Debate about government policy statement by fourth Rutte Cabinet

18 January 2022

On Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 January, the House of Representatives will debate the policy statement by the fourth Rutte Cabinet. On Tuesday, the leaders of the parliamentary groups will have the floor. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will answer questions from the House of Representatives on behalf of the government. This will be followed by a second period in which Members of Parliament can propose motions.

On Saturday, 8 January, formateur Mark Rutte presented his final report to Vera Bergkamp, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The fourth Rutte Cabinet, comprising VVD, D66, CDA and the Christian Union, was sworn in by the King at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague on Monday, 10 January.

Government's policy statement

The first thing that the new Cabinet does is draw up a government policy statement outlining the key elements of the coalition agreement. The Prime Minster delivers the government’s policy statement in the House of Representatives. On the same day, or on the next day at the latest, the House of Representatives debates its contents. The aim of the debate is to formally establish whether the new government has the confidence of a majority of the House of Representatives.

Debate preparations

The House of Representatives has decided to debate the government’s policy statement on Tuesday, 18 and Wednesday, 19 January. The financial assessment of the coalition agreement requested from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) is expected on Tuesday, 11 January. This will ensure that there is sufficient time to prepare for the debate. It is customary that no other plenary debates are held until the debate about the government’s policy statement has taken place. As a result, the next Question Time will take place on Tuesday, 25 January.