The role of the Queen in the formation process
In her capacity as Head of State, the Queen plays an important role in the formation process. The day after the elections she takes the initiative in the formation of a new Cabinet.
To whom can the Queen best entrust the task of forming a new Cabinet, which will gain as much support as possible from the newly elected House of Representatives? The Queen seeks advice on this matter from the Presidents of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and from the Vice-President of the Council of State. Next, she receives the leaders of the political groups of the House of Representatives one by one, starting with the leader of the largest political group. They discuss who can best form a Cabinet with whom. The Queen then identifies what coalition is preferred by the majority of the House. In most cases she will first appoint a so-called “informateur” and then a formateur. The latter generally comes from the largest political group.
Political “rules of the game” with regard to the formation of a Cabinet
The Constitution contains no rules on the formation of a Cabinet; the formation process is largely based on common law and political rules of the game. The Constitution only contains regulations with regard to the beginning and the end of the formation process, namely the resignation of the old Cabinet and the appointment of the new Cabinet. There is no written constitutional law pertaining to the intervening period and the role of the Queen.
Criticism of the formation process
There are a few points of criticism with regard to the Cabinet formation process:
It is the Queen, in her capacity as non-elected and inviolable Head of State, who appoints the informateur. This important decision is taken by the Queen independently. The Royal Decree is not countersigned by a Minister, so the decision is not supported by the Cabinet. This would not be possible, anyway, for the status of the outgoing Cabinet is “demissionary” during the formation of a new Cabinet. The outgoing Cabinet it is not responsible for what happens during the formation period.
- Much of what happens during the formation of a Cabinet is not made public. However, the decision as to the composition of a coalition and the programme on the basis of which a new coalition will govern the country has far-reaching consequences for society. If negotiations fail, it is difficult for the voters to identify which party is to blame.
