Legislators will have the last word on the government agreement reached by four parties after nine months of negotiations
The Parliament of the Netherlands this Thursday has in its hands the possibility of finally shelving the longest governance crisis in its history. It has been more than nine months or what is the same, 271 days, which has been needed to overcome the mistrust and reluctance of the four ruling formations in order to reach a consensus on a coalition agreement that, in all probability, will return power to Acting Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The pact, the result of arduous negotiations that exceeded the record of 255 days that was already registered in 2017 in the country to form the cabinet, will be put to a vote tomorrow in the Chamber after its presentation today before the legislators. It has been a road full of obstacles that has kept the institutions at half gas, having a government in office after elections held in March that did not help to clear the political horizon. On the contrary, they pushed the parties to seek alliances in a complex scenario dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and strong disagreements.
For these reasons, the announcement late Monday that the same parties of the previous legislature – the right-wing liberals (VVD), the left-wing liberals (D66), the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU) – had achieved a government pact was interpreted as a political triumph. “It is a good agreement,” said Rutte, who has been the head of the Government since 2010 but has been in office since last January after being forced to resign as a result of the Executive wrongly accusing thousands of families of fraudulently collecting subsidies.
The four parties that have sealed the government pact yesterday submitted the text for approval by their respective parliamentary groups. In the absence of the final position of the VVD and CU being known last night, the CDA was generally “satisfied” and noted that there were only “some details” that required some adjustments. Meanwhile, the members of D66 accepted the document with “total conviction,” as detailed by the leader of the formation, Sigrid Kaag.
The agreed measures
Although the content of the agreement has not yet been officially released, some leaks to the Dutch media pointed out yesterday that among the agreed measures is the free children’s schools, important investments to curb climate change and in nuclear energy research. It also includes initiatives aimed at making up for the lack of housing, responses to the nitrogen crisis and even in the longer term it is planned to introduce a charge to drivers based on the kilometers traveled by their cars on the roads.
If the new coalition agreement is obtained, as planned, the green light in Parliament, the Netherlands will still have to wait until the second week of January, specifically on the 10th, for the formation of the Executive. Before the parties will have to agree on the distribution of the different portfolios. In this regard, it is expected that there will be 20 ministries and ten secretaries of State with parity between men and women.
Rutte, for his part, would chain his fourth consecutive term and would automatically become the second ruler of Europe with the longest time in power, after his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
.
#Dutch #Parliament #votes #Thursday #reelection #Rutte