The members of the Provincial Council today elect the 75 members of the Senate. The BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) is expected to become the largest with 17 seats and the coalition will get 24 seats. But according to Bert van den Braak, a professor of parliamentary history at Maastricht University, the role of the BBB is easily overstated. “They don’t even want to provide the Speaker of the House.”
According to Van den Braak, the fact that BBB will become the largest party in the Senate is irrelevant. According to him, the relationship between the four coalition parties and the support they can get from other parties is more important. ‘You might be thinking about PvdA, GroenLinks and maybe VOLT. If this combination has the majority, then the problem for the cabinet is not that big.’ If that doesn’t work, the coalition will have to negotiate with the BBB and that will make the situation more difficult, he thinks.
About coffee
“Certainly this needs to be taken into consideration. I know that Caroline van der Plas is already allowed to have coffee with everyone.’ A good sign, says Van den Braak. “It would also be much better if the government could find support from the BBB as well.” But, he notes, that support only applies to a limited number of invoices. “Many laws can count on wider support, even from non-coalition parties.” On the other hand, those few bills are part of sensitive political issues.
‘Many laws can count on wider support, even from non-coalition parties’
It is precisely in these major dossiers that the Senate will play an important political role. A function traditionally held by the Senate. In the end, they have the final say on all legislation. They can stop anything.’
Residual votes
The remaining votes may still slightly change the final distribution of seats, but Van den Braak is not expecting big surprises here. “Perhaps ChristenUnie can have one more place. But the biggest surprises are that sometimes people forget to come or use a pen instead of a pencil and stuff like that.’
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
