The executive , also referred to as the juditian or executive power , is that part of government which executes the law; in other words, directly makes the key decisions and holds power.
78-655: The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003 . The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had
156-525: A Minister without Portfolio within the Ministry of Justice with the responsibilities for Integration, Immigration and Asylum Affairs. The number of immigrants allowed into the Netherlands was reduced by enforcing the asylum-seekers law of 2000 rigidly. This law was created under the Second Kok cabinet by the then Mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen . Controversially, 26,000 asylum-seekers who had lived in
234-545: A Minister without Portfolio within the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations with the responsibilities for Government Reform. Thom de Graaf (D66). De Graaf, who proposed an ambitious reform proposal, was met with much resistance. Two of the most important proposals were the directly elected mayor and the election system. The Netherlands is one of the last countries in Europe not to have an elected mayor, instead he
312-781: A PhD in law in 1992. Balkenende resides with his wife, Bianca Hoogendijk, and his daughter, Amelie, in Capelle aan den IJssel . During his tenure as prime minister, he did not use the Catshuis , the formal residency of the Prime Minister. He began his career on the staff of the research institute of the CDA and as a city councilman in Amstelveen . As a councilman, he proposed the Krokettenmotie which gave council members
390-486: A frontbencher and spokesperson for Finances and as deputy parliamentary leader . After Party Leader and Parliamentary leader , Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stepped down before an upcoming election Balkenende announced his candidacy and was selected as his successor on 1 October 2001. For the election of 2002 , Balkenende served as lead candidate and after a cabinet formation with the Pim Fortuyn List and
468-486: A minority government still could. On 30 June 2006, the Prime Minister met with Queen Beatrix offering the resignation of the two D66 ministers and offering their portfolios to the other ministers. He expressed his preference for a minority government, a so-called rompkabinet . Maxime Verhagen of the CDA and Mark Rutte (VVD) also gave their support for this solution when they were invited for consultation with Beatrix. Two important considerations were imminent for them:
546-550: A centre-right coalition, Balkenende's policies centred on reform of the Dutch public services, social security, pre-pension facilities, public health, reducing crime, a tough immigration policy and historically large cuts in public spending. The measures gave rise to large public anger and bad results in opinion polls for his CDA party. While his party remained the largest Dutch delegation in the European Parliament after
624-470: A change in governing party or group of parties or a general election. Parliamentary systems have a head of government (who leads the executive, often called ministers ) normally distinct from the head of state (who continues through governmental and electoral changes). In the Westminster type of parliamentary system , the principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched as in some others. Members of
702-485: A knee to the groin" (in Dutch: "een knietje verdient")). Balkenende apologised for the comment later. On 9 June 2010, Balkenende resigned his position as leader of the CDA as well as his seat in the newly elected parliament, taking political responsibility for the CDA's disappointing election results in the 2010 general election. In 2004, during his second cabinet, Balkenende was diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis . He
780-418: A legality. As a result, a motion of no confidence was initiated by opposition party GroenLinks against Minister Verdonk. Coalition party D66 supported this motion with strong words, stating that either the minister had to go, or D66 would leave the cabinet. However, the motion did not get a majority vote. On 29 June, the Prime Minister issued a statement declaring that the ministers unanimously declared that
858-501: A lot of opposition, from the official opposition in the House of Representatives , from an extra-parliamentary movement, from international circles and from within. The left-wing parties in the House of Representatives where critical of the government. They perceived the policy on migration and integration as too hard and causing polarization between Dutch people and immigrants, and the economic reforms and budget cuts as untimely, because of
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#1732792980323936-430: A new cabinet. He appointed new ministers and presented a formal cabinet statement to parliament on 7 July 2006. Executive (government) The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In democratic countries, the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics, though limitations are often applied to
1014-570: A new coalition agreement. In the Easter weekend reached an agreement, the so-called Easter Accord. On 31 March 2005 Alexander Pechtold (D66) the Mayor of Wageningen and Chairman of the Democrats 66 was appointed as the new Minister for Government Reform . The position of Deputy Prime Minister was taken over by Minister of Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (D66). The cabinet was facing
1092-547: A political demonstration in the Hague. At the time the negotiations between the cabinet, the employers and the unions on early retirement had broken off, with the union leaders promising a "hot autumn". Most international criticism comes from Belgium . Two ministers, the liberal minister of Foreign Affairs De Gucht and the Socialist vice-prime minister Van den Bossche of the purple Cabinet Verhofstadt II , have criticized
1170-419: A poor leader with his ministers failing to acknowledge him. In short, the cabinet "slipped over a banana skin" according to this paper. NRC Handelsblad 's main editorial praised D66 and put the blame on Balkenende for not being able to limit the damage to a single minister. The paper questioned whether the CDA should maintain him as their political leader. The timing of the cabinet collapse was poorly chosen for
1248-399: A slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister . Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm , a former Minister of Finance , served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for
1326-450: A total of 11 billion euro, when combined with the cuts announced by the previous cabinet. Among other measures, free dental care, physiotherapy and anti-conception medication were cut, 12000 positions were to be eliminated in the armed forces and some of their bases closed, the link between benefit payment rates and salaries was to be broken, and the rental housing subsidy was reduced. At the same time, 4 billion euro in extra spending
1404-420: A week later. This rump cabinet , formed of a minority coalition of CDA and VVD, stayed in office until the elections of 22 November 2006. Though his old coalition partners VVD and D66 fared badly in the parliamentary elections of 2006, Balkenende managed to defend the dominant position of his CDA. Needing alternative coalition partners to form a new majority government, he formed a social-Christian coalition with
1482-511: Is appointed by the Crown . To change this the constitution has to be amended. A proposal to do this by former Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Klaas de Vries (PvdA) in 2001, under the second Kok cabinet, was rejected in second reading by the Senate . This was because it would allow the controversial plans of De Graaf to be implemented. This would involve a mayor, directly elected by
1560-537: Is seen by Russia as part of its own historic and cultural domain," Dutch politician stated. Despite serious criticism by former prime ministers from the CDA, Balkenende was the Christian Democratic Appeal lead candidate for the Dutch general election of 2010 . Balkenende raised mild controversy during his campaign for the 2010 Dutch elections. While appearing in a television show, Balkenende
1638-472: Is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president. Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter " Jan Peter " Balkenende Jr. ( Dutch pronunciation: [jɑm ˈpeːtər ˈbɑlkənˌɛndə] or [- ˈbɑlkəˌʔɛndə] ; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied History and Law at
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#17327929803231716-648: The Cabinet Balkenende II and continued as prime minister. This second cabinet fell on 30 June 2006 and was replaced with the caretaker Cabinet Balkenende III on 7 July 2006. For the election of 2006 , Balkenende once again served as lead candidate and following a cabinet formation with Labour Leader Wouter Bos and fellow Christian-democrats , formed the Cabinet Balkenende IV and continued as prime minister for another term. This fourth cabinet fell exactly 3 years into its term. For
1794-604: The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs . Retired deputy prime minister Hans Wiegel commented he preferred Harry Potter to the Manneken Pis . Balkenende has a close relationship with the Dutch people from Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles . He has visited several Keti Koti celebrations in recent years. Balkenende's nicknames were "JP" and "Harry Potter", among others. He was a member of
1872-522: The Erasmus University Rotterdam since December 2010. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for several major reforms to the education system , immigration laws and reducing the deficit following the financial crisis of 2008 . He is the fourth longest-serving Prime Minister after World War II and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been above average. Balkenende
1950-543: The European Union . On 30 June 2006, the Democrats 66, the smallest coalition party, withdrew its support of the government over the way Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk had handled the crisis around the naturalisation of Ayaan Hirsi Ali , a member of the House of Representatives. Balkenende resigned for the second time as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, announced early elections and presented his third government
2028-460: The European elections , beating the general expectation of a huge loss in parliamentary seats, the party suffered strong losses during Dutch municipal elections of 2006 , losing their position as the largest party in many municipalities. Despite his unpopularity among Dutch voters (polls in 2006 showed that only 26–33% of the voters had confidence in him as prime minister), his position as leader of
2106-696: The First Balkenende cabinet , and the D66 was unwilling to join such a coalition. A government supported by the Christian right-wing Reformed Political Party (SGP) and the social conservative Christian Union (CU) was opposed by the VVD. A long negotiation between CDA and the Labour Party (PvdA) followed. The CDA and PvdA had come out of the elections as equal partners. The negotiations were troubled by
2184-526: The Free University Amsterdam obtaining Master of Arts and law degrees and worked as a legal counsel for the academic council of his alma mater before finishing his thesis and graduated as a PhD in governmental studies and worked as a professor of Christian theology at his alma mater from April 1993 until May 2002. After the election of 1998 , Balkenende was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 19 May 1998 and served as
2262-524: The House of Representatives of 78 seats out of 150. When VVD Member of the House of Representatives Geert Wilders left his party on 2 September 2004 (continuing as an Independent ), the narrow majority of the cabinet slimmed down even further to 77 seats in the Member of the House of Representatives . The cabinet program is based around the slogan: Mee doen, Meer Werk, Minder Regels (Participation, More Jobs, and Fewer Rules). The cabinet seeks to address
2340-429: The House of Representatives on 19 May 1998 while the CDA was in opposition. He became the CDA's financial spokesman and was also involved with social affairs, justice, and domestic affairs. In this role, he advocated a substantial reduction of the national debt and sound public finances. He was elected Chairman of the CDA parliamentary fraction on 1 October 2001, succeeding Jaap de Hoop Scheffer . On 3 November 2001, he
2418-415: The Labour Party (PvdA) and the orthodox-Protestant Christian Union . The Fourth Balkenende cabinet was formed after Balkenende was appointed formateur by Queen Beatrix on 9 February 2007. His cabinet was announced on 13 February and was scheduled to be in office until 2011, but it fell in the early morning of 20 February 2010 as the result of disagreement between the majority of the parliament and
Second Balkenende cabinet - Misplaced Pages Continue
2496-525: The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy formed the Cabinet Balkenende I and became Prime Minister of the Netherlands taking office 22 July 2002. The cabinet Balkenende I fell just 87 days into its term. For the election of 2003 , Balkenende again served as lead candidate and following a cabinet formation with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Democrats 66 , they formed
2574-525: The election of 2010 , Balkenende once again served as lead candidate but suffered a large defeat and announced his retirement and stepped down as Leader on 9 June 2010. Balkenende left office following the installation of the Cabinet Rutte I on 14 October 2010. Balkenende retired from active politics at 54 and became active in the private sector as a corporate director and also works as a professor of Governance, Institutions and Internationalization at
2652-623: The invasion of Iraq , the bad economic forecasts and personal animosity between incumbent Prime Minister and Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos the Leader of the Labour Party . After a couple of months talks were called off by Balkenende. At this point, D66 decided to join the coalition after all. The cabinet was based on a very slim majority in
2730-435: The CDA and VVD ministers did not want to dismiss Verdonk, the D66 ministers could do nothing but state the obvious legal fact that an unsupported motion has no legal consequence. The political decision to leave the coalition was subsequently made by the parliamentary group. Shortly after, Prime Minister Balkenende announced that all remaining members of the cabinet would offer their resignations (portfolios) to Queen Beatrix. At
2808-401: The CDA remained stable. In the beginning of 2006, some CDA members tried to replace Balkenende as leader with Agriculture Minister Cees Veerman . Veerman did not accept the proposition and offered his support to Balkenende. Balkenende's popularity recovered since then, surpassing that of his main competitor Wouter Bos in the autumn of 2006. By then, 53% preferred Balkenende as Prime Minister of
2886-681: The Dutch football team PSV Eindhoven , along with his father he frequented many matches. He also regularly visited the local music school and theatre. Balkenende went to a Reformed Protestant primary school in Kapelle . He attended secondary school at the "Christian Lyceum for Zeeland " in Goes , graduating in 1974. He studied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where he received an MA degree in history in 1980, subsequently an LLM degree in Dutch law in 1982, and finally
2964-492: The Dutch military NATO mission to Uruzgan, Afghanistan , and the decision on the 2007 budget to be made in September 2006. The main opposition leaders were in favor of a demissionary cabinet (without authority for new policies), and elections as soon as possible. In an interview with NRC Handelsblad on 1 July, Alexander Pechtold raised his suspicion that VVD and CDA had already for a long time been prepared to drop D66 from
3042-537: The Interior . The cabinet served during the unstable 2000s. Domestically, immigration was a major point of attention and it had to deal with the murder of controversial filmmaker and critic Theo van Gogh , while internationally, it dealt with the war on terror and the government support for the Iraq War . The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts including multiple cabinet resignations, such as that of Deputy Prime Minister De Graaf following
3120-463: The Netherlands for a long time, were obliged by the Dutch government to take the exam as well. The cabinet took power at a time when the Netherlands' economy was in poor shape, with increasing unemployment and slight economic contraction. To jump start economic growth, the cabinet has proposed tax cuts and reform of the system of social welfare. The cabinet has implemented a new law for disability pensions . Most people enjoyed disability pensions under
3198-598: The Netherlands for over five years but who had not been granted asylum were deported. Furthermore, partners of Dutch citizens are only allowed to immigrate into the Netherlands if the Dutch partner earns more than 120 percent of the minimum income. This income requirement has been decreased back to 100% of the minimum wage in 2010 as a result of the judgement of the EU Court in the Chakroun case. Since 2006, family migrants from 'non-Western' countries who want to immigrate into
Second Balkenende cabinet - Misplaced Pages Continue
3276-458: The Netherlands must pass an integration test. It tests the applicant's knowledge of the Dutch language , political system and social conventions. The test must be taken before entering the Netherlands, in a Dutch Embassy or Consulates in the country of origin. Once in the Netherlands, migrants were obliged to pass a second test before receiving a permanent residence permit or being allowed to naturalise. 'Oudkomers', i.e. foreigners who have lived in
3354-527: The Netherlands while 40% preferred Bos. The switch in public opinion is sometimes explained by the steady recovery of the Dutch economy during the last year of his administration and the positive effects of the reformed policy of the Balkenende cabinet, combined with declining confidence in Bos as a good alternative for the position of prime minister. On 1 July 2004, Balkenende took up the rotating presidency of
3432-502: The cabinet to become parliamentary leader of the VVD on 28 June 2006. He was supposed to be succeeded by former alderman of The Hague Bruno Bruins , but the cabinet fell just a day before he was installed. On 29 June 2006, a cabinet crisis erupted after cabinet member Rita Verdonk lost the support of the coalition party D66 over the Ayaan Hirsi Ali identity fraud controversy. Hirsi Ali, VVD member and Member of parliament at
3510-526: The city's population, who would have considerable power to take care of security and public order. The proposed election system would have preserved proportional representation but have done so with supplemental regional candidates. On 23 March 2005, the Senate voted against a proposal to introduce a constitutional amendment that would allow the directly elected mayor. As a result, Thom de Graaf (D66) resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform . The coalition parties then renegotiate
3588-409: The coalition in favor of the support by Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). According to Pechtold this explained the reluctance of VVD and CDA ministers to offer constructive solutions at the height of the crisis. The LPF expressed their support for a minority cabinet on numerous occasions, adding the irony that after the first Balkende cabinet failed in 2003 because of the destructive attitude of LPF, the same LPF
3666-408: The coalition negotiations. The negotiations for the coalition were lengthy. Initially the CDA preferred to continue its Centre-right coalition with the VVD, but they did not have sufficient seats in the House of Representatives to continue in government without the support of a third party. Another coalition with Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) would be likely to be unpopular with voters after the events of
3744-572: The coalition partners CDA and PvdA over the extension of the Dutch ISAF -mission in Afghanistan . In contrast to the formation of a new caretaker cabinet with full responsibility (Balkenende III after the fall of Balkenende II), Balkenende IV continued as a demissionary cabinet, a caretaker cabinet with limited responsibility. Balkenende government opposed Ukraine and Georgia becoming NATO action plan members at 2008 Bucharest summit . "Ukraine
3822-474: The coalition was not able to cope with "accumulation of governmental screw ups, ego maniacal told-you-so attitude and political profiteering". As Prime Minister, Balkenende should have steered his cabinet around the pitfalls. On the same day, the Volkskrant commented that D66 never was a strong supporter of this center-right cabinet and least of all a supporter of Verdonk. The newspaper described Balkenende as
3900-421: The control of the government bureaucracy , especially in the areas of overall economic or foreign policy . In parliamentary systems, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, which must maintain the confidence of the legislature or one part of it, if bicameral. In certain circumstances (varying by state), the legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive, which causes either
3978-511: The end of that day, it was expected that new elections would be called for October 2006 at the earliest. In the meantime, VVD and CDA blamed D66 for the cabinet's demise: they argued that Verdonk did in fact respect the wishes of parliament when she ordered the re-examination of Hirsi Ali's passport position. On his first day as parliamentary leader of the VVD, Mark Rutte was furious with D66, labeling their actions as scandalous. Lousewies van der Laan countered that she wanted only Verdonk and not
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#17327929803234056-476: The entire cabinet to resign, and that it was about the coerced statement, which she interpreted as abuse of power by the minister. She blamed VVD and CDA for keeping Verdonk as minister. The newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) on 30 June commented that it was highly unusual for a cabinet to resign after surviving 29 June motion of no confidence . According to the FD, Balkenende made an "expensive miscalculation" and
4134-426: The executive ( ministers ), are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law. In presidential systems , the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers. The ministers can be directly elected by the voters. In this context, the executive consists of a leader or leader of an office or multiple offices. Specifically, the top leadership roles of
4212-459: The executive branch may include: In a presidential system , the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government. In some cases, such as South Korea , there is a Prime Minister who assists the President, but who is not the head of government. In a parliamentary system , a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government, while the head of state
4290-400: The executive requires the support and approval of the legislature, the two bodies are "fused" together, rather than being independent. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means powers possessed by the executive are solely dependent on those granted by the legislature, which can also subject its actions to judicial review. However, the executive often has wide-ranging powers stemming from
4368-471: The executive, and interpreted by the judiciary . The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law-derived rules, such as a decree or executive order . In those that use fusion of powers , typically parliamentary systems , such as the United Kingdom , the executive forms the government, and its members generally belong to the political party that controls the legislature. Since
4446-483: The executive. In political systems based on the separation of powers , such as the United States of America , government authority is distributed between several branches in order to prevent power being concentrated in the hands of a single person or group. To achieve this, each branch is subject to checks by the other two; in general, the role of the legislature is to pass laws, which are then enforced by
4524-579: The failed introducing of a new referendum system. The cabinet fell prematurely on 30 June 2006 after the Democrats 66 supported a motion of no confidence against Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk and withdraw its support with the Democrats 66 cabinet members resigning on 3 July 2006 and the cabinet continuing in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker third Balkenende cabinet on 7 July 2006. On 24 January 2003 Queen Beatrix asked Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner (CDA) to lead
4602-746: The media, breaking the unity of cabinet. In December 2003, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, was appointed Secretary-General of the NATO . He was succeeded by former diplomat Ben Bot. In June 2004 a personal conflict between State Secretary for Higher Education Nijs and Minister of Education Van der Hoeven caused the departure of Nijs. This in turn caused a reshuffle: State Secretary for Social Affairs Rutte became State Secretary for Higher Education and Henk van Hoof (a state secretary in previous cabinets) became State Secretary for Social Affairs. State Secretary for Higher Education Mark Rutte left
4680-428: The name Hirsi Ali in order to retain her passport. However, in a crucial moment during the debate, member of parliament Van Beek asked the Prime Minister about the purpose of the apology. The Prime Minister answered that "it was a statement that the Minister for Integration and Immigration had to be able to live with". This was interpreted widely as a political deal-making by Verdonk at the expense of Hirsi Ali and not just
4758-463: The old disability law received pensions even if they were only partially disabled and could still work. The pensions of these people have been cut, and so they are forced to return to the workforce. Furthermore, the cabinet has limited the possibility of early retirement . Without exception all Dutch employees will be forced to work until they have become 65, possibly longer. The cabinet also has cut government spending by 5700 million euro , making
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#17327929803234836-504: The problems of integration of ethnic minorities (participation), the economic recession (more employment) and the lack of trust in government (Fewer Regulations). The most controversial issue the cabinet addressed is the perceived lack of integration of ethnic minorities, especially immigrants from Morocco and Turkey . To solve this problem this cabinet has tried to reduce the influx of migrants, and to force migrants to take an integration course. The cabinet appointed Rita Verdonk (VVD) as
4914-468: The prospective third Balkenende cabinet should be based on the coalition agreement of 2003 and the more recent Easter Accord. Lubbers' information task was expected to take until 7 July with elections set at 22 November 2006. However, Lubbers was able to present his final conclusions to the Queen already on 5 July. Balkenende was then appointed as the so-called formateur with the actual task of forming
4992-613: The recession. The extra-parliamentary movement "Keer het Tij" (Turn the Tide) has organized mass demonstrations against the government. Important partners within Keer het Tij where the three main left-wing opposition political parties the Labour Party (PvdA), Socialist Party and GreenLeft (GL), the largest trade union, the FNV , environmental organisations like Greenpeace and Milieu Defensie , and organisations of migrants. In 2004 they organized
5070-517: The record-low results the year before. The 29 June Nova poll allotted 38 seats to the CDA, 31 seats to the VVD , and 3 seats to D66; a majority requires 76 seats. With the collapse of the cabinet some of its initiatives became jeopardized: economic liberalization for gas utility companies, new rules for competition regulators , and liberalizations in the subsidized housing market. A demissionary cabinet would not have been able to tackle these issues but
5148-506: The rejected motion did have no consequences for the cabinet (as it was not supported, the minister was not forced to go). The chairman of the parliamentary D66 group, Lousewies van der Laan then declared in a new parliamentary session that D66 could no longer support the entire cabinet. The apparent dissent between the D66 cabinet ministers opinion (that Verdonk did not have to go) and the D66 parliamentary group opinion (that Verdonk had to go) resulted in some tense hours where it appeared that
5226-586: The right to a croquette if the council went past 23:00 and it was passed. In 1992, he received his PhD with a thesis on "Governance regulation and social organisations" (Overheidsregelgeving en maatschappelijke organisaties), which was strongly inspired by the Communitarian ideas of Amitai Etzioni . One year later in 1993, he became an extraordinary professor of Christian-Social Thought at the Free University of Amsterdam. Balkenende first entered
5304-415: The style of the Dutch cabinet, calling the prime minister Balkenende "Petty Bourgeois". Criticism also rose out of the ranks of the largest government partner, the CDA. The former Christian-Democratic Prime Minister Dries van Agt and former leader of the parliamentary party, De Vries, criticized the cabinet for its anti-social policy. Minister Pechtold has opposed cabinet policy on terrorism and drug law in
5382-408: The time, had signed a statement in which she expressed regret that she had misinformed Minister Verdonk regarding her name. On 28 June, Hirsi Ali made it known that her statement was coerced. In a parliamentary debate on 28 June extending into the next day, Verdonk and the Prime Minister maintained that the purpose of this statement was a legal one: Hirsi Ali was required to declare her intention to keep
5460-426: The two D66 cabinet ministers Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and Alexander Pechtold had broken away from their party, supporting the cabinet but not their party member Lousewies van der Laan . However, in a reconvened parliamentary session later that evening, Brinkhorst announced that he and Pechtold had resigned and supported their parliamentary group in this issue. The apparent difference was merely based on legality: Since
5538-473: The two remaining coalition parties: the economy was improving after 3 years of harsh reforms and little growth; finally, more people were working and unemployment rates showed a decline. The reforms initiated three years ago (one of them a 20 billion euro spending cut) were starting to deliver results. It was felt that CDA and VVD had not been able to benefit from it to its full potential. The polls had already showed improved voter support for VVD and CDA compared to
5616-463: Was appointed lead candidate for the CDA in the tumultuous May 2002 parliamentary elections. These elections restored the CDA's former position as the largest political party in the House of Representatives. On 4 July 2002, Queen Beatrix asked Balkenende to form a new government after the general elections following the resignation of Prime Minister Wim Kok . The coalition cabinet included the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party, whose leader ( Pim Fortuyn )
5694-449: Was asked by a female presenter what parties he would most likely form a coalition with. Balkenende first gave evasive answers, then when asked again by the presenter, responded saying "U kijkt zo lief" (English: "You look so cute"). The comment was regarded as sexist and criticised by several people, including Opzij chief-editor Margriet van der Linden and GroenLinks leader Femke Halsema (who stated that "[the prime minister] deserves
5772-457: Was assassinated just days before the election. It collapsed after just 87 days in office because of internal conflicts within the LPF that destabilised the government. After early elections in 2003, Balkenende formed his second government with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal D66 . Once again leader of
5850-534: Was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 14 October 2022 exactly twelve years after leaving office. Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. was born on 7 May 1956 in Biezelinge in the province of Zeeland in a family belonging to the Reformed faith, the son of Jan Pieter Balkenende Sr. a cereal grains merchant and Thona Johanna Sandee, a teacher. During his childhood, Balkenende was an active supporter of
5928-430: Was made available, mainly in education and justice. Another controversial issue is the reform of the Dutch political system. This was proposed to overcome the 'gap between politics and citizens', which became clear in the 2002 elections , which were dominated by the populist Pim Fortuyn who was later Assassinated during the election campaign. The cabinet appointed Thom de Graaf (D66) as Deputy Prime Minister and as
6006-569: Was ready to replace D66. Also on 1 July, Queen Beatrix appointed Minister of State and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers as so-called informateur to see if a so-called rump cabinet could be formed. This would be a cabinet of CDA and VVD with a minority of seats in parliament, which would have to seek support from one or more opposition parties for every decision. At this stage, general elections were planned to take place in November 2006. According to Lubbers
6084-622: Was treated through surgical debridement and made a full recovery after several weeks in hospital. On 4 June 2005, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht said in the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (The Latest News) that "Balkenende is a mix of Harry Potter and a petty rigid bourgeois mentality". This comparison caused a small diplomatic controversy, and the Belgian ambassador had to apologise to Ben Bot ,
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