Dutch general election, 2002
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A general election to the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002.
The election was arguably the most dramatic in Dutch history[citation needed], not just in terms of the electoral results. It was completely overshadowed by the assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn only nine days before election day. Fortuyn's party made a huge leap from nothing to 17% of the seats, making it the second largest party. Fortuyn had especially attacked immigration policies and also questioned many aspects of government by the previous 'purple' cabinets (Paars) of Wim Kok, which he blamed for everything from crime to waiting lists in health services.
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[edit] Result
The great losers of the election were PvdA, VVD and D66, the coalition parties of the 'purple' cabinets. Especially the PvdA under the technocratic leadership of Ad Melkert suffered a landslide defeat.
The CDA was the surprising winner of the election, gaining 14 seats (from 29 to 43) and becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives. This success is in part owed to its new leader Jan Peter Balkenende, who went on to become prime minister, and to its neutral attitude in the debate with Fortuyn, not having participated in the supposed ‘demonization’ by the political Left.
Another party making its debut in the House of Representatives was Leefbaar Nederland.
The May 15, 2002 election was the beginning of a year of political chaos in the Netherlands following the LPF leader's assassination on May 6 of the same year. The power vacuum resulted in violent internal conflicts in LPF, which eventually led to the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet (CDA-LPF-VVD), which governed from July 22, 2002 to October 16, 2002. The CDA once again became a coalition party after eight years in opposition (1994-2002) in a government which, however, became the shortest-ruling Dutch cabinet since the Second World War, lasting less than five months.
[edit] National summary
Turnout: 79.1%
| Party | Lijsttrekker | Votes | % | Seats | difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal | Jan Peter Balkenende | 2,653,723 | 27.9 | 43 | + 14 |
| Pim Fortuyn List | Pim Fortuyn | 1,614,801 | 17.0 | 26 | + 26 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | Hans Dijkstal | 1,466,722 | 15.4 | 24 | - 14 |
| Dutch Labour Party | Ad Melkert | 1,436,023 | 15.1 | 23 | - 22 |
| GreenLeft | Paul Rosenmöller | 660,692 | 7.0 | 10 | - 1 |
| Socialist Party | Jan Marijnissen | 560,447 | 5.9 | 9 | + 4 |
| Democrats 66 | Thom de Graaf | 484,317 | 5.1 | 7 | - 7 |
| ChristianUnion | Kars Veling | 240,953 | 2.5 | 4 | - 1 |
| Reformed Political Party | Bas van der Vlies | 163,562 | 1.7 | 2 | - 1 |
| Livable Netherlands | Fred Teeven | 153,055 | 1.6 | 2 | + 2 |
| Total | 9,501,152 | 100.0 | 150 |
Only parties that won seats in parliament are shown in the above table.
[edit] Parties
- Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl)
- Christian Union (ChristenUnie), merger of Reformatorian Political Federation and Reformed Political Alliance
- Democrats 66 (Democraten 66)
- Green Left (GroenLinks)
- Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid)
- Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn)
- Livable Netherlands (Leefbaar Nederland)
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)
- Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij)
- Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij)
[edit] Further reading
- Van Holsteyn, Joop J. M.; and Galen A. Irwin (April 2003). "Never a dull moment: Pim Fortuyn and the Dutch parliamentary election of 2002". West European Politics 26 (2): 41–86. doi:.
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