Dutch cabinet formation

The only constitutional requirement is the appointment of ministers by the head of state at the end of the formation process.

According to customary law, the confidence rule [nl] dictates that the new cabinet must have the support of the majority in parliament.

In the subsequent information phase, negotiations will take place under the leadership of an informateur about the government's future policy programme, to be recorded in a coalition agreement.

During the formation phase, under the leadership of a formateur, the portfolios are determined, divided among the parties and ministers and state secretaries are sought.

Thus to form a stable government sufficient, and preferably majority support in both chambers is required.

[4] The day after the elections, the likely parliamentary groups meet, although the results are not yet final and the new House will not be installed until two weeks later.

This report will be discussed with the scout in the debate on the election results, which will take place as soon as possible after the installation of the new House.

On basis of this advice, the House of Representatives then appoints an informateur who explores the options for a new cabinet.

During these negotiations the parties try to find compromises on the policies of the future government and draft a coalition agreement.

After a candidacy has been accepted, the files on the candidate cabinet member are investigated in the judicial documentation register, at the General Intelligence and Security Service and at the Tax and Customs Administration.

[16] A few days later, the first Council of Ministers takes place, where the conclusions of the constitutive deliberations are included as the first item on the agenda.

The government's policy statement[17] (Dutch: Regeringsverklaring) is also discussed in the Council of Ministers and ultimately adopted.

The debate is the first moment at which the House can express its opinion on the required trust in the cabinet (the unwritten confidence rule).

[19] The process of forming a cabinet has its roots in the Constitutional Reform of 1848 and the introduction of the parliamentary system.

Before that time, the governing duties and authority were vested in the king, and the ministers primarily served him.

Since then, the process has evolved further, with the parliament playing an increasingly significant role, a development known as "parliamentarization".

After the Luxembourg Crisis in 1868, the confidence rule was affirmed, preventing the king from forming a cabinet against the wishes of the majority in the House of Representatives.

This change also introduced the practice of appointing a scout before the installation of the House, although this is not regulated in the Rules of Procedure.

According to political scientist Carla van Baalen, these complaints can be divided into three categories: lack of dualism, democratic deficit and the rules of the game.

[26] A large part of the promises from the calculations of the election programs by the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis corresponds to the final coalition agreement.

Possible explanations include a government wanting to start off well by improving purchasing power for all groups, and in negotiations, all parties aiming to secure something, which is resolved through increased spending and aversion to losses.

[28] One of the rules of the game that Van Baalen identified is speed; a caretaker cabinet must be in place for as short a time as possible.

The duration of formations is influenced by whether it takes place after elections, how many parties there are and how fragmented the outcome is.