Elections in the Netherlands

Dutch surprise

Voters may get what they least expected: a stable two-party coalition

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Readers' comments


Fred Breughel

It's "same old same old" in The Netherlands and politicians are thrilled about it. No wonder as government expenditures are 5% higher - as percentage of GDP - than before the crisis in 2008. 300 billion to spend is truly a politicians wet dream.

Let me do the math for you: 5% of Dutch GDP is 30 Billion. For the 8 million people that (are still silly enough to) work in The Netherlands: That is 3750 euro per worker. The cost of your vote.

As it is with Hollands housing sector, it will soon reach a seller's market. No way any sane Dutch person is going to sell their house at current prices. Especially when eyeing the 5% inflation (incl. the increased VAT) that's coming up.

It only requires a Dutch banking system that is not so preoccupied with avoiding competition with one another. ING for instance is banned from offering attractive mortgages due to the received governmental aid. Have a look: 20-year mortgages in The Netherlands are twice so expensive as in neighboring countries. The unbelievable stupidity of government policies.

Promise: In four years from now there will be:
- Increased taxes in The Netherlands including various new ones as The Hague's politicians will have to be increasingly ingenious.
- More unemployed and long-term "disabled"
- Considerable lower pensions

Never ask politicians for solutions. The Dutch voter unfortunately did and will have to cough up the cost.

CarlijnK in reply to Fred Breughel

Who else should we ask but politicians for solutions though? There's nobody else to ask, politicians are the ones that end up deciding everything for everybody.
Spending so much in times of recession isn't such a bad thing though, right now it means that a lot of people can keep their jobs. It's when people start losing their jobs things fall apart.

CarlijnK in reply to Fred Breughel

Gay marriage and euthanasia for example. But I agree with you on current politics completely, what we are missing are cold hard facts and people who actually know what they are doing. Scientists, people who have studied for years and have experience.

I don't think overspending has led to more jobs but I do think it sustained a lot of jobs. Also I'm not sure if that actually is overspending compared to other countries in Europe right now. I mean, if we really spend 5% more, surely this has translated into more income as well? As a government, spending 5% more doesn't automatically mean you've lost that 5%.

Fred Breughel in reply to CarlijnK

Yes Carlijn, it does mean you've lost 5%. When you take the trouble of reading the Miljoennota 2012 and 2013, you can read exactly where that overspending went: right into the Dutch unsustainable zieligheidsmachine (patronizing-machine).

If you think that's a positive NPV investment for the Dutch economy, kindly read that even the State is acknowledging that it has been crowding out education, infrastructure and other state expenditures. At a record whooping 150 billion, I don't need to explain the 18750 euro cost per worker yearly, now do I? When is it too much to bear, Carlijn, at 25000 euro? When your kids education cost triple as much as now? Do you then wake up?

There is no stopping the corruption in this sector and Dutch politicans won't touch it. Good luck with that as it truly is your problem and not mine (I got out!).

CarlijnK in reply to Fred Breughel

First of all, thank you for talking down on me like that, I appreciate it. I don't have kids, I'm 21 years old. I'm trying to understand more about economics, when I ask things I don't mean it in a way like 'because I know you're wrong' I actually want to learn more about it.
You make it seem as though my country is dying. The Dutch situation actually isn't all that bad. People can still afford to buy food and own a house and have an education.
There might have been crowding out, a tiny bit, but our education and infrastructure are among the best in the world. And both are affordable and accessible for everybody.
Costs might rise due to crowding out but that's why we have politicians that can go in and fix things (and there's no doubt in my mind that they will try and fix things because they too must live with the direct consequences of their actions).
Good for you that you got out, I'm hoping to leave for the US as soon as I can.

Peter van Leeuwen

The two parties, if they'll form a coalition, will more easily agree on Europe than on most other issues: Rutte's VVD always lends its ear to business, which, in the Netherlands, is all strongly pro-EU and pro-euro. Rutte's eurosceptic noises probably were an attempt to steal votes from the bluntly anti-EU stance by Geert Wilders. In his last coalition Rutte proved very wary of Wilders' populist appeal and actually descended from clever communicator to “teflon-coated coward”, especially when he failed to stand up against Wilders discriminatory website inciting people to report about Poles and other EU-immigrants.
For the other issues, rather than compromise towards the middle, it might be better to give each other winning points, as they are easier to explain afterwards to the supporters (e.g. “we lost on mortgages, but we won on healthcare policies”)


The Socialist Party had some good points about the banks and central banks destroying the wealth of ordinary people but were to stupid and afraid to explain it to the people. And of course their socialist measures will make it worse.

The PVV (Wilders) had some good points about the negative sides of the Euro, but everyone now knows that he's crazy, so again nobody will listen.

But the discontent among the people is still very large and when someone comes along who is smart enough to profit from it, the traditional parties will again be blown away.


I would hesitate to put too much faith in the election results when it comes to the attitude towards Europe. For a large part I think the late swing reflects a desire not to let the "other side" gain the upper hand by becoming the largest party.
I would also not count on a two-party coalition. Partly because these parties need some centralist "glue" to mediate between them (pointing at D66), partly to ensure a working majority in the Upper Chamber (pointing at CDA).
The difficulty will be that the VVD has definitely made a moderate rightwing adjustment during the last period, and may think this is the reason for the electoral success making compromise more difficult. The PvdA has certainly made a fairly large leftward swing under Samsom, eating away at the SP but espousing some policies that will be anathema to the VVD. The common ground is not obvious and I think the generation of a coalition agreement will be a long and arduous process. Whatever coalition emerges, I do hope they will finally finish a 4-year parliament.

CarlijnK in reply to Valdemar_II

I completely agree, especially about 'not to let the "other side" gain the upper hand'. Not only is this happening in the USA it's also happening in the Netherlands and it's something I'm not really too fond off. Let's hope there's influence of both parties these next four years to rebuild the Dutch house market and economy.
Also The Economist should have stated the part about the Upper Chamber, it's crucial in the forming of this coalition. It will never be just PvdA and VVD.


The results of the Dutch elections of September 12th show that the Dutch voters have spoken loud and clear: We are part of the EU and the EU is part of the Netherlands. The anti-European Socialist Party and the far-right Freedom Party of Geert Wilders were clearly out-voted by the pro-European centralist parties. In their campaigns many parties did their best to put 'Europe' down as something: a) that is distant and abstract (´European despotism'), b) of which we are no part of (‘our Holland, their Brussels'), and c) something we have no control over (´Brussels dictates thickness of shoe soles'). The discussion therefor degenerated into: ´You are either pro or anti Europe' or worse ´Being pro Europe means being anti the Netherlands'. Having had the elections it is now up to the new Dutch coalition government to break this European paradox once and for all. Most politicians using the platitudes 'Europe' and 'Brussels' deliberately want to paint the EU as something that is abstract and distant. They are wrong. For instance today already more than half of Dutch national legislation follows from European policy because many issues by definition can only be tackled effectively cross-border. The fact of the matter is that we all are part of and have a stake in ‘Europe’. In numerous ways and at different moments not only politicians, but also citizens, NGO’s and businesses can influence the decision-making process in the Hague and/or Brussels. The real problem therefor is not that there are ‘dictates from Brussels’. The whole point is that we all – Dutch politicians, citizens, NGO’s and entrepreneurs - should do a better job at seizing the opportunities to effectively defend our legitimate interests. To be able to do so citizens, NGO’s and businesses alike must therefore invest more to become better informed about what’s on or needs to be on the agenda and how and when to make their voices heard. Dutch politicians on the other hand have an obligation to actively be aware what drives their constituents and represent their interests –also in the EU arena- accordingly. It is to be seen and hoped for that the new Dutch government and the new political constellation in the Netherlands will prove wrong the question “Are you pro or anti Europe?’’, but instead make the switch to an informed and effective policy towards the EU that includes the interests of Dutch citizens, NGO’s and businesses. Patrick Ooms works for Masters of Public Affairs. A Dutch agency that brings 'Brussels' to Dutch entrepreneurs and citizens and Dutch market information to ‘Brussels’.


Their views on Europe, the solution to the Euro crisis, social security, housing, healthcare, education, immigration, development aid to name a "few", differ significantly because they have a vastly different view on what Dutch society should look like. Finally, while it is true that the initially expected significant gains of the Socialist Party (SP) did not materialise, they did not lose a single seat. This is partly since the other (less extreme) socialist labour party (the PvdA) won so much. So where is this "shock defeat"that you mention? Perhaps a more informed title that would have mentioned the large loss of the populist anti Europe and anti -islam PVV, would have better described the outcome.


To bad this clown will be leading it (this clown truly is always laughing like a clown). But he is not that bad. He had much potential. Hopefully that will come back now that he doesn't have to kiss up to the nationalist populists. And luckily he had a counterpart of the same weight who will keep him in check. Luckily this counterpart is very pro Europe (this clown as well because being an economic party he was crazy to criticize the EURO). Hope this will quickly change. Long live the Euro.


Let's hope now that the right wing motor mouth has left the scene, Amsterdam will once again open the doors of its coffee shops to the world's vistors!


To call the VVD "Liberal" may be misleading to American readers, even if it's meant in the old fashioned European center-right sense of the word. The VVD, once my party of choice, has become increasingly right-wing in its economic policies, choosing for cuts instead of growth and too drastic a reduction in the social safety net. It's alliance of convenience with Geert Wilders was shameful and opportunistic. Hopefully the "Socialists", who have also moved to the right over the years and are now, in my opinion, more like what the VVD used to be, will be a moderating influence.

But at least we're rid of Wilders.

Valdemar_II in reply to robvdvelden

Not sure PvdA really sits where the VVD used to be. Although not the Internationale singing crowd, the current PvdA manifesto is firmly in the Social-Democratic half of the political spectrum. It is for good reason that corporate NL was not very enthousiastic about the prospect of a Samsom victory.
I do think Rutte got pulled too far in the direction of the clown from the South. Whether this was purely to get his support, for electoral purposes or out of conviction I do not know, but am curious to find out. The last time that the VVD had a clear Liberal profile was under Bolkestein.

masterblasterr in reply to robvdvelden

I think all dutch political party's are Liberal, Socialist party's relative to the american political spectrum. Even the christian party.. The Netherlands is always in the top on lists about: health care, education, Corruption Perceptions Index, crime / safety, insurance, export etc. All these institutions are per definition socialist because they are organised by the state. Even the VVD is Social and Liberal relative to the VS because the Netherlands now have the best health care system in the world and even after They have increased efficiency and reduced costs this system will stay in the top of the list. You can't call a party that maintains the best health care system in the world a non-socialist party relative to the VS... PS. i think all these definition (socialist and liberal) are pretty dumb in a national context, And Really dumb in a international context. maybe even populist.


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