ABSTRACT

The Dutch Constitution, which outlines fundamental rights and political rules, has evolved during the country’s history. Central to the constitutional design of the Dutch political system is a bicameral parliament. Although coalition formation has become increasingly complex and arduous in many countries, in the Netherlands there is a long history of government formation processes that have needed to be restarted multiple times when negotiations became deadlocked. Coalition agreements also reveal the complexity of bridging the gap between politicians’ policy promises and administrative experts’ efforts to develop a rational government policy agenda that is also consistent with spending limits, international monetary commitments, and European policy. Coalition agreements set the agenda, but ministers need to implement and interpret or elaborate all deals made— and in the daily practice of policy-making, they face many issues not anticipated. Institutional and political factors have led to a continually changing party system in the Netherlands.