The Dutch Parliamentary elections of March 2021

Abstract

The Dutch general election of March 2021 can be referred to as the ‘Corona’ election, as the world-wide pandemic influenced all aspects of this election. The government made special provisions to make participation safer for voters. Restrictions on crowd size and social distancing restricted the possibilities for traditional means of election campaigning. Thus the campaign was carried out primarily in the mass and social media. The Corona virus and health care were prominent issues during the campaign. However, Corona had little influence on turnout as the percentage was only slightly lower than for the previous election. Corona seems to have produced ‘rally around the leader’ or ‘don’t change horses’ effects among Dutch voters. The Liberal Party (VVD) gained one seat, D66 five, and the CU held onto its seats. Although the CDA lost four seats, this was the first election since 1981 that a coalition had not lost seats at a subsequent election. The total number of parties represented rose to a record 17 (for 150 seats in the Second Chamber or Dutch lower house). Corona also impacted the coalition formation process when an infected ‘explorer’ was photographed with notes from the negotiations when she hurriedly left the building. The ensuing debate created distrust among potential partners that took several months to resolve. In the end, after the longest formation process in Dutch history, the coalition consisted of the same parties as in the previous Cabinet and was led by the same Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.