Overhandiging Jaarboek tijdens presentatie
Overhandiging Jaarboek tijdens presentatie

Presentation of Yearbook of Parliamentary History 2023

News item

On 21 November 2023, on the eve of the parliamentary elections, the Centre for Parliamentary History (CPG) presented the Yearbook of Parliamentary History, titled Een kwestie van tijd. De factor tijd in de politiek. (A Matter of Time. The Time Factor in Politics.). The yearbook, published annually by the CPG, consists of scholarly and opinion articles, book reviews, a catalogue of the past parliamentary year, personal documents and reminiscences of recently deceased prominent politicians.

As usual, Thom de Graaf, Chairman of the Parliamentary History Foundation, presented the first copies to the chairpersons of both Houses of the States General. Then Ronald Kroeze, Director of the CPG, stated in the welcome address that time is scarce in a parliamentary democracy. Therefore, politics is a matter of acting at the right time and being willing to persevere to achieve goals. He also recalled that we were celebrating an anniversary as the 25th edition of the yearbook was presented.

He then passed the baton to Daniel Wigboldus, Chairman of the Radboud University's Executive Board. He pointed out that time is relative, and to underline that, he recalled that it was exactly 118 years ago that Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity on 21 November 1905. 

In his speech at the presentation, former Volkskrant political commentator Ariejan Korteweg addressed the battle for time in politics based on the departure of 'master of the clock' Mark Rutte. 

Presenting the yearbook, De Graaf argued that a political career is determined by "a combination of talent, chance and time". He also announced that he would hand over the chairmanship of the Parliamentary History Foundation to Ingrid van Engelshoven, former Minister of Education, Culture and Science, at the end of this calendar year.

In her acceptance speech, Vera Bergkamp, who herself is leaving the Chamber after the elections, pointed out the risk of losing the Chamber's "collective memory and experience" due to the departure of many prominent and experienced politicians. 

Presentatie Jaarboek Parlementaire Geschiedenis

About the Yearbook

"A week is a long time in politics," British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is reported to have said. In short, time flies in politics. The Lower House, as a 'burn-out factory', bears witness to this. On the other hand, 'politics' - often involving the administrative side - sometimes tries to gain time by putting off problems. Either way, 'time' is always a factor.

Cover Yearbook of Parliamentary History 2023
The cover page of the Yearbook of Parliamentary History 2023: A Matter of Time. The Time Factor in Politics.

This twenty-fifth edition of the yearbook looks at the role of time in politics from various perspectives. What role does time - both measurable and emotional - play in parliamentary debates? People often complain about the high turnover rate in the Lower House, but how has the term of office of Dutch parliamentarians developed?

It also looks at the development of parliamentary language; it seems each period has its own words. Politics is also an arena where different ages meet. How did political youth organisations relate to their parent parties over time?

The articles are by Chiel den Akker, Remieg Aerts, Bert van den Braak, Anne Bos, Carla Hoetink, Amanda de Lannoy, Ruben Ros, Charlotte de Roon, Simon Otjes, Ingrid van Biezen and Tom Louwerse. 

This anniversary edition of the yearbook also contains the usual sections, including articles on politicians who died in volume 2022/2023, the catalogue of the past parliamentary year and reviews of recently published political history books.

Contact information

For questions or more information about the yearbook, please contact the Centre for Parliamentary History at cpg [at] ru.nl. The book can be ordered from Boom Publishers. 

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Centre for Parliamentary History

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Research by the CPG

The Centre for Parliamentary History (CPG) conducts academic research in the field of the parliamentary history of the Netherlands after World War II.