More parties than ever are taking part in the provincial elections in March. 21 parties have registered. This threatens further fragmentation of the Provincial Council. Because forming a majority coalition may become even more difficult due to all those small parties, political scientist Marcel Boogers advocates a minority coalition that looks for a majority for each subject.
Sixteen parties participated in the previous provincial elections. Twelve of them won 1 or more of the 55 States seats. Because Forum for Democracy fell apart in recent years, two more parties were added. The fourteen parties together divide the 55 States seats:
- VVD with 10 seats
- CDA with 9 seats
- SP, D66 and GroenLinks with 5 seats
- PVV with 4 seats
- PvdA, Group Rutjens (JA21) and Group De Bie (BVNL) with 3 seats
- PvdD with 2 seats
- FvD, 50PLUS, Local Brabant, ChristenUnie-SGP with 1 seat
The coalition consists of no less than five parties: VVD, CDA, D66, GroenLinks and PvdA.
The 21 parties that want to participate on March 15 also include newcomers: BBB, VOLT, Alliantie, General Water Board Party, Jesus Lives, Heart for Freedom and Elderly Appèl-Hart for Brabant.
According to Marcel Boogers, who knows a lot about provincial politics, there is a good chance that the Brabant parliament will fragment even further after the elections in March. “More parties may be added, but the number of seats will remain the same.”
Fragmentation is not necessarily a problem, says Boogers. “It is true that it can make governance more difficult, but our democracy simply works in such a way that all votes count equally. The voter votes and we have to deal with that.”
Election threshold?
But that also has a downside, especially for the members of Parliament themselves. For example, debates last longer because more people are allowed to have their say. And factions have to divide all the work over fewer members of Parliament. Small parties are therefore mainly dependent on the help of party employees.
Setting a higher electoral threshold is often mentioned as a way of combating fragmentation. Parties must then get more votes before they get seats. Boogers is against that. “You shouldn’t throw away votes, because you actually do that with an electoral threshold.”
Overworked politicians
Politics doesn’t just splinter overnight either. “This has been going on for a long time,” says Boogers. “The traditional popular parties, especially PvdA and CDA, are no longer able to attract large groups of voters. You now see a lot of parties with their own spearheads. Think, for example, of the BBB and the Party for the Animals.”
So what are overworked politicians supposed to do? Boogers advocates that the parties work together more. “If you work with like-minded parties, you can divide the work. Parties that agree with each other can speak for each other and vote together.”
Minority Coalition
Politicians will also have to adapt when forming a coalition. “For a majority, there are too many parties or you have to work with parties that are not good at that at all. Just look at the last administrative period in Brabant.”
Between 2019 and now, a new board had to be formed three times. “What could work better is a minority coalition where you look for a varying majority per subject,” says Boogers.