Parliamentary election in the Netherlands 2012

← 2010Elected to the second chamber in 20122017 →

(in %)

 %

30th

20th

10

0

26.58

24.84

10.08

9.65

8.51

8.03

3.13

2.33

2.09

4.76

VVD

PvdA

PVV

SP

CDA

D66

CU

GL

SGP

Otherwise. ^j

Gains and losses

compared to 2010

 % p

   8th

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

+6.09

+5.21

-5.37

-0.17

-5.10

+1.08

-0.11

-4.34

+0.35

+2.36

VVD

PvdA

PVV

SP

CDA

D66

CU

GL

SGP

Otherwise. ^j

Remarks:

^j PvdD 1.93% (+0.63% p), 50PLUS 1.88% (+1.88% p)

15th

38

2

4th

12

2

41

13

5

3

15th

15th 38 2 4th 12 2 41 13 5 3 15th 

A total of 150 seats

• SP : 15
• PvdA : 38
• PvdD : 2
• GL : 4
• D66 : 12
• 50PLUS : 2
• VVD : 41
• CDA : 13
• CU : 5
• SGP : 3
• PVV : 15

The 2012 Dutch parliamentary election (election to the Second Chamber of the States General ) took place on September 12, 2012. It was an early election after the minority government made up of Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) and Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) failed to achieve a majority in the negotiations on budget cuts in March. The PVV under Geert Wilders , which the government tolerated until then, rejected the austerity package.

On April 23, 2012, Prime Minister Rutte asked Queen Beatrix to release the government from its duties. In such situations, the parliament decides which issues are politically controversial and thus cannot be decided by the executive government. However, by April 30th at the latest, the Netherlands had to present an austerity package acceptable to the European Commission . To the astonishment of the public, the parliamentary groups from VVD, CDA, GroenLinks, ChristenUnie and the D66 (i.e. government and opposition parties) succeeded in doing this in cooperation with Finance Minister De Jager as mediator. The PvdA was the only one to refuse to sign the budget reform package.

The polls had initially forecast a head-to-head race between the right-wing liberal VVD of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the opposition Socialist Partij . In the last few days before the election, the social democrat Diederik Samsom led the polls among the left-wing candidates. In the election itself, the VVD and the social democratic PvdA once again received significantly more votes than forecast, thanks to so-called “strategic voting”. The duel for the post of prime minister thus damaged the smaller parties.

The biggest losers in the election were the Christian Democratisch Appèl (CDA) and the GroenLinks party , whose mandates fell from ten to the previous low of four, which subsequently led to the resignation of the parliamentary group leader and top candidate Jolande Sap and the party executive. The CDA was traditionally the largest party as recently as 2006 and has now fallen from fourth to fifth place after already dramatic losses in 2010. The previously third largest group, the PVV, also lost against the forecasts. The requested exit from the euro zone ( Nexit ), internal quarrels and the break with the government it tolerated may have been reasons for this. Measured against the previously favorable poll values, the SP could also see itself as a loser, even if it only lost a few votes.

In the Second Chamber there were two larger parties, the right-wing liberal VVD and the social democratic PvdA, each with around a quarter of the votes. The medium-sized parties followed: PVV, SP, CDA and D66, each with around ten percent. Two small parties received two seats each; the ChristenUnie received five.

The Second Chamber, newly constituted on September 20, 2012, commissioned Henk Kamp (VVD) and Wouter Bos (PvdA) as informators to initiate the formation of a government coalition from their two parties. On October 29th, Mark Rutte and Diederik Samsom presented the coalition agreement between VVD and PvdA. The Rutte II cabinet was sworn in on November 5, 2012 and was in office until October 26, 2017.

background

Result of the 2010 general election

The parliamentary elections on June 9, 2010 did not lead to a clear majority. After five failed attempts to form a government, VVD chairman Ivo Opstelten was given the task of forming a government on September 13th . On September 28th, he reached an agreement between VVD, CDA and PVV. A coalition of VVD and CDA should be formed with tolerance of the PVV. The parliamentary groups of VVD and PVV voted unanimously on September 29th for the compromise reached. The CDA also agreed with two dissenting votes; At a general meeting on October 2nd, 2,759 members voted, with 1,274 against, for a VVD / CDA government supported by the PVV. Opstelten presented his final report to Queen Beatrix on October 7th . She then commissioned VVD boss Mark Rutte to put together the cabinet. The Rutte I cabinet, consisting of six VVD and six CDA members , was sworn in on October 14th.

Necessity of an early election

As a result of the euro crisis , austerity measures were also taken in the Netherlands in order to meet European requirements. During the negotiations on an austerity package of 14 to 16 billion euros, through which the Dutch budget deficit should be reduced significantly, no agreement was reached between the government and the PVV. The negotiations were broken off after seven weeks on April 21, 2012 after the PVV leader Geert Wilders left the conference hall. Mark Rutte later confirmed that the negotiations had been broken off and stated that new elections were "now the logical next step". Wilders stated that they would “not want our pensions to bleed to death because of the Brussels dictate”. He also feared an increase in unemployment as a result of the package of measures.

Accompanying parties

The lists of the following 21 parties were approved:

list	Political party	Abbreviation	Top candidate	Result 2010	Remarks
1.	Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie	VVD	Mark Rutte	20.5% (31 seats)
2.	Partij van de Arbeid	PvdA	Diederik Samsom	19.6% (30 seats)	List connection with SP and GroenLinks
3.	Partij voor de Vrijheid	PVV	Geert Wilders	15.4% (24 seats)
4th	Christian-Democratic Appèl	CDA	Sybrand van Haersma Buma	13.6% (21 seats)
5.	Socialist Partij	SP	Emile Roemer	9.8% (15 seats)	List connection with PvdA and GroenLinks
6th	Democrats 66	D66	Alexander Pechtold	6.9% (10 seats)
7th	GroenLinks	GL	Jolande Sap	6.7% (10 seats)	List connection with PvdA and SP
8th.	ChristenUnie	CU	Aria Slob	3.2% (5 seats)	List connection with SGP
9.	State-informed Gereformeerde Partij	SGP	Kees van der Staaij	1.7% (2 seats)	List connection with CU
10.	Partij voor de Dieren	PvdD	Marianne Thieme	1.3% (2 seats)
11.	Pirate party	PPNL	Dirk Poot	0.1% (0 seats)
12.	Partij voor Men en Spirit	MenS	Lea Manders	0.3% (0 seats)	not running on BES islands
13.	Nederland Lokaal	NL	Ton Schijvenaars	not participated
14th	Libertarian party	LP	Toine Manders	not participated
15th	Democratic Politiek Keerpunt	DPK	Hero Brinkman	( Trots op Nederland 0.6%)	Merger of Trots op Nederland and Onafhankelijke Burger Partij
16.	50PLUS	50+	Henk Krol	not participated
17th	Liberaal Democratische Partij	LibDem	Sammy van Tuyll van Serooskerken	not participated	not running on BES islands
18th	Anti Europa Partij		Arnold Reinten	not participated
19th	Soeverein Onafhankelijke Pioniers Nederland	SOPN	Johan Oldenkamp	not participated	not running on BES islands
20th	Partij van de Toekomst	PvdT	Johan Vlemmix	not participated	not running on BES islands
21st	Politieke Partij NXD		Anil Samlal	not participated	is only running in Amsterdam

Survey

Polls on elections in the Netherlands do not show the number of votes, but the theoretical number of seats won (out of 150 to be awarded). The date refers to the calendar weeks .

Week 02 to 23

Institute date VVD PvdA PVV CDA SP D66 GL CU SGP PvdD 50+ DPK PPNL Ipsos Week 02 35 22nd 24 15th 22nd 13 7th 5 2 4th 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 04 32 21st 20th 16 29 14th 7th 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 06 34 21st 20th 14th 31 14th 6th 4th 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 08 35 21st 20th 14th 30th 13 6th 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 10 33 23 23 14th 26th 14th 6th 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 12 34 26th 21st 14th 26th 11 7th 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 14 36 26th 20th 13 25th 13 6th 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 16 37 27 18th 12 26th 13 5 5 2 4th 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 17 34 25th 18th 13 26th 16 5 6th 2 3 1 1 0 Peil.nl Week 17 31 19th 17th 13 31 17th 8th 7th 3 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 18 35 23 17th 14th 28 15th 6th 5 2 4th 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 18 30th 20th 19th 13 30th 17th 8th 6th 3 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 19 33 22nd 19th 16 28 15th 5 6th 2 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 19 28 20th 20th 15th 29 17th 7th 6th 3 3 2 Ipsos Week 20 31 24 21st 16 27 15th 5 5 2 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 20 25th 23 23 15th 29 17th 4th 6th 3 3 2 Ipsos Week 21 30th 25th 20th 16 27 16 5 5 2 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 21 24 21st 25th 14th 30th 16 6th 6th 3 3 2 Ipsos Week 22 32 24 22nd 14th 27 15th 5 5 2 3 1 0 0 TNS NIPO Week 22 29 20th 19th 18th 29 17th 6th 6th 2 2 2 0 0

Week 24 to the election

Institute date VVD PvdA PVV CDA SP D66 GL CU SGP PvdD 50+ DKP PPNL Ipsos Week 24 34 24 23 12 25th 15th 5 6th 2 3 2 0 0 Peil.nl Week 24 28 20th 23 12 31 16 6th 6th 3 3 2 Peil.nl Week 25 28 20th 23 11 30th 17th 6th 6th 3 3 1 1 1 Ipsos Week 26 32 23 20th 14th 28 14th 5 7th 3 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 26 26th 18th 23 13 32 18th 6th 6th 3 3 1 1 0 Ipsos Week 27 35 25th 18th 14th 29 13 4th 6th 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 28 36 23 19th 16 27 13 5 5 2 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 28 29 19th 20th 14th 31 17th 5 5 3 3 1 0 1 Peil.nl Week 29 31 19th 19th 14th 31 15th 5 7th 3 3 1-2 0 1-2 Ipsos Week 30 35 23 18th 15th 29 14th 4th 6th 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 32 32 22nd 19th 15th 31 15th 4th 6th 2 3 1 0 0 Ipsos Week 33 35 23 18th 14th 29 14th 4th 5 3 3 2 0 0 Peil.nl Week 33 31 15th 17th 14th 37 16 4th 8th 3 3 1 0 1 Ipsos Week 34 34 22nd 19th 14th 30th 14th 5 6th 2 3 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 34 32 16 18th 14th 36 15th 4th 7th 3 2 2 0 1 Ipsos Week 35 34 26th 20th 13 27 14th 4th 5 2 4th 1 0 0 Peil.nl Week 35 32 18th 18th 14th 35 14th 5 7th 2 2 2 0 1 Ipsos 3rd Sept 35 30th 18th 14th 24 14th 3 4th 2 4th 2 0 0

Election result

Parties with the highest number of votes in the municipalities

The official final result was announced on September 17, 2012.

Political party		2010			2012			difference
be right	percent	Seats	be right	percent	Seats	percent	Seats
	Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD)	1,929,575	20.5	31	2,504,948	26.6	41	+6.1	+10
	Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA)	1,848,805	19.6	30th	2,340,750	24.8	38	+5.2	+8
	Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV)	1,454,493	15.5	24	950.263	10.1	15th	−5.4	−9
	Socialist Party (SP)	924,696	9.8	15th	909.853	9.7	15th	−0.1	0
	Christians Democratic Appèl (CDA)	1,281,886	13.6	21st	801.620	8.5	13	−5.1	−8
	Democrats 66 (D66)	654.167	6.9	10	757.091	8.0	12	+1.1	+2
	ChristenUnie	305.094	3.2	5	294,586	3.1	5	−0.1	0
	GroenLinks	628.096	6.7	10	219,896	2.3	4th	−4.4	−6
	State-certified Gereformeerde Partij (SGP)	163,581	1.7	2	196.780	2.1	3	+0.4	+1
	Partij voor de Dieren (PvdD)	122,317	1.3	2	182.162	1.9	2	+0.6	0
	50PLUS (50+)	-	-	-	177,631	1.9	2	+1.9	+2
	Pirate Party (PPNL)	10,471	0.1	0	30,600	0.3	0	+0.2	0
	Partij voor Men en Spirit (MenS)	26,196	0.3	0	18,310	0.2	0	−0.1	0
	Soeverein Onafhankelijke Pioniers Nederland (SOPN)	-	-	-	12,982	0.1	0	+0.1	0
	Partij van de Toekomst (PvdT)	-	-	-	8,194	0.1	0	+0.1	0
	Democratic Politiek Keerpunt (DPK)	-	-	-	7,363	0.1	0	+0.1	0
	Libertarian Party (LP)	-	-	-	4.163	0.0	0	0.0	0
	Nederland Lokaal (NL)	-	-	-	2,842	0.0	0	0.0	0
	Liberaal Democratische Partij (LibDem)	-	-	-	2.126	0.0	0	0.0	0
	Anti Europa Partij	-	-	-	2.013	0.0	0	0.0	0
	Politieke Partij NXD	-	-	-	62	0.0	0	0.0	0
	Others 2010	66,624	0.7	0	-	-	-	-	-
Overall valid		9.416.001	100.0	150	9,424,235	100	150	0.0	0

The turnout was 74.6%.

See also

• Dutch parliamentary elections 2006 => Cabinet Balkenende IV
• Dutch parliamentary elections 2010 => Cabinet Rutte I
• Dutch parliamentary elections 2012 => Cabinet Rutte II

• Political parties in the Netherlands
• Political system of the Netherlands

Web links

Commons : Dutch General Election 2012  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Spiegel Online : Holland's euro opponents before the victory , article about the political situation in the Netherlands shortly before the election. 4 September 2012.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Kiesraad: Uitslag Verkiezing leden Tweede Kamer van 12 September 2012 ( Memento from October 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 160 kB)
2. ↑ Marij Leenders: The Netherlands (in: Yearbook of European Integration 2012, pp. 453–456, online )
3. ↑ Parlement & Politiek: Kabinetsformatie 2012 van dag tot dag
4. ↑ Bruggen slaan. Regeerakkoord VVD - PvdA. October 29, 2012 ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Handelsblatt: Netherlands disagree on savings package
6. ↑ Spiegel Online : The Netherlands are heading towards new elections
7. ↑ Focus : The Netherlands are facing new elections after Wilders' withdrawal
8. ↑ kiesraad.nl: candidate list bekend ( memento of the original from August 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 2  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 4  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 6  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 8  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 10  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 12  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 14 ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
16. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 16  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 17 ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
18. ↑ Peil.nl: survey April 27, 2012
19. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 18  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey May 6, 2012
21. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 19  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ↑ ^{a b} Peil.nl: Survey May 27, 2012 ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 93 kB) 
23. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 20  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey May 20, 2012 ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
25. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 21 ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
26. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 22 ( Memento of the original from March 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
27. ↑ TNS-NIPO.com: 'Europe' risico voor VVD, kans voor PVV
28. ↑ Ipsos-nl: Survey week 24 ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
29. ↑ nos.nl: survey week 24, Peil.nl
30. ↑ Peil.nl: survey week 25
31. ↑ Ipsos: Survey week 26  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
32. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 26
33. ↑ Ipsos: Survey week 27 ( Memento of the original from December 9, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
34. ↑ Ipsos: Survey Week 28 ( Memento of the original from July 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
35. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 28 ( Memento of the original of July 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
36. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 29 ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
37. ↑ Ipsos: Survey week 30
38. ↑ Ipsos: Survey week 30
39. ↑ Ipsos: Survey Week 33
40. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 33 ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
41. ↑ Ipsos: Week 34, Survey Week 34 ( Memento of the original from September 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
42. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 34 ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
43. ↑ Ipsos: Survey Week 35 ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
44. ↑ Peil.nl: Survey week 35 ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
45. ↑ Ipsos: Survey September 3 (week 36) ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.