutional and judicial aspects of legislature and policy. All laws proposed by the cabinet have to be sent to the Council of State for advice. Although the advice is not binding, the cabinet is required to react to the advice and it often plays a significant role in the ensuing debate in Parliament. In addition the Council is the highest administrative court.

The Council is ex officio chaired by the Queen. Currently the crown prince is member as well. The Queen however leaves daily affairs to the vice-chair of the Council and the other councillors, who are mainly legal specialists, former ministers, members of parliament and judges or professors of law.

High Colleges of State

The Dutch political system has five so called the High Colleges of State, which are explicitly regarded as independent by the Constitution. Apart from the two Houses of Parliament and the Council of State, these are the Algemene Rekenkamer (Court of Audit) and the Nationale Ombudsman (National Ombudsman).

The Algemene Rekenkamer investigates whether public funds are collected and spent legitimately and effectively. The Nationale Ombudsman investigates complaints about the practices of government. As with the advice of the Council of State, the reports from these organisations are not easily put aside and often play a role in public and political debate.

The Nationale Ombudsman investigates complaints of citizens about the functioning of government.

Judicial System

The judiciary comprises 19 district courts, five courts of appeal, two administrative courts (Centrale Raad van Beroep and the College van beroep voor het bedrijfsleven) and a Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) which has 24 justices. All judicial appointments are made by the Government. Judges nominally are appointed for life but actually retire at age 70. The Council of State functions as the highest court in most administrative cases.

Social Economic Council

Both trade unions and employers' organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with government the Social-economic council (Sociaal Economische Raad, SER). This body advises government and its advice, just like the advice of the High Colleges of State, cannot be put aside easily. The SER heads a system of PBO's, self-regulatory organisations that can make laws for specific economic sectors.

The following organisations are represented in the Social Economic Council:

the leftwing trade union FNV
the Christian trade union CNV
the trade union for managerial staff MHP
the employers' organisations VNO-NCW
the employers' organisation for smaller companies MKB
the employers' organisation for farmers LTO

One third of the members of the council is appointed by the government. These include both professors of economy and related fields and representatives of the economic planning institute CPB and De Nederlandsche Bank. In the working groups of the SER representatives of environmental and consumers' organisations are also represented.

Subnational Government

Regional government in the Netherlands is formed by twelve provinces. Provinces are responsible for spatial planning, health policy and recreation, within the bounds prescribed by the national government. Furthermore they oversee the policy and finances of municipalities and waterboards. The executive power is in hands of the Queen's Commissioner and the College of the Gedeputeerde Staten. The Queen's Commissioner is appointed by the national Cabinet and responsible to the minister of Internal Affairs. Members of the Gedeputeerde Staten are appointed by, and responsible to the provincial legislature, the Provinciale Staten, which is elected by direct suffrage.

Local government in the Netherlands is formed by 458 municipalities. Municipalities are responsible for education, spatial planning and social security, within the bounds prescribed by the national and provincial government. They are governed by the College of Mayor and Aldermen. The Mayor is appointed by the national Cabinet and responsible to the minister of Internal Affairs. The Aldermen are appointed by, and responsible to the Municipal Council, which is elected by direct suffrage.

The major cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam are subdivided into administrative area's (stadsdelen), which have their own (limited) responsibilities.

Furthermore there are waterboards which are responsible for the country's polders, dikes and other waterworks. These bodies are elected in non-partisan elections and have the power to tax their residents.

Political Parties

The system of proportional representation, combined with the historical social division between Catholics, Protestants, Socialists and Liberals has resulted in a multiparty system. The major political parties are CDA, PvdA, SP and VVD. The parties currently represented in the Dutch Second Chamber are:

Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)

CDA is a centre-right Christian Democratic party. It holds to the principle that government activity should supplement but not supplant communal action by citizens. The CDA sees its philosophy as standing between the "individualism" of the VVD and the "statism" of the PvdA.

The Labour Party (PvdA)

PvdA (Partij van de Arbeid) is a social democratic, centre-left Labour party. Its programme is based on greater social, political and economic equality for all citizens.

Socialist Party (SP)

SP (Socialistische Partij) is a socialist party, which has evolved from a Maoist split from the Communist Party Netherlands into a much less radical socialist party. It remains far more left-wing than the Labour party, but at the same time is considered more conservative than the Labour party and the GroenLinks party.

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)

VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) is a conservative-liberal party. It attaches great importance to private enterprise and the freedom of the individual in political, social, and economic affairs.

Party for Freedom (PVV)

PVV (Partij voor de Vrijheid) is an anti-Islam nationalist-conservative party. It has a platform based on free market economics and opposition to immigration and European integration.

GreenLeft

GreenLeft (GroenLinks) combines, as its name implies green, environmentalist, ideals with leftwing ideals.

ChristianUnion

ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie) is an orthodox Protestant party, with conservative stances on abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. In other areas the party is considered centre-left, for instance on immigration, welfare state and the environment.

Democrats 66 (D66)

D66 (Politieke Partij Democraten 66) is a social-liberal radical party. The party supports liberal policies on abortion and euthanasia and reform of the welfare state. The party is left-wing on immigration, the environment and foreign policy.

Party for the Animals

The Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren) is a single-issue animal rights party with natural affinity with environmental issues. For general purposes, the party is considered left of centre.

Reformed Political Party (SGP)

SGP (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij) is an orthodox Protestant party with conservative policies and it sees government as unconditional servant of God.

Foreign Policy

The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments:

to the Atlantic cooperation
to European integration
to international development
to international law

While historically the Netherlands was a neutral state, since the Second World War the Netherlands became a member of a large number of international organisations; most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU.

One of the more controversial international issues surrounding the Netherlands is its liberal policy towards soft drugs and the position of the Netherlands one of the major exporters of hard drugs.

Military

Conscription in the Netherlands was suspended in 1996. All military specialities, except the Submarine service and Marine Corps, are open to women. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs 68,000 personnel, including both civilian and military personnel.

The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):

Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army
Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps
Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force
Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Military Police, tasks include military police and border control