Politics in the

Netherlands

Contents3 State characteristics

10 The Dutch parliament

18 Elections and after

24 The government

Front cover: PrimeMinister Mark Ruttelocking his bike atthe King’s palace.

The ‘Little Tower’:the seat of the primeminister.

Politics in the Netherlands 3

Members of bothhouses of parliamentand other inviteeslistening to theSpeech from theThrone in the Hall ofKnights.

State characteristicsConstitutional monarchyThe Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. This means theDutch monarchy is based on a constitution, which limits thepower of the monarch. The Dutch head of state is part of thegovernment but has no political power. Article 42 of the DutchConstitution makes this very clear: ‘1. The Government shallcomprise the King and the Ministers. 2. The Ministers, and notthe King, shall be responsible for acts of government.’ Thisalso applies to what the monarch says or does. Since 2013the Head of State of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has beenKing Willem-Alexander.

The MonarchIn the Netherlands the monarch has a largely ceremonial andsymbolic function. As head of state the monarch has a numberof formal political roles. The monarch also has a ‘unifying,representative and supportive’ role. In practice this means themonarch performs a number of regular tasks. They give assentto legislation, which no one else can do because the monarchhas no substitute. They swear in members of the governmentand other senior officials. Every year on Prinsjesdag themonarch delivers a speech to parliament and the monarch hasa weekly meeting with the prime minister about the currentpolitical situation. The monarch also makes state and workingvisits and receives heads of states or representatives fromforeign countries, and on King’s Day (known previously as

From republic to kingdom

Article 24 of the Constitution states that theDutch monarchy is hereditary and is passeddown to legitimate descendants of KingWilliam I, Prince of Orange-Nassau, who wasmade king in 1815. This was particularlynoteworthy because, before 1815, theNetherlands had been a republic for severalcenturies.In the first half of the 16th century HolyRoman Emperor and King of Spain Charles Vbecame ruler of the states of the Holy RomanEmpire which today comprise the modernNetherlands. In 1555 he was succeeded asruler of the Netherlands by his son Philip II,who also became King of Spain a year later.In 1568 the Dutch began a revolt against thecentralist rule of the King of Spain, leadingto the Eighty Years’ War, which ended in1648. As the Dutch provinces whichrenounced the rule of Philip II in 1581 wereunable to find a suitable ruler, they declared

independence as a republic in 1588, givingthe provinces a large amount ofadministrative independence. The role ofstadtholder (originally a representativeof the king) however remained, with theprimary responsibilities of the stadtholderbeing foreign affairs and the military.The republic existed until 1795, whenFrance invaded the Netherlands. The laststadtholder, William V, went into exile.After the French retreat from the Netherlandsin 1813, a number of royalists brought hisson William Frederick back to theNetherlands in order to “relive the old days”.He immediately began working towardsachieving his dream: the creation of amonarchy, which he managed to do in 1815.In European history this has often been theother way around, with monarchies beingreplaced by republics rather than republicsbeing replaced by monarchies.

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Queen’s Day), the monarch’s birthday, they visit a city orregion to join in with the festivities.

In some countries with a monarchy, the monarch is onlysucceeded after they have died, but in the Netherlands it hasbecome customary for the monarch to voluntarily abdicate andmake way for their successor. The monarch is allowed to votebut does not exercise this right because they are politicallyimpartial. This is considered an unwritten rule in Dutch law.

One kingdom, four countriesThe Kingdom of the Netherlands comprises four countries:the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. These last

Politics in the Netherlands 5

The royal family.

three countries are located in the Caribbean and all have aform of self-government. The political relationship betweenthe four countries is described in the Charter for the Kingdomof the Netherlands. The Netherlands also has three specialmunicipalities in this region – the islands of Bonaire, SintEustatius and Saba – which are known as the CaribbeanNetherlands. This brochure will only focus on the politicalstructure of the Netherlands.

Parliamentary democracyThe Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy. This meansa country that has a parliament with directly electedrepresentatives. The population can influence governmentpolicies of a country via parliament, because in aparliamentary democracy a government must have a majorityin parliament. In the Netherlands this majority consists ofrepresentatives from different political parties. A governmentcan also be dismissed by the parliament if it no longer hasconfidence in that government.

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The Kingdom ofthe Netherlandscomprises not onlyThe Netherlands,but also threecountries and threemunicipalities inthe Caribbean.

Politics in the Netherlands 7

aruBa180 km2

104.260 inwoners

Curaçao444 km2

158.630 inwoners

SaBa13 km2

1.947 inwoners

SiNT euSTaTiuS21 km2

3.193 inwoners

BoNaire288 km2

19.408 inwoners Oranjestad

Willemstad

Kralendijk

OranjestadThe Bottom

Philipsburg

SiNT MaarTeN34 km2

37.220 inwoners

The NeTherlaNdS41.543 km2

17.302.668 inwoners

Amsterdam

Rule of lawThe political system of the Netherlands is governed by theprinciple of the rule of law. This means the power ofgovernment is determined by laws, legislation and customs.People living in the Netherlands have basic rights andfreedoms to protect them from abuse of power by thegovernment. The government must also uphold the law andmust not limit or reduce the freedoms and rights of citizens.Basic rights and freedoms are included in the DutchConstitution.

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1. House ofRepresentatives;2. Senate; 3. Hall ofKnights; 4. Seat ofthe prime minister.

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2

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SubdivisionsThe Netherlands is subdivided into twelve provinces andaround 350 municipalities. Provincial governments in theNetherlands operate at an intermediate level between thecentral government and municipalities. The provinces havea number of duties, ranging from environmental managementto the supervision of public transport services. The provinceshave their own representatives and executive bodies.Municipalities carry out a large number of duties for theirinhabitants. They also have their own municipal councils andexecutive bodies.

Politics in the Netherlands 9

Capital and seat of government

In the Netherlands you have a fairly uniquesituation where the national government andthe parliament are not located in Amsterdam,the national capital according to theConstitution of the Netherlands, but rather inThe Hague. This can be explained by lookingat the history of the Netherlands. The Haguehas served as the centre of political power inthe Netherlands for many centuries. The citywas originally the seat of the Counts ofHolland, who were ultimately succeeded bystadtholders and provincial representativesduring the era of the Dutch Republic (1588–1795). There was no real national capitalduring this period since the individualprovinces were more or less self-governing.In 1795 the Netherlands was invaded byFrance. After the Emperor of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte, made his brother LouisBonaparte King of Holland in 1806, the new

monarch chose Amsterdam as the nation’scapital. In 1810 however, the Netherlandswas incorporated in the French Empire.After the creation of the new Kingdom ofthe Netherlands in 1815, Amsterdamremained the capital, although it was notreferred to as such in the Dutch Constitution.The city only acquired this status in 1983.During all this time however The Hagueremained the official seat of the nationalgovernment and the Dutch parliament; theyare located in the Binnenhof in the centre ofthe city. The working and residential palacesof the Dutch monarch are also located inThe Hague. However, the Constitution ofthe Netherlands stipulates that the swearingin and inauguration of the new Dutchmonarch must take place in Amsterdam,in the presence of all members of bothhouses of the States General.

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The States GeneralThe Dutch parliament is called the States General. During theRepublic (1588–1795) the States General was the name givento the meetings of representatives of the different provinces.The legislature consists of two chambers: the House ofRepresentatives (Lower House, Tweede Kamer) and the Senate(Upper House, Eerste Kamer). The House of Representativesplays a far more prominent role in the Dutch political processthan the Senate.

The House of Representatives has 150 members, who arechosen directly by the Dutch electorate. The elections for theHouse of Representatives are held once every four years,

The dutch parliamentA plenary sessionof the House ofRepresentatives.

unless a government falls before the end of its term and earlyelections are called. The members of the Senate are chosen bythe members of the twelve provincial parliaments within nomore than three months following provincial elections, whichtake place every four years (early elections in the provincesare impossible). The Dutch Senate has 75 members (senators).

After summer recess (the holiday period), the Dutch monarchreads the Speech from the Throne (troonrede), which sets outthe government’s plans for the coming year. This is doneduring a joint session of both houses of parliament. The event,which traditionally takes place on the third Tuesday ofSeptember, is called Prince’s Day (Prinsjesdag).

Members of ParliamentThe House of Representatives convenes three times a week –on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Being a member ofparliament is a full-time job. Dutch senators usually haveanother job alongside being a member of the Senate.The Senate convenes once a week, generally on Tuesdays.

Politics in the Netherlands 11

The King and theQueen arriving atthe Hall of Knightson Prince’s Day.

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Prinsjesdag – an annual celebration of democracy

Compared to royal families in other countries,the Dutch royal family does not use a lot ofpomp and grandeur. The one exception to thishowever is on Prince’s Day (Prinsjesdag).This is the only day of the year when themonarch sits on a throne, and even this isvery brief. On the third Tuesday in Septemberat 13:00 the monarch travels fromNoordeinde Palace to the Ridderzaal in theBinnenhof in the Golden Coach (or the GlassCoach, if the Golden Coach is undergoingrepairs), preceded by other carriages andsoldiers on horseback. Thousands of peopleline the route of the coach and schoolchildrenin The Hague get the day off.The name Prinsjesdag comes from the timeof William V, stadtholder (and Prince ofOrange) from 1751 to 1795. His birthday(March 8th) was a date used for publicdemonstrations of support for the House ofOrange, which the crowds still do to this day.Prinsjesdag however is first and foremost acelebration of parliament, not the royalfamily.Since 1904 the monarch has delivered theSpeech from the Throne in the Ridderzaal.The audience in the Ridderzaal consists of

the members of both the Senate and House ofRepresentatives, officially known as a “jointsession”. The monarch is a guest, just likeministers during meetings of the two Houses. The 225 members of the States General arejoined by around 800 guests, includingministers, state secretaries, members of theCouncil of State, foreign ambassadors andguests of members of the two houses. Thereis also room for a number of “ordinarycitizens”. Anyone can apply to the Clerk ofthe Senate for a place but there is a longwaiting list.When the monarch, their family and othermembers of the royal house arrive at theRidderzaal at 13:15 they are greeted bythe ushers at the entrance of the Ridderzaal,who escort the royal guests inside to wherethe monarch will read the speech. Next tothe throne there is a smaller throne for themonarch’s consort.After the throne speech the monarch leavesthe Ridderzaal to take the Golden Coach backto Noordeinde Palace. The royal family thenappears on the balcony of the palace to waveto the crowds. For many people this is thehighlight of Prinsjesdag.

Parliamentary dutiesThe parliament has three key responsibilities:• To represent Dutch voters: Members of Parliament need

to stay in touch with the electorate.• To propose, review and pass laws in collaboration with

the government.• To review the cabinet’s implementation of legislation

and all other government actions.

AuthoritiesTo enable the members of the House of Representatives andthe Senate to effectively execute their legislative andsupervisory tasks, they have been assigned a number ofauthorities or prerogatives. The members of the House ofRepresentatives have a number of rights that are exclusiveto their chamber.

Budget rightBoth Chambers have the right to either approve or reject thecabinet’s budget: the budget right. This is an importantinstrument for influencing the government’s policies, since aminister is unable to implement any policy measures if theirbudget has not been formally approved.

Right of amendment and the right of initiativeThe government needs to submit bills to the House ofRepresentatives for approval. The House also has the right tomodify the content of these bills: this is called the right ofamendment. Adopted amendments subsequently become part

Politics in the Netherlands 13

Session of the Senate.

of the proposed legislation. In addition, the members of theHouse have the right to propose bills themselves: the rightof initiative.

The members of the Senate do not have these twoprerogatives. The Senate subjects bills that have been adoptedby the House of Representatives to a second review: it onlyhas the right to approve or reject a bill without reservation.

Right to propose motionsMembers of both Chambers have the right to propose motionsduring a parliamentary session. In a motion, therepresentative calls on the government to take action orrefrain from taking action in relation to a specific matter.However, government members are free to ignore suchmotions. Members of Parliament also have the option ofwithdrawing their confidence in individual members ofgovernment or the cabinet as a whole by adopting a motionof no-confidence. In such cases, the cabinet member orteam will resign.

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Debate in the Houseof Representatives.

Right of interpellation and questioningBoth Chambers have the right to call a minister or statesecretary to a House session for an urgent debate. This iscalled the right of interpellation. If a Member of Parliamentwishes to exercise this right, they must get the approval ofthirty members. In such cases, the minister or state secretaryin question is obliged to appear before the chamber.

In addition, all members of the House and Senate have theright to question government ministers. This can be done inwriting, when the need for an answer is not particularlypressing, but this can also be done face to face. Every Tuesday,the members of the House of Representatives can posequestions to cabinet members during Question Time – anopportunity which parliamentarians make frequent use of.

Right of inquiry and investigationOne of the representatives’ more far-reaching prerogatives isthe right of inquiry. This amounts to the right to get to thevery bottom of a specific matter. To this end, the Houseappoints a number of its members to a parliamentary inquirycommittee. These select committees are authorised to callanyone they wish to hear in connection with their inquiry toa hearing. Those called before the parliamentary inquirycommittee are legally obliged to appear and answer thecommittee’s questions under oath. A less severe form ofenquiry is the parliamentary investigation. In these enquiries,those called before the select committee are not required toanswer under oath.

ProceduresMembers of Parliament from different political parties aregrouped into parliamentary parties (fracties), which areheaded by a chairperson (fractievoorzitter). A matter can onlybe voted on in the House and the Senate when the session isattended by a sufficient number of members. In the House,a minimum of 76 members need to be present (half the totalplus one). This minimum is called the quorum. Votes areusually held on Tuesdays.

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All sessions of the House and the Senate are public, with theexception of meetings on matters of procedure. Allparliamentary papers are also made available to the public.Word-by-word transcriptions are made of all parliamentarysessions: the so-called Proceedings (Handelingen).

CommitteesMost parliamentary work is done in parliamentary committees.There are different types of committees, of which the mostimportant are the ‘standing committees’ for various policyareas of the ministries. The members of these committeesmeet to discuss bills and consult with a cabinet minister orstate secretary on how to deal with specific matters.

The legislative processA bill is a proposed law. A bill does not become law until it ispassed by both Chambers of parliament. Quite some time canpass between the initial drafting of a bill and its adoption asnew act of parliament. A bill needs to complete a complicatedseries of stages before it becomes law. The following diagramshows the various stages of the legislative process.

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A parliamentarycommittee session.

Politics in the Netherlands 17

The legislative process

The government wants tointroduce new legislation

The responsible minister andtheir officials draft the bill

The bill is discussed in theCouncil of Ministers

The bill is sent to the Council ofState for consultation

The bill is returned to the Council ofMinisters along with recommendations

The bill is sent to the monarch

The bill is submitted to the house ofrepresentatives, together with a royal

message, the minister’s explanatorymemorandum and the advice of

the Council of State

The parliamentary committee producesa written review and provisional report

The minister provides amemorandum in response

Public reading and house vote onthe bill and possible amendments

if approved, the bill is forwardedto the Senate

The parliamentary committee producesa written review and provisional report

The minister provides amemorandum in response

Final report by the parliamentarycommittee

Public reading and Senatevote on the bill

The proposed legislation is sent to theminister for their countersignature

The newly-adopted legislation issent to the Minister of Justiceand Security for publication

on a government websiteFinal report by the

parliamentary committee

if approved, the bill isforwarded to the monarch

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elections and afterParliamentary electionsNational elections for the House of Representatives (theSecond Chamber) are usually held once every four years.The Dutch Senate (the First Chamber) is not elected directlyby Dutch citizens but is chosen by the members of thetwelve provincial parliaments. This process is known asindirect election. All Dutch citizens aged 18 or older havethe right to vote in elections. In addition to having the rightto vote (suffrage), any Dutch citizen aged 18 or older hasthe right to put themselves forward for election (eligibilityfor election).

Party posters forelections of the Houseof Representatives.

Proportional representationParliamentary elections in the Netherlands are organisedaccording to the principle of proportional representation.As opposed to many other countries, in the Netherlands thissystem does not make use of separate electoral districts. Inthe country’s parliamentary elections, all the votes cast arecombined into one election result – in effect, the Netherlandsis treated as a single electoral district. According to somepolitical scientists, this makes the Dutch voting system one ofthe most proportional systems in the world. For administrativeand party-political reasons, the country has been dividedinto 19 constituencies (as well as one in the CaribbeanNetherlands) that correspond with a province or part of aprovince.

VotingVoting in the Netherlands is not compulsory. In other words,you are not obliged to cast your vote at the polling station.Before the elections, all eligible voters are sent a voting pass.Voters are free to choose which polling station they cast their

Politics in the Netherlands 19

A polling station.

ballot at, as long as it is in their own municipality. They are,however, required to present proof of identity before castingtheir vote.

The Dutch cast their votes by means of a paper ballot and ared pencil. The names of the participating parties with thenames of their candidates are pre-printed on the ballot paper.The voter casts their vote by marking the box next to theirchoice in red with the pencil provided. This means you cancast a preferential vote for a specific candidate within a party.In the Netherlands, elections are usually held on aWednesday. Polling stations are open from 07:30 to 21:00hours (some polling stations open earlier, but no stations areallowed to close earlier or later than 21:00).

The distribution of seatsOnce the total number of valid votes has been determined,the central electoral committee (the Kiesraad in The Hague)calculates the electoral quota for the election. This quotaspecifies the number of votes required for a single seat. The

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Ballot paper andred pencil.

Dutch House of Representatives has a total of 150 seats tobe divided among the various candidates. If, for example,a total of nine million valid ballots have been cast, theelectoral quota will equal nine million divided by 150, i.e.60,000. The higher the voter turnout and the more peoplewho cast a valid ballot, the higher the electoral quota – inother words: the more votes a party needs to win to gain aseat for its representative. This process will always lead toa number of unallocated votes and seats. These so-calledremainder votes are distributed according to a complicatedarithmetic method.

Preference votesCandidates who have received a total of preference votes inexcess of 25% of the electoral quota are assured of a seat inany case. After this, the remaining votes are distributedamong the party’s candidates in the order of their inclusionon the list.

Politics in the Netherlands 21

Counting the votesafter the elections.

After the electionsThe cabinet formation process starts as soon as the results ofan election are in. The objective is to assemble a new team ofministers and state secretaries: a cabinet that can govern thecountry for the next four years. This is by no means a simpletask: due to the nature of the version of proportionalrepresentation used in the Netherlands – without anyindividual electoral districts or election thresholds – the Houseof Representatives usually ends up with a large number ofparties. It is rarely clear from election results what kind ofgovernment Dutch voters would prefer. No political party hasever gained an absolute majority in a Dutch general election –i.e. half the total number of seats plus one (= 76 seats).A government needs to enjoy the support of a majority ofthe members of the House of Representatives. This meansthat two or more parties will always need to form a coalitionif they want to form a government. The parties that worktogether in a government are called coalition parties – or thecoalition for short.

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Television broadcastof parliamentaryelection results afterthe closure of thepolling stations.

The negotiationsDuring the cabinet formation, various parties negotiate withone another in a number of stages, primarily focusing on thefollowing questions:• Which parties are prepared to form a coalition government

with one another?• How can the parties’ different programmes be combined

into a single government programme?• Which party will be given which ministries or state secre-

tariats?• Which individuals will be asked to take up the various

ministries and state secretariats?

Some say it is more important for a political party to win theformation process than to win the election itself. After all,strong election results do not automatically lead to inclusionin the next coalition government.

A review of the election results generally shows a wide rangeof possible combinations for the government coalition. Whichparties end up taking office can depend on a party’swillingness to give and take during the formation period.During the cabinet formation process, parties not onlydeliberate on who will be governing together, but also onwhich general direction the new government’s policies shouldtake. Agreements on such aspects are set down in thecoalition agreement.

Preliminary consultationOnce candidates have been nominated for the differentgovernment posts, the prospective cabinet holds a so-calledpreliminary consultation (constituerend beraad). In thismeeting, the new ministers formally endorse the final coalitionagreement.

Shortly after this the members of the new council of ministersare sworn in by the monarch, after which the new ministersassemble around the monarch on the stairs of Huis ten Boschin The Hague for the traditional photograph of the newgovernment. Afterwards, the state secretaries are sworn in.

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The governmentWho rules the country?According to the Constitution of the Netherlands, the Dutchgovernment is made up of the King and the ministers. Inaddition to the ministers, the government also has statesecretaries who handle specific responsibilities. Statesecretaries are individually accountable to the parliament fortheir assigned policy areas. Together, the team of ministersand state secretaries are also referred to as the cabinet, whichbears the name of its prime minister. In the Netherlands,cabinet members do not have to be elected to parliamentbefore being allowed to accept a cabinet position. In otherwords, it is possible to appoint ministers and state secretariesfrom outside parliament. Furthermore, ministers and state

The council ofministers afterthey have beensworn in by the King.

secretaries are not allowed to simultaneously occupy acabinet post and sit in parliament: after their appointment tooffice, they are required to resign their parliamentary seat.

The Council of MinistersThe Council of Ministers takes governmental decisions onbehalf of the entire cabinet. The council meets every week onFriday. As a rule, state secretaries do not attend the Councilof Ministers, nor do they replace their minister if they areunable to attend the council meeting. When a minister isabsent due to illness (for a longer term), on holiday or absentfor some other reason, they are replaced by one of theirfellow ministers. Occasionally, a state secretary is asked toattend a meeting of the Council of Ministers if the discussionrelates to a subject that falls under their responsibility. Thecouncil of ministers is chaired by the prime minister, who isalso known as the premier.

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The ministerialsection in the Houseof Representatives.

The government’s tasksAccording to the Dutch Constitution, the government’s taskis to make laws in collaboration with both Chambers of theStates General. In addition, the government is responsiblefor concluding international treaties, determining theNetherlands’ foreign policy, arranging the nation’s defenceand for appointing a number of state functionaries. Thegovernment executes these constitutional tasks under thescrutiny of the Dutch parliament. While the parliament isunable to actually repeal the government’s decisions in theseareas, it can clearly inform the government that it objects tothem. If necessary, Members of Parliament can also order avote of no-confidence in the government, which will forcethe cabinet to tender its resignation.

The role of ministersMinisters stand at the head of a ministry or department. Inother words, besides developing and implementing newpolicies, they also need to manage a team of officials, which

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The nationalgovernment isresponsible forthe constructionof highways.

can number in the hundreds. In most cabinets there aresome ministers who are not given a ministry of their own,but who are assigned to a specific policy area. A ministerwho does not head their own department is called a ‘ministerwithout portfolio’ or a ‘programme minister’. Such posts areoccasionally used to ensure that all coalition parties arerepresented according to their respective election results.Sometimes, these ministers are also appointed to underlinethe importance of a specific policy area to the newgovernment.

Besides heading a governmental department, a minister isalso a member of the cabinet. Ministers share jointresponsibility for all aspects of government policy – not justfor their individual policy areas. Any minister can be heldaccountable (by members of parliament, fellow party members

Politics in the Netherlands 27

Parliamentaryjournalist in action.

or members of the public) for how the coalition agreement iscarried out. This arrangement is called collegiate governance.

The prime ministerThe prime minister not only chairs the council of ministers,but they also bear responsibility for the coordination ofgovernment policy. In addition, the prime minister serves asthe ‘face’ of the incumbent cabinet. They present governmentpolicy to the outside world – for example, every Friday at apress conference and in a televised feature segment after theregular cabinet meeting.

The budgetA major share of the cabinet’s policy each year relates to thedetermination of the national budget for the upcoming year.The influential position of the Minister of Finance is alsoreflected in this process. The new national budget needs tobe finalised by the end of August, since it will be presentedto the Dutch parliament on Prince’s Day (the third Tuesdayof September).

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Prime MinisterMark Rutte meetingwith citizens.

Advisory bodiesThe Dutch government can turn to a large number of advisorybodies. The highest advisory body in the Netherlands is theCouncil of State. This Council is primarily made up of formerMembers of Parliament, ex-ministers and legal experts. Thecouncillors are supported by a range of officials. Thegovernment is obliged to consult the Council of State everytime it submits a bill to the Dutch parliament. The Councilmainly focuses on the quality of the proposed law and checkswhether the bill does not conflict with existing legislation.Officially, the Council of State is presided over by the monarch,but in practice, meetings are chaired by the Council’s vice-president. The Council of State is also the highest court ofappeal in administrative disputes – between private citizensand a provincial executive, for example, or between twomunicipalities.

In matters of social and economic policy, the government canconsult the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands

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The seat of theCouncil of Statein The Hague.

(Sociaal-Economische Raad or SER), which includesrepresentatives of trade unions, employer’s organisationsand experts appointed by the government. Anotherindependent advisory body is the Court of Audit (AlgemeneRekenkamer), which checks whether central governmentrevenue is spent legitimately and efficiently. In this context,the Court of Audit also monitors whether public spendinghas yielded the desired results.

Citizens who believe they are the victim of improper conducton the part of a government organisation can file a complaintwith the National Ombudsman. They will subsequentlyinvestigate whether the complaint in question is justified.In addition, every year the Ombudsman draws up a report forparliament that provides an overview of all the complaintslodged against government ministries and other public bodies.This report also offers recommendations on how to possiblyavoid similar mistakes in the future.

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Citizens complainingabout governmentalpolicy.

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PhotographyHollandse Hoogte: Frank vanBeek Fotografie (p. 3); Pietden Blanken (p. 20, 21); dpaPicture-Alliance HH (p. 5);Anjo de Haan (p. 30); HHpoolfoto (p. 1); Peter Hilz(p. 13, 24, 25); Foto-pers -bureau Dirk Hol (p. 14);Wiebe Kiestra Fotografie(p. 16); Mauritius ImagesGmbH (p. 6–7); Phil Nijhuis(p. 10); Laurens van Putten(p. 27); Frank de Roo (p. 26);Bernard Rübsamen (p. 11);Bert Spiertz (p. 18, 22).

Bart van Vliet (p. 2, 19, 28,29, 32)

October 2019

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Elections in theNetherlands areusually held onWednesdays.