CPG researchers Alexander van Kessel, Anne Bos en Laurien Crump contributed to the book 'Het experiment-Schoof' (The Schoof Experiment). In this collection published by the Montesquieu Instituut, various historians, political scientists, public administration experts and legal scholars examine the term of office of the Schoof cabinet (2024-2026).
Alexander van Kessel: Explosive danger is also chemistry. The formation of the Schoof Experiment
In 'Explosive danger is also Chemistry. The formation of the Schoof Experiment', Alexander van Kessel examines the formation of this cabinet, which was unique in several respects. From minor changes such as hearings for prospective ministers to the appointment, for the first time in over a century, of a non-partisan prime minister. The disctinctive nature of the formation (and the cabinet) can largely be attributed to the unexpectedly large election victory of Wilders' PVV, which meant that the anti-establishment party suddenly took the initiative in forming the cabinet. On many fronts, this led to difficulties and mishaps. Parallels can be drawn with the 2010 formation, but differences are also apparent. For instance, in 2023/2024, the 'firm will' to cooperate that had existed in 2010 between the VVD, CDA and PVV was lacking among the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB. The four prospective coalition partners continued to mistrust and provoke one another. According to Van Kessel, a more apt parallel is this respect is the Van Agt II cabinet, in which the key players likewise lacked Chemistry with one another. In that cabinet, too, the rapid collapse was already foreshadowed during the formation process.
Anne Bos: Disharmony in The Hague
In her contrbution 'Disharmony in The Hague', Anne Bos focuses on the Schoof cabinet's approach to parliamentary norms, the rules of the game and constitutional conventions. Bos explains what she means by this, illustrates a few examples of clashes with these norms and conventions and indicates why this short-lived cabinet in particular experienced so many conflicts. For instance, there was the 'rule of law declaration' demanded by the NSC, which set out what should actually have been self-evident, but which was nevertheless soon ignored. The cabinet also struggled greatly with policy coherence, and from the outset the prime minister was faced with disloyal behaviour from coalition partners. Another regrettable low point was the debate that led to the resignation of State Secretary of Finance Nora Achahbar (NSC). In addition, there were countless other examples of a coarsening of manners in parliament, often permitted by speaker Martin Bosma. Bos attributes these clashes, among other things, to the lack of willingness to cooperate on the part of the four coalition partners. There was hardly any common policy or vision. The fact that the coalition was led by a non-partisan prime minister with no parliamentary support did not help to foster harmony.
Laurien Crump: Living on Trump-time
Laurien Crump examines the foreign policy of the Schoof cabinet at a time when the war in Ukraine was becoming increasingly hopeless, Trump was turning the world order upside down, and European security was coming under even greater pressure. In her contribution titled '"Living on Trump time": The Schoof Cabinet and the shifting world order', she discusses, among other things, the €3.5 billion in aid that Schoof promised to Ukraine without consulting his cabinet. She also highlights Shoof's shifting and precarious mandate in his international engagements and the fact that he regularly received more support from the opposition than from the coalition. As an example of this, she cites the European rearmament plans, towards which Schoof wished to adopt a constructive stance. However, a motion against the rearmament plans by JA21 was supported by coalition partners PVV, NSC and BBB, whereas opposition parties Groenlinks-PvdA, D66, CDA and CU actually gave Schoof a mandate to act. In addition, Laurien outlines the background to the rapid developments in the Dutch defence spending and the growth of the NATO standard and how coalition and opposition changed their view on this within a short space of time. She concludes that there was a considerable degree of consensus and continuity regarding the war in Ukraine, but that the American sledgehammer diplomacy under Trump increasingly divided the House of Representatives.
Het experiment-Schoof. Beschouwingen over het kabinet-Schoof 2024-2026 will appear on 28 April. It is an initiative of the Montesquieu Institute and appears in the Montesquieu Series as volume 26, published by WJS Publishers.