The PVV can govern as long as Geert Wilders is not the prime minister. The leaders of VVD, NSC and BBB in the formation have drawn this conclusion. The precise structure of such a cabinet still needs to be considered, but there is enough confidence to continue discussing a majority cabinet.
It will not be an ordinary majority cabinet with the PVV, according to the other parties. They prefer to speak of an ‘extra-parliamentary’ cabinet, in which there will be a certain degree of distance between the House of Representatives factions and the cabinet. Such constructions have been devised a few times in the parliamentary past, for example in the Den Uyl cabinet (1973-1977), but the phenomenon is rare. The term is popular in The Hague, but there is no fixed form for it.
This is the form that the four party leaders and informant Kim Putters have come up with: there will be a concise coalition agreement, which may not even have that name. The four political leaders will not sit in the cabinet, but will remain in the House of Representatives; Geert Wilders, Dilan Yesilgöz, Pieter Omtzigt and Caroline van der Plas remain MPs.
No Prime Minister Wilders
The idea is that such a construction will solve some problems. The weight of the coalition then rests in the House, which can therefore exercise better control. Additional advantage: there will be no Prime Minister Wilders, which makes it easier for NSC and VVD to sell the cabinet to the critical part of the supporters.
The cabinet will, at least to a large extent, consist of ministers outside the parties. This could include ministers who do not come from the party network in The Hague, or who have nothing to do with the forming parties at all. Just as PvdA member Martin van Rijn was temporary Minister of Medical Care in the third Rutte cabinet.
According to those involved, informant Kim Putters will advise in his report on Thursday to explore a cabinet form with these ingredients. That is new: Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) in particular has until now been skeptical about participating in a right-wing cabinet with the PVV as the largest party. Because other parties were unwilling to discuss other constructions, the formation ended up in an impasse.
Putters already showed on Tuesday evening that he was in good spirits about the discussions that the four parties had in Hilversum at the beginning of this week. “Those were good conversations and they also had results,” the informant said at the time, enough for “a next step.” Putters did not want to say more. He had also spoken to all other parties in the past month.
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Toleration with one or more partners, or extra-parliamentary? Formation options
Magic word ‘extra-parliamentary’
The magic word with which the four right-wing parties now seem to find each other is called ‘extra-parliamentary’. The result is a commitment that must offer all parties enough room to move: close enough to make reliable agreements, but distant enough, especially for NSC, to maintain that there is no real PVV cabinet.
In practice, the four parties are probably still highly dependent on each other. Omtzigt has always expressed his preference in the formation for a “broader, extra-parliamentary cabinet” in which more parties actively participate than just those of the four negotiators.
However, it seems unlikely that most opposition parties would regularly want to maintain a PVV cabinet, regardless of its precise construction. In any case, it is unlikely that they will be brought in to negotiate at this stage of the formation.
Whether the cabinet led by the PVV really deviates from a ‘normal’ majority cabinet remains to be seen in more ways. In formations, parties very often resolve to write concise coalition agreements. But once the negotiations are underway, it becomes clear how difficult that is. Out of mutual distrust or drive for control, parties almost always end up in thick agreements, from which every risk has been hammered out.
Sacrifice for Yesilgöz
The fact that the political leaders remain in the Chamber is only a sacrifice for VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz. She is now outgoing Minister of Justice and Security. Pieter Omtzigt already said during the campaign that the House is his preference. And at BBB they do not see Caroline van der Plas, but MP Mona Keijzer from the faction going to the cabinet.
Although Wilders said he wanted to become prime minister, he has known since election day that this is an illusion. He wrote down Wednesday evening X: “I can only become Prime Minister if all parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case. (…) The love for my country and voter is great and more important than my own position.”
Not only was Wilders’ premiership very sensitive among NSC and VVD voters, Wilders himself knows how important he is to keep the faction in check. The PVV, a party with only one member, is a one-man organization. And now that the 37-member faction largely consists of inexperienced MPs, he is needed there more than in a cabinet.
The question is therefore whether the ministers will really largely come from outside the House of Representatives faction or party leadership. With the PVV this is almost impossible, with a few exceptions, because there is no broad party framework. NSC and BBB also have few party cadre, but they do have MPs who would like to join the cabinet. This is especially true for the VVD, which is teeming with ministers and ambitious MPs.
PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB have not only taken a big step in terms of process. This revolves around the fact that the three other parties are prepared to join a majority cabinet with the PVV as the largest party. That was unthinkable until recently. From now on, governing under the PVV in The Hague is no longer taboo. That is the real step taken this week.