It is a pity for the provinces that deserve more attention. But somehow it is also logical that the Senate receives much more attention.
In the election campaign for the provincial elections of March 15, the national political leaders and national themes play a leading role. That is a bad thing because the provinces actually deserve more attention, but it is also understandable from a political point of view.
The abundance of attention for people like Mark Rutte, Sigrid Kaag, Attje Kuiken, Jesse Klaver, Geert Wilders and Caroline van der Plas is not only due to the media, which often opt for the well-known main characters. It is also a new political reality that the Senate has gained more and more power. For example, after the elections, a majority of the Senate threatens to thwart the new nitrogen law.
The Senate should actually be more of a body that quietly considers the consequences of new legislation. For example, the system was once designed by Thorbecke.
Meanwhile, we live in a new political reality. The Rutte cabinets have not had a majority in the Senate for years, so they still have to get a few opposition parties on their side to get laws passed. In practice, these are often PvdA and GroenLinks, but not always. The government always enters into negotiations with those opposition parties, who can then often fine-tune the plans in their direction.
During a debate of opposition parties on TV program Buitenhof, all parties present announced on Sunday that they would vote against the new nitrogen law in the Senate. JA21 and BBB think the law goes too far. GroenLinks, PvdA and Party for the Animals believe that the law still does not go far enough.
It would be exciting whether the provinces would be willing to implement the new nitrogen policy. Now it appears that even before that, in the senate, things can go wrong. Whether the soup is really eaten that hot is of course the question. But the bigger the opposition parties, the more difficult they can make it for the cabinet. In that sense, there is really something to choose next week.