At the beginning of November 2012, the Rutte II cabinet will present itself to the people. The new VVD and PvdA team mainly includes old, well-known faces with experience. A single State Secretary is really new to politics, the others all previously held political positions such as minister, State Secretary, Member of Parliament, party chairman, councilor or deputy. This concerns thirteen ministers and seven state secretaries. Which faces make up Rutte II? On Monday, October 29, 2012, after 47 days, the negotiators of the VVD and Pvd A had reached an agreement. That was very fast. It was the second shortest formation after the Second World War. Only the Drees/Van Schaik cabinet in 1948 took 31 days shorter. The De Jong (1967) and Lubbers II (1986) cabinets took slightly longer: 49 and 53 days respectively.
Routines
With a few exceptions, the ministers are all routine. PvdA member Plassterk and VVD members Opstelten, Schippers, Schultz van Haegen and Kamp were already ministers in previous cabinets. VVD Minister Kamp is even starting his fourth ministry, after Defense, Housing and Social Affairs. The deputy prime minister of the PvdA and promising Lodewijk Asscher is an exception. He comes from Amsterdam politics and delves into the depths of The Hague politics. However, Asscher is credited with great political talent.
Talent
Asscher and his fellow PvdA ministers will desperately need their experience, talent and knowledge, it is expected, because the Rutte II cabinet is committed to tough cuts. Experience shows that this leads to less grumbling among the supporters of the VVD directors than among the supporters of the PvdA ministers. PvdA voters hate cuts, which often affect lower incomes.
New Generation
Furthermore, it is striking how many people in their forties and late thirties are in the cabinet. The generation born in the 60s and early 70s. Half of the ministers fall into this age category and this cabinet is therefore bringing a new generation to the helm. Of the ministers, Lodewijk Asscher is the youngest at 38 years old, Ivo Opstelten is the nestor at 68.
The ministers of the Rutte II cabinet:
|
Ministry |
Who |
Secretary of State |
|
Prime Minister |
Mark Rutte (45*) – VVD |
– |
|
Vice Prime Minister/Minister of Social Affairs |
Lodewijk Asscher (38) – PvdA |
Jetta Klijnsma (55) – PvdA |
|
Minister of Finance |
Jeroen Dijsselbloem (46) – PvdA |
Frans Weekers (45) – VVD |
|
Minister of Internal Affairs |
Ronald Plassterk (55) – PvdA |
– |
|
Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Frans Timmermans (51) – PvdA |
– |
|
Minister of Health |
Edith Schippers (47) – VVD |
Martin van Rijn (56) – PvdA |
|
Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation |
Henk Kamp (60) – VVD |
Co Verdaas (46) – PvdA |
|
Minister of Education |
Jet Bussemaker (51) – PvdA |
Sander Dekker (37) – VVD |
|
Minister of Security and Justice |
Ivo Opstelten (68) – VVD |
Fred Teeven (54) – VVD |
|
Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment |
Melanie Schultz van Haegen (42) – VVD |
Wilma Mansveld (50) – PvdA |
|
Minister of Defence |
Jeanine Hennis – Plasschaert (39) – VVD |
– |
|
Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade |
Liliane Ploumen (50) – PvdA |
– |
|
Minister of Housing and Public Service |
Stef Blok (47) – VVD |
– |
*Ages in October 2012