Alumni Insights: One Year of Jetten

Thursday 8 October 2026, 6:30 pm - 10 pm

Meet-up

On Thursday 8 October 2026, we invite you to a new edition of Alumni Insights: One Year of Jetten. During this evening, we look back on the first year of the Jetten government and explore current political, social and economic developments.

The evening starts with a joint opening, followed by a choice of four seminars. Each seminar offers a different perspective on a current political, societal or economic issue, with plenty of room for discussion and exchange. We will end the evening with drinks at The Yard, offering a great opportunity to catch up with fellow alumni and meet new people.

Programme

18:30 – 19:00 | Welcome
Join us for coffee and tea before the programme begins at the Elinor Ostrom building.

19:00 – 19:30 | Joint opening
We will open the evening together and reflect on the first year of the Jetten government. Sophie den Ouden, leader of D66 Nijmegen, will open the evening (in Dutch).

19:45 – 20:45 | Choose your seminar
After the opening, you can join one of the four seminars. Choose the topic that best matches your interests and take the opportunity to explore the subject in more depth.

Seminar 1: It can be done - but how?
Seminar 1: Experimenting with a minority government
Seminar 3: Beyond the nitrogen deadlock: Can Dutch land-use politics change course
Seminar 4: Budget rules: back in focus?

From 20:45 | Drinks at The Yard
We will end the evening with drinks at The Yard.

Choose your seminar

Read more about the four seminars below and choose the one that suits you best.

Seminar 1: It can be done - but how?

Het kabinet-Jetten is een minderheidscoalitie en heeft daardoor geen meerderheid in beide Kamers. Dat maakt het lastig om nieuwe wetten en plannen door het parlement te loodsen. Toch zijn er in politiek-bestuurlijk Den Haag verschillende mogelijkheden om beleid voor elkaar te krijgen. Welke ‘geitenpaadjes’ zijn er en hoe kan het kabinet deze benutten? En hoeveel slagvaardigheid mogen we eigenlijk verwachten van een minderheidskabinet? In dit seminar gaan we op zoek naar antwoorden en bespreken we de mogelijkheden én beperkingen van het kabinet-Jetten.

Gijs Jan Brandsma is Associate Professor of Public Administration.

Language: Dutch

Seminar 2: Experimenting with a minority government

The Jetten government is a minority government, a political arrangement that the Netherlands does not encounter very often. How unique is this political situation, and what can we learn from previous examples?

Kristof Jacobs is Associate Professor of Empirical Political Science and places the Jetten government in an international comparative perspective. How unusual are minority governments, and what factors determine whether they are successful? He will also consider Dutch electoral dynamics and the starting position of Jetten I as the successor to Schoof I.

Koen Vossen is a political historian and lecturer in Political Science. He approaches the topic from a historical perspective. How unique is this arrangement, and are there examples from the past that the Jetten government can learn from?

Language: Dutch

Seminar 3: Beyond the nitrogen deadlock: Can Dutch land-use politics change course

The Dutch nitrogen crisis has become one of the defining political and environmental controversies of the past decade. What started as a legal and ecological challenge quickly evolved into a broader debate about agriculture, nature conservation, housing, climate policy, and the future of rural communities. One year into the Jetten government, the nitrogen question remains unresolved. Why has it proven so difficult to govern this issue? Who bears the costs of environmental transition? Are there alternatives to the current policy approach? In this seminar, we explore the political and social dynamics behind the nitrogen crisis and discuss whether the Jetten government can break the deadlock.

Adam Calo is Assistant Professor of Environmental Governance and Politics.

Language: English

Seminar 4: Budget rules: back in focus?

Since 1994, Dutch governments have used a system known as trend-based fiscal policy. This framework sets rules for government spending and revenues, with the aim of stabilising the economy. After a period in which these fiscal rules were applied less strictly, the Jetten government has expressed its intention to adhere to them more closely. But what exactly do these rules entail? What is their purpose, and what are their advantages and disadvantages? In this interactive seminar, we will also explore how Dutch fiscal rules relate to the recently revised European rules and assess to what extent the Jetten government is living up to its own ambitions.

Simon van der Zandt is a PhD candidate and junior lecturer in Economics and Business Economics.

Language: Dutch