Elections in the Netherlands for the Tweede Kamer of Parliament

Introduction

The Dutch general election of 2003 held on January 22, 2003 was held after the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet on October 16, 2002. The election was focused on the chaos created by the LPF, the new party of late Pim Fortuyn.

In the early days of the campaign the CDA of incumbent prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and the VVD, the smallest coalition party, saw a major lead.

After TV debates the PvdA (which experienced a humiliating defeat in the 2002 general election) of opposition leader Wouter Bos caught up, overtaking the VVD and making a comeback.

The LPF lost as spectacularly as it won in 2002: it dropped from 26 to 8 seats.

The exciting race of which party would become the greatest was eventually won by the CDA, who went from 43 to 44 seats, which meant a continuation of Balkenende’s career as prime minister.

The small parties on both the left and right side didn’t experience many changes. Several other parties (amongst them Leefbaar Nederland, a 2002 newcomer) didn’t manage to get over the threshold and thus gained no seats. They aren’t listed here.

National Summary

Turnout: 80.0%

Parties

• Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl)
• Christian Union (ChristenUnie)
• Democrats 66 (Democraten 66)
• Green Left (GroenLinks)
• Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid)
• List Pim Fortuyn (Lijst Pim Fortuyn)
• People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)
• Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij)
• Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij)

Consequences

After severe disagreements in the formation of a CDA-PvdA cabinet, a CDA-VVD-D66 cabinet was formed on May 27, 2003, with Balkenende as prime minister.