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Elections in the Netherlands for the Tweede Kamer of Parliament INTRODUCTION The Dutch General Election of 2002 , held on May 15 , 2002 was the most dramatic in Dutch history, not just in terms of the electoral results. It was completely focused on populist leader Pim Fortuyn , who was Assassinated shortly before the elections. His party made a huge leap from nothing to 17% of the votes, making it the second biggest party. Fortuyn had especially attacked immigration policies and also questioned all forms of policies undertaken by the previous 'purple' cabinets ( Paars ) of Wim Kok , which he blamed for everything from crime to waiting lists in health services. The great losers were PvdA , VVD and D66 , the Coalition Parties of the 'purple' cabinets. Especially the PvdA under the technocratic leadership of Ad Melkert suffered a humiliating defeat. The CDA was the surprising winner of the election, gaining 14 seats (from 29 to 43) and becoming the largest party in the Tweede Kamer . This success is owed to its new leader Jan Peter Balkenende , who would become Prime Minister , and to its neutral attitude in the debate with Fortuyn (it became a perfect alternative to both the government parties, which were utterly despised, and the LPF, which future was uncertain because of Fortuyn's death) who would have been ‘demonized’ by the political Left . - The CDA became coalition party after eight years in opposition ( 1994 -2002) Another party making its debut in the Tweede Kamer was Leefbaar Nederland . NATIONAL SUMMARY Turnout: 79.1% Only parties that got seats in parliament are shown in the table below. In order to show how dramatic the results were, the differences with the Previous Elections in terms of assigned seats are shown in the last column. PARTIES
CONSEQUENCES The election of May 15, 2002 was the beginning of a year of political Chaos in the Netherlands as the inexperienced members of the LPF spent their time on public fights. The First Balkenende Cabinet (CDA-LPF-VVD), which was inaugurated on July 22 , 2002 fell on October 16 , 2002. It was the shortest-ruling Dutch cabinet since the Second World War . |
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