Does-it-do-it or doesn't-it-it-it? Will Pieter Omtzigt step in, or will Dilan Yeşilgöz step out? The formation of the cabinet resembles highly fluctuating daily rates. The four-party coalition was off the table, but may be possible again due to the NSC's promise of tolerance. But a minority cabinet or an extra-parliamentary cabinet are also still possible. In the meantime, the cabinet formation has been taking more than 100 days. Although this is still almost 200 days shorter than the formation in 2021, a new government still seems far away.
Various forms have been proposed to do justice to the election results. According to political commentator Joost Vullings, this is due to the discomfort that the political parties feel in forming a cabinet together with Wilder. Since his appointment, informant Kim Putters has focused on alternative forms of cabinet: according to him, the political landscape is difficult and he wants to see which possible forms of cabinet can count on support. But what exactly these alternative cabinet forms entail is not always clear. And politicians give different interpretations.
An extra-parliamentary cabinet seems to be the most exciting variant. This cabinet would not have a coalition agreement and ministers could come from different parties, possibly even from the opposition. The lack of a coalition agreement means that the cabinet must look for a majority per issue. The minority cabinet could consist of, for example, 3 parties that do not have a majority in the House of Representatives and/or Senate. The parties do draw up a joint coalition agreement and nominate ministers for the cabinet. A fourth party can provide tolerating support for parts of the coalition agreement or the whole, giving the cabinet more certainty that the acceptance of bills by Parliament will be easier. Otherwise, the minority cabinet will also have to find majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate for each proposal. Scandinavian countries have more experience with minority cabinets: this seems to work well in Denmark and Sweden.
But what does this actually mean?
For a new government, an extra-parliamentary cabinet and a minority cabinet mean more work, because they always have to look for majorities and therefore have to make agreements with the opposition. On the other hand, there will be more flexibility in government policy: the coalition agreement and coalition consultations are less closed. For opposition parties, this means that they are no longer sidelined in advance, but rather have more opportunities to contribute to government policy. Less stability of the government is then offset by greater openness in weighing up interests.
For organizations that want to put topics on the agenda of politics and government, an extra-parliamentary cabinet or a minority cabinet will offer opportunities to propose new topics, including topics that were not included in the coalition agreement or that do not directly tie in with government policy. While in a 'normal' cabinet the attention is mainly focused on the coalition parties, in a different cabinet form the opposition parties will also play an interesting and significant role. This creates more opportunities for organizations to put topics on the political agenda. In other words, other forms of cabinets will also offer opportunities for social positioning.
Image: ©ANP
