Modern Prime-Ministerial Leadership in the Netherlands

Abstract

This chapter discusses the leadership style of Dutch prime ministers (PMs) and asks the question what type of leadership skills, relations, and reputations are most effective in modern Dutch politics: a consensual or confrontational style. While Dutch politics traditionally favors leaders who employ a consensus-oriented leadership style, prime ministers Balkenende (2002–2010) and Rutte (2010–present) served at a time when socio-cultural changes and mediatization of politics were challenging this political practice. By applying a modified version of the Leadership Capital Index (LCI), the chapter shows that to ensure re-election, both PMs struck a careful balance between the consensual and confrontational leadership styles. Whereas the study indicates that prime ministers have considerable leeway in how to strike that balance, the results suggest that it is essential that they maintain constructive relations with their peers in government and parliament to be electorally successful in the Dutch political system.

Senior civil servants’ craftwork

“…The rise of the office of the PM should not be understood as a linear trend towards 'presidentialisation'. As always, the political capital and influence of individual PMs waxes and wanes during their tenures, both in The Netherlands and beyond (Strangio et al 2016(Strangio et al , 2017Swinkels et al 2017;'t Hart and Schelfhout 2016;Weller et al 2021). For example, Ruud Lubbers (1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994) was widely recognised as an effective 'operator' who acted as a spider in the web of collective decision-making, although he lost much of his touch and impact during his third term in office.…”

“…Timmermans and Breeman (2009) argue that the primus inter pares principle normally holds but stress the contingency of the individual characteristics and resources of PMs. Thus, Swinkels et al (2017) mapped the leadership capital of two Dutch PMs (Kok, 1994and Balkenende, 2002 over time and underscored the waxing and waning of PM's resources. It is often hard to distinguish between the impact of personal and institutional factors on PMs (Van den Berg (1990).…”

Senior Civil Servants' Craftwork

“…The rise of the office of the PM should not be understood as a linear trend towards 'presidentialisation'. As always, the political capital and influence of individual PMs waxes and wanes during their tenures, both in The Netherlands and beyond (Strangio et al 2016(Strangio et al , 2017Swinkels et al 2017;'t Hart and Schelfhout 2016;Weller et al 2021). For example, Ruud Lubbers (1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994) was widely recognised as an effective 'operator' who acted as a spider in the web of collective decision-making, although he lost much of his touch and impact during his third term in office.…”

“…Timmermans and Breeman (2009) argue that the primus inter pares principle normally holds but stress the contingency of the individual characteristics and resources of PMs. Thus, Swinkels et al (2017) mapped the leadership capital of two Dutch PMs (Kok, 1994and Balkenende, 2002 over time and underscored the waxing and waning of PM's resources. It is often hard to distinguish between the impact of personal and institutional factors on PMs (Van den Berg (1990).…”