30 Million Euro Referendum

Holding a nationwide referendum costs 30 million euro each time. Minister Ronald Plasterk of the Interior Affairs announced this to the members of the House on Wednesday while they were discussing the new plans of Plasterk for the introduction of a corrective referendum. The introduction of a corrective referendum, a request of PvdA, D66 and GroenLinks, would enable citizens to have a direct vote on new bills. In the House the three parties can count on PVV and the SP and so will have a majority for their corrective referendum. When this referendum can be used might take a while. Not only do the House and the Senate have to decide, but when the next government is inaugurated, the House and the Senate will have to vote again. Then a two third majority is also required. There will be no corrective referendums about the royal family budgets, State budgets and decisions of international organizations, according to the plans. VVD, CDA, SGP and the Christian Union are against the proposal. The Christian Union thinks that much is unclear about the thresholds for the numbers of voters who want a referendum. Others fear especially for a subversion of the current democratic system, which should be good enough as it is. According Gerard Schouw of D66, the referendum is an ‘emergency brake’ and a ‘strengthening’ of the current democracy. Lawmakers will now do their job with more focus on the signs from the society and will prepare future plans more thoroughly.