{"id":7252,"date":"2021-04-05T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7252"},"modified":"2021-04-05T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:00:19","slug":"how-4-words-caused-a-political-crisis-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/how-4-words-caused-a-political-crisis-in-the-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"How 4 Words Caused a Political Crisis in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

The past two weeks, the Netherlands was\u00a0in de ban van\u00a0<\/em>(under the spell) of the ominous words “Positie Omtzigt, functie elders”\u00a0<\/em>(position Omtzigt, job elsewhere). Who is Omtzigt, where do these words come from and what does this all mean? Here’s how these four words caused a political crisis in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Who are the\u00a0verkenners<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"political<\/a>

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Before we can talk about the origin of these words, we need a little preface. The Netherlands just held elections<\/a>. Once the results are clear and the new parliament starts out, it kicks off the kabinetsformatie <\/em>(cabinet formation) with the appointment of a\u00a0verkenner\u00a0<\/em>(“scout”). Such a\u00a0verkenner <\/em>talks to the heads of each of the parties that entered parliament about who they can imagine working with and what their main points are. That\u2019s 17 parties this time around, so you might need many parties to come together to get a majority government. This time is a bit special, too, because the Tweede Kamer <\/em>(Second Chamber, the lower house of parliament)<\/a> appointed two, not one, verkenners<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0papieren van Ollongren<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n