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The Netherlands has been a parliamentary democracy since 1848 and a constitutional monarchy since 1815; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 and a kingdom between 1806 and 1810 (it was part of France between 1810 and 1813). The head of state is the monarch (at present Queen Beatrix). The monarch has today in practice a mainly ceremonial function but the constitution allows for the exertion of real power, should the responsible ministers subordinate themselves; an open conflict between them and the monarch — whose signature is needed for any law or warrant to come into effect — would lead to a constitutional crisis. Dutch governments have since the 19th century always consisted of a coalition, as there was not a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the monarch appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that has taken up to seven months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the monarch. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, in Dutch Minister President or Premier, a primus inter pares who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the monarch has on actual government formation is a topic of ongoing speculation. The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial assemblies are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect every two years a third of the members of the less important Senate (the Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber that is hereby fully indirectly elected within six years), that can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them. Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten-Generaal, the States General. On February 7, 2006, the Second Chamber introduced the citizens' initiative right at the national level. Political scientists consider the Netherlands to be a classic example of a consociational state, traditionally explained by the necessity since the early middle ages for different social groups to cooperate in order to fight the water. Better founded hypotheses include a partial failing of feodalisation and the successful resistance against absolutism. This system of reaching an agreement despite differences is called the polder model in Dutch. Also, the Netherlands has long been a nation of traders, dominated by a freethinking bourgeoisie and for international trade one has to be tolerant of an other person's culture; at home, despite calvinism being till the 19th century the state religion, there was in practice much religious tolerance shown towards Catholics and Jews. Nevertheless Catholics were practically not allowed to hold government functions until the 19th century and in regards to Catholic, but also Jewish, church buildings, Protestant restrictions were observed. Until the middle of the 19th century Catholics were rarely allowed to build new churches which were visibly Catholic. The Netherlands tried between 1839 and 1940 to be a neutral country in most international affairs and thus managed to keep out of World War I (although this failed in World War II). As a result, the Dutch have a 'friendly' reputation in other countries, to the point that bearers of a Dutch passport often have relatively little difficulty getting into other countries, for visits or even for emigration purposes. However, the early years of the 21st century have seen a political change with the right wing in politics gaining on the left. This is illustrated by the quick rise (and fall) of the LPF. Pim Fortuyn, its founder, held former cabinets responsible for the presumed failing integration of immigrants. The present government is led by the minority cabinet Balkenende III, a short-term continuation of Balkenende II without the smallest coalition party, D66. Elections are planned for November 22, 2006. Balkenende II's economic reforms and controversial immigration policies had resulted in a shift in public opinion to the left, showing from political polls and the 2006 municipal elections, in which the government coalition parties faced great losses in favor of the opposition parties, mainly the Labor Party (PvdA) and the Socialist Party (SP). Following the controversial decisions of minister Verdonk regarding the legal status of immigrant politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch cabinet went into crisis on June 29, 2006. Jan-Peter Balkenende presented his temporary minority cabinet to the Queen on July 7. On June 1 2005 the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed EU Constitution by a majority of 61.6%, three days after the French had also voted against. Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia are among the most liberal in the world. |
Netherlands Information: Inside
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