Parliamentary elections held on 22 November 2006 in the Netherlands have significantly changed the political balance. Right-wing parties have been weakened by the elections, while the left has been strengthened. The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers responded cautiously to the election outcome; the Dutch Trade Union Federation expects the outcome to reinforce socially oriented politics in the Netherlands.
Early parliamentary elections held in the House of Representatives on 22 November 2006 in the Netherlands have significantly changed the political balance. Of the majority parties, the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen Democratisch Appèl, CDA) lost three seats but remained the largest party in the country with 41 seats. The number of seats held by the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) dropped from 28 seats to 22 seats. The progressive, social-liberal Democrats 66 (Democraten 66, D66) retained only three of its original six seats.
This combined total of 66 seats proved insufficient for the former coalition parties to maintain their majority in the Dutch House of Representatives; the coalition has not been valid since D66 withdrew its support for the cabinet in the summer of 2006. The newcomer conservative Party for Freedom, previously known as Group Wilders (Partij voor de Vrijheid, groep Wilders) – which is led by Geert Wilders who left the VVD in 2004 – won nine seats in the general election. The main manifesto in this party’s election campaign was concern over potential Islamic dominance in the Netherlands.
Among the left-wing groups, the social democratic Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) experienced a significant loss despite high expectations based on opinion polls. The party only succeeded in securing 32 seats, having hoped for more than 40 seats. The Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP) was the biggest winner with 26 seats, representing an increase of 17 seats. The centre-left Christian Union (ChristenUnie, CU) now occupies six seats in the new Dutch House of Representatives.
Reaction of social partners
The social partners responded differently to the election outcome. The Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV) is pleased that the electorate has rejected the rightwing, former coalition government. Chair Agnes Jongerius interprets the outcome as a sign that the Netherlands is shifting towards becoming more socially oriented. Market mechanisms and accountability were used as an excuse to justify social security cutbacks and healthcare reforms, according to Ms Jongerius. In her view, employers were given complete freedom while recession-triggered cutbacks continually eroded a sense of security among the country’s citizens. The vote against this is now a resounding ‘no’ and, in the opinion of FNV, the agenda will therefore have to change. The result will mean greater balance between the social partners, and FNV looks forward to the future.
The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (Vereniging van Nederlandse Ondernemingen-Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond, VNO-NCW) is less pleased with the expected changes alluded to by FNV. Chair Bernard Wientjes is concerned about the rise of the SP as this political party’s programme is at odds with creating favourable conditions for greater entrepreneurship and economic growth. Mr Wientjes views the SP’s programme – along with that of the PvdA – as a threat to the Dutch business community. The plan to reverse the lowering of corporation tax is an example in this respect. While Mr Wientjes cannot understand how a serious party such as the PvdA could possibly allow this to happen, he is far less certain about the SP’s intentions.
As yet, Ms Jongerius does not wish to express any preferences regarding prospective ruling coalitions. Through the FNV membership panel, a majority of the union’s membership has already indicated a preference for a coalition between the PvdA, SP and Green Left (GroenLinks). Meanwhile, VNO-NCW has expressed a preference for a centre-left cabinet including the CDA, PvdA and CU.
Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)