Go to (on this page): content, search field of menu.
Huidig dossier: Forming a new government U bevindt zich op: Home › Subjects
When a government has been in power for four years, a new House of Representatives is elected. However, if the members of the government resign before their term expires, an early election may be held. Immediately following the election, the process of forming a new government begins.
Once a new House of Representatives has been elected, the Queen summons the presidents of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the vice-president of the Council of State, and the leaders of the parties in the House of Representatives to advise her on the formation of a new government.
Acting on their advice, the Queen then asks one or more informateurs to explore the possibilities for forming a coalition government that can count on majority support in the House of Representatives.
The informateur looks into what combination of parties could form a new coalition. To do this, he consults the leaders of all the parliamentary parties in the House of Representatives, and then reports back to the Queen.
The informateur presides over consultations with the leaders of the parties that seem most likely to be able to form a coalition. The main topic of discussion is the programme of policies the future government will pursue.
Once the party leaders have agreed on a programme, they set it out in a draft coalition agreement.
The informateur then draws up a final report to the Queen, including the draft coalition agreement and recommending a government formateur, who will probably become the new prime minister.
As soon as the prospective governing parties have set out a draft coalition agreement, the Queen will ask the formateur to form a government.
The formateur will then approach prospective ministers and state secretaries (junior ministers), in consultation with negotiators from the prospective governing parties.
The Queen will then sign royal decrees accepting the resignation of the caretaker government and appointing the new government members. The new government can then go to work.
When a government has been in power for four years, a new House of
Representatives is elected. However, if the members of the government resign
before their term expires, an early election may be held.