The Netherlands is electing the members of Parliament today, but there is more at stake

The Netherlands is electing the members of Parliament today, but there is more at stake

Welcome to this blog, in which NRC today reports on the most important developments surrounding the Provincial States and Water Board elections. The polling stations open at 7:30 am, after which the Dutch have until 9:00 pm to cast their vote. They thus directly choose who will occupy the total of 764 States seats in the twelve provinces over the next four years.

The indirect vote is at least as important, because within three months after the elections, the Provincial Council will determine the distribution of seats in the Senate. The fourth Rutte cabinet can already boast of a majority in the senate, and the prime minister has heard the message that the situation will probably not improve after the elections.

Rutte fears the opposition of the left-wing bloc of PvdA and GroenLinks, who will be composing one joint parliamentary party. In the polls, the left-wing parties appear to stand a chance become the greatest together. Furthermore, it looks like the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) ​​will make its debut in the Senate with a large number of seats, while coalition partner CDA is on a loss.

Central themes for many voters are the climate and the nitrogen problem – issues that still mobilized thousands of protesters last weekend. Issues that could put the coalition under pressure in a while, once the new Senate has been installed. In any case, Rutte and CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra hinted at that during TV broadcasts on Sunday. Rutte does not immediately expect a cabinet crisis, he later said NRC. “But it is exciting. It always is.”

Also read this report: Will the Rutte IV cabinet survive the elections? Rutte himself is now also feeding the doubts