Mark Rutte is very concerned about the possible premature departure of the Prime Minister to an international position in Brussels. He seems upset about it too. “I want, in all seriousness now, straight forward between the House and the cabinet, a guarantee from the Prime Minister that he will not leave like a thief in the night and give the mess that is now being created in the Netherlands by this cabinet to others. will transfer.”
It is 2009 and VVD faction leader Rutte questions Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA) in the main hall of the House of Representatives. Does Balkenende really plan to quit as Prime Minister to become President of the European Council? That position is just new, Balkenende's name is circulating in both Brussels and The Hague. That morning it had Financial Daily headlined: “Verhagen may become prime minister”, referring to Maxime Verhagen, the CDA Minister of Foreign Affairs. As if Balkenende was assured of the chairmanship and his succession had already been arranged.
Rutte wants, he says in the House of Representatives, “a rock-solid guarantee” from Balkenende that he will not stop leaving for Brussels prematurely. Rutte will not get that; Balkenende dismisses the rumors as “nonsense”. Not long afterwards, the Belgian Herman Van Rompuy was appointed.
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Speculation about succession
Fifteen years later, there is a significant chance that Mark Rutte himself will prematurely retire as Prime Minister to move to an international position in Brussels. He can count on support from most of NATO's allies to become secretary general, including the US. And now there is a lot of speculation about his successor. Will it be VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz, now outgoing Minister of Justice and Security? Or will the liberals choose someone else?
Both the VVD and the Ministry of General Affairs responded evasively to questions about a possible departure of the prime minister. The ministry does not even want to say whether, and if so, what role it plays in a possible follow-up procedure and whether there are protocols for this. Supposed reason: saying that plans are ready, or that they are being considered, is the same as admitting that Rutte is about to leave.
There is no (recent) precedent of a prime minister changing jobs and leaving in the meantime, says emeritus professor Joop van den Berg, who specializes in the parliamentary system and its history. And constitutional law does not provide a manual. “But law is not just law when it is in the books. In cases like this, where there are no explicit constitutional rules, you look for a solution that comes as close to constitutional law as possible.”
A cautious political exploration of this already took place in 2009, during the rumors about Balkenende's possible departure. Then a discussion broke out about his succession, Van den Berg recalls. The ruling party CDA believed that, as the largest faction, it could appoint a successor. Opposition party D66 believed that new elections should be called.
The latter is not necessary, is Van den Berg's view. “In the final phase of a cabinet formation, a formateur is appointed who then becomes the prime minister. As soon as he leaves, what he formed no longer exists and a cabinet falls.” The solution: after consultation with the Council of Ministers, appoint a new formateur, who will then become Prime Minister. “Then no new elections are necessary.”
The political situation is now completely different. The Rutte IV cabinet is outgoing and will only be in place until a new cabinet is formed. According to Van den Berg, appointing a formateur for the outgoing cabinet now, while informateur Kim Putters is busy forming a new coalition, would be illogical.
Instead, the VVD, which was the largest party when the Rutte IV cabinet was formed, should nominate a candidate for prime minister as long as there is no new cabinet – without first appointing a formateur again. The VVD can nominate a current minister to succeed Rutte, but that is not necessary, it can also be someone from outside. In any case, Van den Berg expects that the VVD will first seek support from the other government parties to be sure of enough support.
Raise hands
Because ultimately the Council of Ministers must vote on the appointment of ministers and therefore also the Prime Minister, as stated in the Rules of Order. Although the vote is not very formal with ballot papers or raising hands, says Van den Berg. “It is presented informally and if no one objects, it is fine.”
There are therefore no clear rules regarding a prime minister who departs prematurely. On the other hand, it is also not stated that a prime minister should never hold another position within his term. “You can argue about it,” says Van den Berg, “whether a prime minister should finish his job. That is more of a moral than a legal discussion. But if someone leaves because the international community makes an appeal, then that is seen as something that should not be made difficult.”
Whether Rutte goes or stays, according to Van den Berg it would be good to determine “better and more neatly” in the Netherlands how the succession of a prime minister who leaves in the meantime should proceed. “We are quite sloppy about that.”
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