Dozens of MPs say goodbye today, as early Cabinet formation talks continue

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, gathered in its old composition for the last time on Tuesday. After all the final duties, the parliamentarians say goodbye. Over half will not return to the new Kamer, which will be installed on Wednesday. In the meantime, the government formation process continues. Scout Ronald Plasterk and election winner Geert Wilders (PVV) met with the leaders of the VVD and BBB on Tuesday and will meet with the NSC tomorrow.

The final parliamentary meeting for the old Kamer started with the report of the committee investigating the credentials, conduct, and results of the parliamentary elections on November 22. The Kamer will then vote on the admission of the new MPs.

The final task for the “old” Kamer is to draft a profile for the new Kamer president, who will be elected next week. Current president Vera Bergkamp is one of the MPs not returning to the Kamer.

90s babies on the rise in new Tweede Kamer

A new group is taking over in the new Tweede Kamer as more and more people born in the 1990s take a seat. People from the 50s and 60s are starting to make way for them.

The first person born in 1990 entered the Tweede Kamer in 2017. That was Rens Raemakers from D66. This class grew to nine parliamentarians two years ago, and the new Tweede Kamer will have eighteen 90s babies.

In particular, the number of MPs born in the 1950s is declining rapidly. In 2012, 26 people born in that decade were elected. That dropped to 12 in 2017, five in 2021, and now four. In the same period, the number of MPs from the 1960s decreased from 58 to 44 to 32 to 24. Since Theo Hiddema left the Kamer in 2020, there hasn’t been a parliamentarian born in the 1940s.

The number of MPs from the 1970s has been stable for years. Election after election, just over 50 representatives emerged from that period. The number of MPs from the 1980s rose rapidly in the elections of the previous decade but is now leveling off.

Of the 150 elected MPs in the new Tweede Kamer, 51 were born in the 1970s. That is just over a third of the entire Kamer. There are 47 MPs from the 1980s, 24 from the 1960s, 18 from the 1990s, and 4 from the 1950s. The birth year of six future parliamentarians, all from the PVV, has not been announced.

These figures are based on the Electoral Council reports with the official results. It contains the names of people elected on November 22. That includes people who will become Minsiters or State Secretaries after the formation. Their replacements are not included, nor are the replacements of MPs who resign for other reasons.

Formation talks continue

In the meantime, formation scout Ronald Plasterk continues to try to draw up a report of possible coalitions that can be explored in the next phase of the formation project. On Tuesday, he and Wilders first spoke to BBB leader Caroline van der Plas and then with VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz. On Wednesday, Plasterk and Wilders will meet with Pieter Omtzigt of NSC.

Van der Plas emphasized that there must “especially be trust between the four” parties that are in the picture for cooperation - PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB. Wilders indicated that he first wanted to talk about content and only then look at what form the collaboration should take. The four parties do not agree on that form. Only the BBB has indicated that it wants to be in a Cabinet with the PVV.

Plasterk refused to comment on what was discussed on Tuesday, though he called the meetings “constructive” and “useful steps” in the process.

Plasterk thinks he will hold his last two conversations with party leaders on Wednesday, but more may be needed. “You never know. But I only have a limited amount of time.” He must write his report this weekend to present it to the temporary Tweede Kamer president on Monday or Tuesday. “So I guess that’s it.”

He will do “everything possible” to deliver a report that will allow the formation to move forward. “But I don’t have complete control over that,” Plasterk said. He cannot yet say whether a Cabinet with the four parties he has had follow-up talks with is feasible. “I don’t have any conclusions yet.”