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Cabinet collapse: what happens next?Saturday 20 February 2010 The collapse of prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende's fourth government means new elections will probably be held within the next three months. On Monday, queen Beatrix will begin consulting her advisors and the main party leaders about what steps should be taken to ensure smooth government until a new coalition government is elected. Most likely is that Christian Democrat and ChristenUnie ministers will stay on in a caretaker role and temporary replacements will be found for the 12 Labour ministers and junior ministers. Campaign Once queen Beatrix has signed the official declaration that the coalition government has been dissolved, the new election campaign can begin. Unless the monarch agrees otherwise, elections must be held within 83 days. Political parties have 40 days to finalise their list of candidates - the Netherlands does not have a constituency based system and MPs are chosen on the basis of party lists. Once the lists have been drawn up, there is a maximum 43 period for the formal campaign and vote itself. Eight days after the election, the new parliament will meet for the first time. How to form a new government Once the votes have been counted, the actual process of forming a new government can begin. With a majority government requiring at least 76 of the 150 seats in parliament, forming a coalition can be a tricky business. It is a process which takes months: the longest cabinet formation took 208 days, the shortest just 10. Queen Beatrix will first consults the party leaders, her own advisors and other senior politicians and appoint an informateur - the person charged with putting together a tentative coalition. The informateur sounds out the party leaders about potential coalitions and reports back to the queen. Once a potential coalition has been identified, the queen will name a formateur. The formateur (usually the next prime minister) does the nitty gritty job of putting together a coalition agreement, or regeerakkord, in which the broad lines of new government policy are set down. When all that has been finalised, ministers are appointed and the new government is finally sworn in.
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I'm a little scared of what this snap election will result in. Too many far-right/centre-right parties too high in the polls for my liking. It could get very very messy. By john | February 20, 2010 5:10 PM hi john, what's wong? i thought liberals were supposed to be tolerant? or does that only apply to those who share your views. Wilders For PM! By John Doe | February 20, 2010 8:50 PM An open letter to Mr. Bos. By Michael Kadin | February 21, 2010 11:13 AM So the Dutch "government" has collapsed, and will pull it's troops out of Afghanistan this summer\fall. I'm sorry to hear that 21 Dutch soldiers have fallen since 2006, but I have to wonder... how many Canadian boys fell in the Sheldt alone, while liberating Holland from a lesser evil than the Taliban...? Of all the people in the world, the Dutch should know what is worth fighting for... James Robertson By James Robertson | February 21, 2010 10:23 PM It is now Wilders time. This is fantastic for the Netherlands. By Mike Beck | February 22, 2010 5:35 AM john doe, The worst thing in the world you can call me is a liberal, I don't adhere to Americanisms! But you're missing my point. Of course everyone is free to vote for whomever they like. My point is that I don't like Mr Wilder's politics, personality or agenda. If he somehow gets enough votes to become a member of the next coalition government, I will leave this country rapidly. He has the right to stand for election on whatever platform he wishes and if he gets enough votes then fair enough. I just won't stick around to see the mess he would created. By john | February 22, 2010 12:09 PM With the increase of right wing parties I fear the Netherlands will change from being known as a liberal, welcoming country to one that hates all outsiders. I have already seen a country that has a "Wilders" like leader, and that's in Africa(Zimbabwe). Hopefully though if Wilders does somehow magically become the prime minister the constitution will protect us all, unless, like George W.Bush, he can change it. By Rolf van Bos | February 22, 2010 12:56 PM
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Here comes an interesting vote for new elections in interesting times, this could be the best thing that has happened for the NL in the last 20 years
By bet | February 20, 2010 4:39 PM