DutchNews.nl NEW CABINET Wednesday, October 13, 2010 SPECIAL The cabinet COALITION PLANS Prime minister: Mark Rutte Mark Rutte’s cabinet is Finances (VVD), 43. Worked in industry until • Total cuts package €18bn 2002 then appointed junior social a tried and trusted crew • Aid budget to be cut from affairs minister. Saw off Rita Ver- 0.8% of GDP to 0.7% donk to keep the party leadership • Corporate clustering to be in 2007. encouraged such as Green- port Venlo and Maintenance Minister for economic affairs, Valley projects agriculture and innovation: • Public private partnerships Maxime Verhagen (CDA), 54. to be encouraged Active in politics since 1984. Spent • Childcare and healthcare five years in Europe. Was foreign subsidies to be cut minister in previous government. Immigration and asylum: Finance: Jan Kees de Jager • Immigrants to pay for their (CDA), 41. Junior finance minister own integration courses in previous government, then min- • Ban on the burqa and other ister after cabinet collapse. CDA face-covering garments member since he was 18. • Headscarf ban for police and justice ministry officials Social affairs and employment: • Integration tests to be made Henk Kamp (VVD), 58. Was more difficult environment and defence minister in previous administrations. Said Work and social security to be well liked by Geert Wilders. • Minimum wage and basic Top row, left to right: prime minister Mark Rutte, Maxime Verhagen, Uri Since 2007 has been queen’s welfare benefits to be Rosenthal, Ivo Opstelten. Second row: Henk Kamp, Melanie Schultz van commissioner for Bonaire. reduced Haegen, Gerd Leers, Edith Schippers. Bottom row: Hans Hillen, Jan Kees • Pension age to rise from 65 de Jager, Marja van Bijsterveld, Piet Hein Donner. Home affairs: Piet Hein Donner to 66 by 2020 (CDA), 61. Resigned as minister of • No change to unemploy- justice in 2006 over the Schiphol ment benefit fire scandal. Rehabilitated in last White men and old nearly all senior party officials • No change to redundancy cabinet with social affairs ministry. who were closely involved in the laws Keen supporter of raising pension friends dominate cabinet formation process. age to 67. The new minority cabinet compris- The minority cabinet will be sup- Law and order Security and Justice: Ivo Op- ing the right-wing VVD Liberals ported in parliament by the anti- • 2,500 new police officers stelten (VVD), 66. A career politi- and the Christian Democrats is Islam PVV, led by Geert Wilders. 500 new animal cops cian with a string of mayorships, largely made up of faces which This gives the new government • Minimum sentences for seri- including Rotterdam, behind him. are well-known in The Hague. a majority of just one in the 150 ous crimes VVD chairman and chief negotiator Prime minister Mark Rutte’s team seat lower house. The basis for • Stop and search policy to be for the new coalition. is made up of 11 ministers and the alliance with the PVV has been extended eight junior ministers, making 20 worked out in advance but com- Infrastructure and environment: in total. Just four ministers are mentators say it is still unclear how Defence and foreign policy Melanie Schultz van Haegen female, a fact which has been the arrangement will work in prac- • Nato, peacekeeping mis- (VVD), 40. Junior transport min- heavily criticised. None has a mi- tice, particularly if ministers deviate sions paid from aid budget ister from 2002 to 2006 but quit nority background. Five are sitting from the coalition agreement. The • €1bn to be cut from EU bill politics at the 2006 election to join ministers or have been ministers, pension age and health service • Second test JSF fighter jet private sector. Works for Achmea. eight are MPs and the rest are cuts are likely areas of conflict. see over Sign up for the daily DutchNews.nl email newsletter via www.dutchnews.nl/newsletter ADVERTISEMENT A Dictionary of Dutchness Wednesday October 13, 2010 www.dutchnews.nl Defence: Hans Hillen (CDA), The senate remains 63, was an MP for 12 years then Opposition: from liberal an open question joined senate in 2007. Considered Rutte’s new regime will have to a conservative. democrats to socialists grapple with one, as-yet unknown The Netherlands may have a new quantity - the 75-seat senate. Foreign affairs: Uri Rosenthal right-wing government, but with a At the moment, the PVV is not (VVD), 65. In the senate since majority of just one seat in parlia- represented in the senate and 1999. Helped with new cabinet ment, votes on many issues are ex- the two minority coalition parties formation process. pected to be close. Many of the cab- only control 35 seats. This means inet’s plans will get bogged down in senators can technically reject Health: Edith Schippers (VVD), parliamentary procedures. Others, legislation which has already been 46. Was Rutte’s number two dur- largely immigration-related, require passed by parliament. ing the formation talks. Believes in changes to EU legislation and will The senate is chosen on the basis thinking positively. not happen. With such a slender of the results of elections to the 12 majority, prime minister Mark Rutte provincial authorities which takes Education, culture and sport: will be hoping for support on some place in March. Three months later Marja van Bijsterveldt (CDA), 49. policies from other parties. But Job the upper chamber is appointed. Active in politics since 1991 and Cohen (photo bottom left), leader of The PVV is planning to field chaired CDA from 2002 to 2009. the Labour party, has already made candidates in the provinccials Junior education minister in previ- it clear the cabinet cannot count on and, going by current polls, the ous government. his support, even on policies the party backs. Alexander Pechtold (pho- party could be the big winner. But to top right), leader of the liberal democrats D66, and Femke Halsema even if it is, the coalition does not Immigration and asylum affairs: (photo top left) of GroenLinks are old hands in opposition while Emile have a guaranteed majority in the Gerd Leers (CDA), 59. Former Roemer (photo bottom right) has emerged as a strong debater since senate because of the decline in mayor of Maastricht forced out in taking over as leader of the Socialists. As well as the big four, there are popularity of the CDA. This will scandal over his Bulgarian holiday three other parties represented in the opposition: the fundamentalist make it difficult for the coalition home. Christian SGP with two MPs, the orthodox but left-wing ChristenUnie to get controverisal legislation (five MPs) and the animal rights party PvdD (two MPs). passed. Junior Ministers Advertisement PLANS continued Justice: Fred Teeven (VVD), 52. Former Amsterdam chief public prosecutor and founding Government MP for the LPF. • Savings on civil service to generate savings of €6.6bn Foreign affairs Ben Knapen a year (CDA), 59. Former editor of the • The number of MPs and NRC newspaper and board senators will be reduced to member at PCM publishing. 100 and 50 respectively • Local government layers will Social affairs: Paul de Krom be reduced (VVD), 47. Worked for Shell before becoming an MP in 2003. Other measures • €500m for new roads Economic affairs: Henk Bleker • Spending on arts and culture (CDA), 57. CDA chairman and Order via www.dutchnews.nl to be cut executive with RTV Noord. • Prostitution age raised to 21 Breeds ponies. • Spending on public broad- casting to be cut by €200m Finance: Frans Weekers - one tv channel may go (VVD), 42. MP since 2003, • Cannabis cafes will become finance and economic affairs members-only clubs with a spokesman. pass system Education: Halbe Zijlstra • No change to Sunday trading (VVD), 41. Active in politics laws - currently 12 a year since 1998, MP since 2003. • The smoking ban in cafes and bars smaller than 70m2 will Infrastructure and environment: be lifted Joop Atsma (CDA), 54. Sitting • Speed limit on some motor- MP and big believer in the ways increased to 130 kph. market. • Student grants to be reduced from four to three years Education and sport: Marlies • Applications to build new Veldhuijzen van Zanten-Hyllner nuclear power stations to be (CDA), 57. Specialist in geriat- welcomed ric medicine. A new face. To keep up with latest developments and other Dutch news, go to www.dutchnews.nl .