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1948 Dutch cabinet formation
A cabinet formation took place in Netherlands after the general election of 7 July 1948. On 7 August this led to the formation of the Drees-Van Schaik cabinet. The cabinet was formed by the Catholic People's Party (KVP), Labour Party (PvdA), Christian Historical Union (CHU), and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
The first Beel cabinet, consisting of KVP and PvdA under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Louis Beel, had submitted a constitutional amendment. This constitutional amendment introduced a new legal order for overseas territories and introduced state secretaries in the cabinet. After the House of Representatives and Senate approved it in the first reading with support from VVD and CHU, new general and Senate elections were called. The newly elected parliament would need to approve the constitutional amendment with a two-thirds majority in the second reading.
Parties like ARP, CHU, and KVP initially focused their campaigns on the Indonesian issue and the constitutional revision. However, this quickly shifted when research showed that housing shortages, the economic situation, and the communist "threat" were more pressing concerns for the public. The KVP distanced itself from the PvdA – partly due to criticism of Finance Minister Piet Lieftinck – under pressure from the Catholic National Party (KNP), which had split from the KVP over its Indonesia policy and cooperation with the PvdA. The PvdA ran a moderate campaign to continue its collaboration with the KVP and achieve a breakthrough in the Catholic south. The VVD highlighted its necessity for the two-thirds majority and indicated it would demand a price for it. The election results saw no major changes; the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) and PvdA each lost two seats, the VVD gained two, and the KNP and CHU each gained one.
After consultations, regentess Juliana appointed Louis Beel (KVP) as formateur on 13 July. His assignment was the 'formation of a parliamentary cabinet that enjoys as much confidence from the House as possible' to secure a two-thirds majority for the constitutional amendment. Beel began by drafting a program, shorter than two years ago. He then spoke with the party leaders who had supported the constitutional amendment in the first reading and made changes to the program.
Apart from disagreements over the program, there was also disagreement about the party composition of the cabinet. The KVP wanted as many parties as possible to ensure the constitutional amendment, but could also accept a three-party cabinet. The PvdA preferred a two-party cabinet (the Roman/Red combination) and especially no VVD ministers. A cooperation agreement on the constitutional amendment was rejected by the VVD and CHU. Those two parties only wanted to join the cabinet together. An extra-parliamentary cabinet was rejected by the PvdA, leading to a stalemate in the formation.
In a meeting on 21 July, Beel proposed a compromise where a four-party cabinet would be parliamentary only for the Indonesian issue and international policy, and where parliamentary groups would not be bound on other topics. The cabinet would then end once the biggest issues on these topics were resolved. The PvdA rejected this again, as the Indonesian issue was the biggest point of contention and other topics also deserved attention. The next day, Beel returned his assignment.
On 23 July Juliana again gave Beel an assignment, this time to form 'a cabinet.' The PvdA was unhappy with this turn towards an extra-parliamentary cabinet, but the parliamentary groups decided by majority that the ministers could speak with Beel based on the new assignment. The fear in the PvdA was that Beel might form a cabinet without the party, meaning Dolf Joekes would no longer be minister of Overseas Territories.
In the following days, parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives Marinus van der Goes van Naters (PvdA) and Carl Romme (KVP) agreed that the broad base could be seen as an intermezzo and that a small coalition of PvdA and KVP would be preferred afterward. Beel included KVP elements in the government program, such as child benefits for large families and health care, but this was removed after objections from Drees. Also, the mention that 'police actions' were among the possibilities was removed as too premature.
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1948 Dutch cabinet formation
A cabinet formation took place in Netherlands after the general election of 7 July 1948. On 7 August this led to the formation of the Drees-Van Schaik cabinet. The cabinet was formed by the Catholic People's Party (KVP), Labour Party (PvdA), Christian Historical Union (CHU), and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
The first Beel cabinet, consisting of KVP and PvdA under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Louis Beel, had submitted a constitutional amendment. This constitutional amendment introduced a new legal order for overseas territories and introduced state secretaries in the cabinet. After the House of Representatives and Senate approved it in the first reading with support from VVD and CHU, new general and Senate elections were called. The newly elected parliament would need to approve the constitutional amendment with a two-thirds majority in the second reading.
Parties like ARP, CHU, and KVP initially focused their campaigns on the Indonesian issue and the constitutional revision. However, this quickly shifted when research showed that housing shortages, the economic situation, and the communist "threat" were more pressing concerns for the public. The KVP distanced itself from the PvdA – partly due to criticism of Finance Minister Piet Lieftinck – under pressure from the Catholic National Party (KNP), which had split from the KVP over its Indonesia policy and cooperation with the PvdA. The PvdA ran a moderate campaign to continue its collaboration with the KVP and achieve a breakthrough in the Catholic south. The VVD highlighted its necessity for the two-thirds majority and indicated it would demand a price for it. The election results saw no major changes; the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) and PvdA each lost two seats, the VVD gained two, and the KNP and CHU each gained one.
After consultations, regentess Juliana appointed Louis Beel (KVP) as formateur on 13 July. His assignment was the 'formation of a parliamentary cabinet that enjoys as much confidence from the House as possible' to secure a two-thirds majority for the constitutional amendment. Beel began by drafting a program, shorter than two years ago. He then spoke with the party leaders who had supported the constitutional amendment in the first reading and made changes to the program.
Apart from disagreements over the program, there was also disagreement about the party composition of the cabinet. The KVP wanted as many parties as possible to ensure the constitutional amendment, but could also accept a three-party cabinet. The PvdA preferred a two-party cabinet (the Roman/Red combination) and especially no VVD ministers. A cooperation agreement on the constitutional amendment was rejected by the VVD and CHU. Those two parties only wanted to join the cabinet together. An extra-parliamentary cabinet was rejected by the PvdA, leading to a stalemate in the formation.
In a meeting on 21 July, Beel proposed a compromise where a four-party cabinet would be parliamentary only for the Indonesian issue and international policy, and where parliamentary groups would not be bound on other topics. The cabinet would then end once the biggest issues on these topics were resolved. The PvdA rejected this again, as the Indonesian issue was the biggest point of contention and other topics also deserved attention. The next day, Beel returned his assignment.
On 23 July Juliana again gave Beel an assignment, this time to form 'a cabinet.' The PvdA was unhappy with this turn towards an extra-parliamentary cabinet, but the parliamentary groups decided by majority that the ministers could speak with Beel based on the new assignment. The fear in the PvdA was that Beel might form a cabinet without the party, meaning Dolf Joekes would no longer be minister of Overseas Territories.
In the following days, parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives Marinus van der Goes van Naters (PvdA) and Carl Romme (KVP) agreed that the broad base could be seen as an intermezzo and that a small coalition of PvdA and KVP would be preferred afterward. Beel included KVP elements in the government program, such as child benefits for large families and health care, but this was removed after objections from Drees. Also, the mention that 'police actions' were among the possibilities was removed as too premature.