Het systeem is compleet vastgelopen, according to Maurice, marking what appears to be the third cabinet collapse in three years even if a formula is found to keep the administration going temporarily.
The core of the problem stems from a political stelsel that no longer matches developments within the population. Over the past 50 years, general election results mapped on a left-right scale show that seats have moved away from the center toward the flanks, alongside a shift from left to right.
An added complication is that the composition of the Eerste Kamer increasingly diverges from Tweede Kamer results, as seen when FVD became the largest party in 2019 and BBB in 2023.
The historical precedent for system change dates back to 1848, when King Willem II implemented the democratic system developed by Thorbecke in 1845 as revolutions broke out. That system functioned well until roughly 20 years ago, when center parties could consistently form clear majorities in both chambers with either moderate left or moderate right partners. Today, however, that era has ended, and the current system actively obstructs the country’s governance capacity.
Structural reform normally requires a constitutional amendment and a two-thirds majority in both chambers, which historically only occurred under the threat of major revolution. Proposed structural changes include directly electing the prime minister to form a government, abolishing the Eerste Kamer, and introducing a corrective referendum allowing the population to block government proposals passed by parliament.
Even without a constitutional amendment, a different approach in Den Haag is urgently needed to prevent continuous deadlocks. Under an alternative model designed for the current Tweede Kamer, the largest party—identified as Rob Jetten—would supply the prime minister, while all parties receiving more than 5 percent of the vote would enter government, specifically D66, PVV, PRO, CDA, and JA21.
Ministries would be distributed using a specific allocation key, with a minister and a state secretary from the same party assigned to each department. These officials would seek parliamentary majorities for their proposals, and if unsuccessful, a simple advisory referendum could overrule the chamber, backed by a prior agreement among governing parties to respect such referendum results.
