By Cadence Chua
With the new academic year, the Netherlands is welcoming a new batch of students from all over the world. As a newcomer to a country, one of the first things one might want to know is how the political system works there. This is your explainer to Dutch politics.
Government System
Before delving into details, it is important to first understand the system of government a country operates under. The Netherlands uses a parliamentary system, where voters elect representatives to a Parliament comprising a House of Representatives, the Tweede Kamer, and a Senate, the Eerste Kamer. This is a bicameral system, with lawmakers divided into two houses. The Tweede Kamer is involved in day-to-day policymaking, while the Eerste Kamer has the responsibility of revising legislation by either accepting or rejecting bills. The Eerste Kamer can thus be seen as having a more complementary role to the Tweede Kamer.
Following the parliamentary system, the country also has a Prime Minister, the Minister-president (not to be confused with the political office of President, which does not exist in the Netherlands), who is in charge of leading the Cabinet, kabinet. The Cabinet is the main executive body, and its members include ministers and state secretaries. They are collectively responsible for making major decisions related to education, defence, foreign affairs, and more. The Netherlands also has a constitutional monarchy, currently with a King, who is technically the head of state. His powers are limited, however, with his key responsibilities being co-signing laws into existence and appointing a cabinet following coalition talks.
Coalition Governments
Speaking of coalition talks, no political party in the Netherlands has ever won an absolute majority in elections. This is why most Dutch governments, historical and contemporary, have been created by coalitions, which are groupings of political parties. Parties in the same coalition government are usually on the same side of the political spectrum, but disagree on certain policies. For example, the current coalition government consists of the Democraten 66 (Democrats 66, D66), the party that won the most seats in the 2025 general elections, the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, VVD), and the Christen-Democratisch Appèl (Christian Democratic Appeal, CDA). All three of these parties are on the centre-left to centre-right. However, this does not mean that they will agree on most issues. Currently, the government is deadlocked on budget talks.
Interestingly, coalition governments here may also be minority governments, such as the current one. Dutch legislation allows for coalitions that hold a minority of seats in Parliament to form governments, which could still manage to pass laws, but with more difficulty.
Coalition discussions usually take place right after the confirmation of general election results. Thereafter, the party that won the greatest number of seats in the Tweede Kamer would kickstart negotiations with other parties. They would usually be parties that have also won a substantial share of seats and/or have similar policies to the majority party. Parties may still have to compromise on certain platforms that they campaigned for. For example, a party with many seats in Parliament might wish to join a coalition with the majority party, on the condition that the latter goes back on one of its election promises. Cabinet roles are also discussed during this time, as all parties in the coalition government will each have ministers in Cabinet. These negotiations may last as long as 299 days, or almost ten months, which was the case for the 2021-2022 cabinet formation. Constitutionally, there is no limit to the duration of these discussions.
Elections
We cannot discuss Dutch politics without bringing in how elections work in this country. Apart from EU elections, the Netherlands holds general, municipal, water board, and provincial elections, the last of which determines the composition of the Eerste Kamer.
General elections for the 150-seat Tweede Kamer usually take place every four years, as its term lasts five years. However, it is also possible for elections to be called earlier, in the event of the collapse of a coalition government (should a key party leave it). Only Dutch citizens are able to vote in these elections, and voters elect representatives through a party-list proportional representation system. AUC has been a voting station for the past few general (and municipal) elections. This system is explained in The Herring’s coverage of the 2025 general elections. Citizens vote from the same list of candidates regardless of one’s voting residence: this is unlike many other electoral systems, where candidates from different parties stand for election in a particular constituency.
Municipal elections are also held every four years and determine the members of the municipal councils. Unlike the general elections, non-citizens are able to vote, given that they are either an EU citizen or a resident in the Netherlands for at least five continuous years. Political parties that stand in these elections may be different from those that stand in general elections, as some focus on issues specific to their municipality. Council members are responsible for day-to-day municipal administration and operations, which differ based on whether they are part of the gemeenteraad (city council) or stadsdeelcommissie (district committee). These specifics and more can be found in The Herring’s article on the 2026 municipal elections.
Water board elections happen every four years. Citizens and all current residents are able to vote in these (including all AUC students). Water boards are in charge of “maintaining the dikes and sluices […] They ensure the correct water level and are responsible for purifying waste water”. One votes for the water board in their region. Some political parties that run for the Tweede Kamer also run for the water boards, while others endorse water board-specific parties.
Last but not least, provincial elections are held at the same time as water board elections for the 12 provinces and their councils of the Netherlands, including Noord-Holland (North Holland), which Amsterdam is part of, Zuid-Holland (South Holland), and Groningen. Only Dutch citizens may vote. Most political parties that stand in general elections also choose to stand in these. Provincial councils are responsible for provincial policy-making and choosing the provincial executive. They also elect the Eerste Kamer.
Political Parties
The following are the key political parties in the Netherlands currently, including those in the coalition government and opposition parties with the most seats. Once again, for more details, you may consult The Herring’s 2025 Dutch elections explainer.
D66
Currently holding 26 seats in the Tweede Kamer, D66, as mentioned, is a centre/centre-left party. Defying early polling numbers, D66 won the most seats in the last general election in 2025. They appealed to youth voters through social media and benefited from a last-minute televised debate appearance by leader Rob Jetten. Jetten is now the Minister-president, having reached a coalition agreement with VVD and CDA. As a liberal party, D66’s proposed policies include building ten new cities for more housing and advocating for more green energy infrastructure in the Netherlands. The party also describes itself as pro-Europe, advocating for more integration with the EU. However, they have faced criticism for not fulfilling election promises and moving more to the right.
VVD
VVD now has 22 seats in the Tweede Kamer. As a centre-right party, they have long been a mainstay of Dutch politics, having regularly been part of a coalition government since World War Two. One of the most prominent VVD politicians is Mark Rutte, Minister-president of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2014, and now the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). During his long tenure, Rutte had a reputation for surviving political scandals, earning the nickname ‘Teflon Mark’. VVD is a conservative-liberal party, and some key policies they have pushed for include affordable taxes, deregulation, and a tough stance on illegal immigration. In the European Parliament, VVD and D66 are both in the same liberal, centrist/centre-right parliamentary group, Renew Europe. VVD is currently being led by Dilan Yeşilgöz, the Deputy Prime Minister.
CDA
The political party with the fewest seats in the coalition government, the centre/centre-right CDA holds 18 seats in the Tweede Kamer. Formed in 1975, the Christian-democratic party espouses primarily conservative political stances such as small government. They have become less conservative socially, for example by supporting same-sex marriage recently. CDA’s current leader, Henri Bontenbal, has a background in the energy sector and was an advisor to the party on related issues.
PRO
Progressief Nederland (Progressive Netherlands), previously GroenLinks-Partij van de Arbeid (GreenLeft-Labour Party), is a new party formed through the merger of the green party GroenLinks and the social democratic Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA). They have 20 seats in the Tweede Kamer, an election result that was seen as disappointing by many of their supporters. Typically classified as left-wing, Progressief Nederland is led by Jesse Klaver, who previously led GroenLinks. They stand for housing affordability, advocate for more green energy, and push for more humane immigration policies.
PVV
Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV), the Party for Freedom, is a far-right party that won 26 Tweede Kamer seats in the 2025 elections, losing 11 seats. After seven members broke away from the party to form a new faction, PVV now has 19 seats in the Tweede Kamer. The party is led by Geert Wilders, a politician infamous for his criticisms of Islam and anti-immigration views. Wilders went on trial in 2016 for discrimination and inciting hatred against Dutch Moroccans. More recently, PVV’s policies include protecting the culture and democracy of the Netherlands and preventing refugees from receiving priority for social housing.
JA21
JA21 is another far-right party that holds nine seats in the Tweede Kamer. A newer party, they were formed in 2020 by politicians who left the far-right Forum voor Democratie (FvD), the Forum for Democracy. Led by Joost Eerdmans, the party stands for strict immigration policies, renegotiating the Netherlands’ EU membership, opposing green energy and other climate policies, and is also pro-Israel.
Want to Read More?
This was a non-exhaustive, and by many measures brief explainer of Dutch politics. For more resources, you may check out the following links:
The 2025 Dutch Elections: An Oversimplified Guide
AUC Perspectives on the Dutch Elections
The Dutch Government Collapsed?! What AUC Students Need to Know About the Fall of the Dutch Cabinet
Government page about elections
All parties compared: where they stand and how they poll
Dutch parties strike minority coalition deal three months after D66 election upset
