The 55 new Members of Parliament were installed tonight. With big files ahead. Housing, climate and also nature were labeled by North Hollanders as the most important themes at NH News. But the debate on the election results showed that a new government is still a long way off.
During the interpretation debate, the word ‘gap’ came up regularly, as did the low turnout. It came to 56.2%, slightly lower than the 56.3% of 2019. But above all, it means that almost half of the potential voters stayed at home.
A signal that politicians should act on, according to several parties. “It is a call for new politics, in which citizens get more say,” said Maik de Weerdt of Volt. Johan Dessing of Forum of Democracy urged “connection and progress.”
Not a traditional coalition
And as far as the ChristenUnie is concerned, this is also a good time to move away from the traditional coalition and opposition. A general agreement on major subjects and leaving it to occasional majorities should work better. A call from the Party for the Animals previously did.
Still, two weeks after the elections, it remains a guess as to which way things will go in North Holland. The largest party BBB (8 seats) has taken the lead in forming a coalition. The first round of interviews with scout Ankie Broekers-Knol has been completed.
Four parties continue to talk
“We are now going to continue talking with the three other largest parties,” said BBB party chairman Ingrid de Sain. Talks will be held separately with VVD, GroenLinks and the Labor Party.
One thing is for sure, it’s not going to be easy either way. GroenLinks and PvdA have indicated that they only want to join each other in a provincial government and are very different from BBB, especially in the field of nitrogen problems.
Water with the wine?
For example, there has been talk for some time about a plan to significantly reduce nitrogen emissions in sensitive nature areas by 2030. A deadline that BBB wants to stretch to 2035, as it is already stated in the law. The possible forced buy-out of farmers is also not negotiable so far.
But is the party prepared to compromise if necessary? “We do not exclude anything or anyone and are constructive. But it is still too early in the process to say anything about this. If we can reach an agreement in outline, then you have to fine-tune. But we have to get that far first.” says De Sain.
Other options
It is no secret that the current coalition of GroenLinks, VVD, PvdA and D66 would like to continue working together. Only this brings them to 26 seats, where 28 are needed for a majority. So in that case a fifth party must be sought. There is then a greater chance that the CDA (2 seats) will be looked at rather than BBB.
Nevertheless, BBB party chairman De Sain does not want to get ahead of things yet. “I think we are well on our way in two or three weeks. But maybe I am too positive. As far as we are concerned, anything is possible and we are keeping all options open.”
And that means that solutions for problem files such as housing in particular, but also, for example, the future of steel company Tata Steel and the agricultural sector are still awaited.