Politics of Knootoss
| Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss |
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| This article is part of the series: Government and politics of Knootoss |
The politics of Knootoss take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Knootian politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. The constitution establishes Knootoss as a democratic unitary state with a unicameral parliament. Major political institutions are the Grand Pensionary, the cabinet, the Staten-Generaal (parliament) and the judicial system. Other levels of government are the municipalities and the provinces. Although not mentioned in the constitution, political parties and the social partners organised in the Social Economic Council are important political institutions as well.
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Executive Branch
Grand Pensionary
- Main article: Grand Pensionary
The Grand Pensionary of the Dutch Democratic Republic is the Knootian Head of State. The office was established in the 2010 revision of the Knootian Constitution. The first Grand Pensionary, Jan Willem Daatman of the SLP, was elected in 2010. The Grand Pensionary is expected to be non-partisan after assuming office. His or her position is similar in some ways to that of a constitutional monarch, with the important difference being that the office is elected, and selection is based on having a distinguished reputation. Therefore, the power of daily politics in Knootoss is concentrated in the position of the Prime Minister, with the Grand Pensionary acting more as the guardian of the political system and as a moral authority.
The Grand Pensionary is elected by secret ballot, without debate, by the 200 Members of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament of Knootoss. The office is open to all Knootians who are entitled to vote in elections for the Staten Generaal, but no one may serve more than two consecutive six-year terms. On assuming office, the Grand Pensionary swears to dedicate his efforts to the well-being of the Knootian people, to enhance their benefits, to avert harm from them, to uphold and defend the Constitution and the statutes of the Dutch Democratic Republic, to fulfil his duties conscientiously and to do justice to all.
The degree of power actually conferred upon the Grand Pensionary by the constitution is still ambiguous. However, in practice, the first holder of the office has treated it as a largely ceremonial one. The Grand Pensionary appoints national judges, national civil servants and military officers, but such appointments require the counter-signature of either the Prime Minister or the relevant cabinet minister. He is also authorised to dissolve parliament, and must sign all laws before they can come into effect.
More practically, the Grand Pensionary represents Knootoss in the world, holds foreign visits and receives foreign dignitaries and diplomats. Finally, the Grand Pensionary may grant pardons if the person concerned had been convicted under a national jurisdiction and also confers decorations and honours.
Prime Minister
| Position | Portfolio | Name | Photo | Deputy Ministers |
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| Prime Minister | General Affairs | Maurits Viljoen (SLP) |
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| Deputy Prime Minister |
Foreign Affairs and Defence |
Barent De Kock (CP) |
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Federation Affairs Johan B. van Aldenburg (SLP) Defence Erwin van Alphen (CP) |
| Deputy Prime Minister |
Economic Affairs | Jeremy Bastaard (VP) |
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Finance Peter de Heer (SLP) Policy & Industrial Relations Annabel Zeegers (SLP) Foreign Economic Policy David Davinci (SLP) Social Affairs & Employment Annika-Marijse van Haanraads (CP) |
| Minister | Education, Culture and Science |
Laura Schillebeeckx (SLP) |
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Primary & Secondary Education Abraham Krusen (VP) Universities, Science & Innovation Amras Ar-Feiniel (CP) Culture & the Arts Jo Fortuyn (VP) |
| Minister | Domestic Affairs & Justice |
Hugo Deburghraeve (CP) |
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Justice Amithrarith Tinúviel (SLP) Immigration & asylum Arnoud Daalmans (VP) Health, Welfare and Sport Mongo Hamwich (CP) |
| Minister | Development | Diletta Giscali (SLP) |
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Public Works & Water Tijmen Woolthuis (CP) Spatial Planning & Infrastructure Willem de Lange (SLP) |
- Main article: Prime Minister of Knootoss
The Prime Minister is the elected Head of Government. The office is associated with significant powers and media attention, allowing it to be thought of s "semi-presidential". The Prime Minister is accountable to parliament and may be subject to what is informally referred to as a vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister is elected using a system of run-off voting. Successful candidates for the position of Prime Minister are usually also the leaders of large political parties, such as the Conservative Party, the Social-Liberal Party or the Knootian Green Party.
The most important role for the Prime Minister is the appointment and dismissal of Ministers and Deputy Ministers. After being elected, the Prime Minister leads the negotiations to form a coalition government that is supported by a majority of the parties in parliament. While in office, the Prime Minister chairs the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers and sets the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister is also responsible for coordinating policy and overseeing the Government Information Service and the Press Secretary. The Prime Minister is also the "face" of the government to the public and attends meetings with other foreign leaders.
Prime Ministers are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by resignation following defeat in a general election. However, if the Prime Minister is dies or incapacitated, the duties of the Prime Minister are temporarily exercised by a Deputy Prime Minister, usually the senior minister from a junior coalition party.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers is the executive council of the Knootian government, formed by all the ministers. This executive council initiates laws and policy. The Council of Ministers is distinct from the Cabinet which also includes deputy ministers, which in Knootoss are called state secretaries (Dutch: Staatssecretarissen). Deputy ministers do not attend the Council of Ministers unless they are requested to do so and they do not have voting rights.
The council of ministers meets every week on Friday in the Trêveszaal (the Room of Treaties) which forms part of the Binnenhof. It makes decisions by means of collegiate governance: all ministers, including the Prime Minister, are (theoretically) equal. These meetings are chaired by the Prime Minister. Behind the closed doors of the Trêveszaal, ministers can freely debate proposed decisions and express their opinion on any aspect of cabinet policy. Once a decision is made by the council, all individual members are bound by it and are obliged to support it publicly. If a member of the cabinet does not agree with a particular decision he will have to step down. Generally much effort is put into reaching relative consensus on any decision. A process of voting within the Council does exist, but is hardly ever used.
Only 5-7 ministers, including the Prime Minister and two deputy Prime Ministers, make up the Council of Ministers. Compared to other parliamentary democracies, this makes the Council a relatively small affair. The intention behind having such a small government is to restrict discussion in the Council of Ministers to matters of strategic importance. Ministers are expected to be generalists, capable of giving input on political problems that are well outside their area of policy expertise. Executive matters and policy details are instead left to deputy ministers, of which there may be up to thirty, and the departments and agencies at their disposal. For this reason, the Council of Ministers is also referred to as the 'core cabinet' (Dutch: kernkabinet).
Advisory Councils
The Council of State advises the cabinet on constitutional and judicial aspects of legislature and policy. All laws proposed by the cabinet have to be sent to the Council of State for advice. Although the advice is not binding, the cabinet is required to respond to the advice and it often plays a significant role in the ensuing debate in Parliament. In addition the Council is the highest administrative court. The Council is ex officio chaired by the Grand Pensionary. The councillors are mainly legal specialists, former ministers, members of parliament and judges or professors of law.
As part of the Knootian tradition of depoliticized consensus decision making, the government often makes use of advisory councils composed out of academic specialists or stake holders. The most prominent advisory council is the Social-Economic Council ("Sociaal Economische Raad", SER). It is composed of trade unions, employers' organizations and government-appointed specialists. It is consulted at an early stage in financial, economic and social policymaking. It advises government and its advice cannot easily be set aside. The SER heads a system of self-regulating organizations that can make laws for specific economic sectors.
Other prominent advisory councils are the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, which forecasts economic development; the Knootian Statistics Agency which studies social and economic developments; the Social and Cultural Planning Office, which studies long term social and cultural trends; the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, which advises the government on environmental and health issues; and the Scientific Council for Government Policy, which advises the government on long term social, political and economic trends.
Ministries
- See also: Government Spending
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence (Buitenlandse Zaken en Defensie) is responsible for foreign policy, the administration of the Knootian Federation, and defence. It remains a relatively small and relatively efficient bureaucracy, particularly as the government relies on competitive public procurement for the Knootian Defence Force. The foreign policy priorities are arguably, and perhaps confusingly, divided between the ceremonial diplomacy of the Grand Pensionary, the day-to-day policy-making of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence, the particular interests of the Economic Affairs ministry with regards to trade and the EIVD, the cultural exchange programmes of the ministry of education and the ultimate responsibility of the Prime Minister for the unity of the government. As a result of this arrangement, the foreign affairs ministry cannot plausibly be said to be in charge of foreign policy.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Onderwijs, Cultuur & Wetenschap) has a broad mandate to help all Knootian citizens improve themselves. OC&W is generally regarded as a vast, sprawling, liberal bureaucracy. It's tentacles extend beyond Education in Knootoss, to include many aspects of domestic policy. For example, the ministry runs programmes to improve prison education, provides counsellors that promote employee career re-orientation in shrinking economic sectors and trains teachers to improve the self-confidence of teenagers. OC&W also provides the funding for non-government public awareness campaigns that support government policy and disburses targeted subsidies for Knootian news media, as well as being in charge of cultural exchange programmes.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (Economische Zaken) is the second-largest ministry in Knootoss. EZ is responsible for government finance, domestic economic policy, industrial relations, foreign economic policy, social affairs, employment, spatial planning and infrastructure. The sprawling bureaucracy is generally seen as corrupt, pro-business, and sympathetic to the Order of the Invisible Hand. Foreign Economic Policy is an especially important department, as the ministry bureaucracy has set up a sort of "mirror foreign policy" for Knootoss. The ministry controls the disbursal of all Knootian development aid, runs a programme to compensate Knootian businesses for the adverse effects of foreign subsidies, and has its own intelligence agency, the EIVD, which reports directly to the minister. EZ also establishes consulates abroad, to rival the embassies set up by the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The bureaucracy of the Social Affairs and Employment is a progressive-liberal hold-out in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, though it is currently one of the departments that has been reshuffled into the new Health, Happiness and Nature ministry created by greens. The responsibilities of this ministry also include Health, Welfare and Sport. The bureaucrats of the latter department used to be housed in a damp and leaky basement under the Ministry of Domestic Affairs & Justice. As a result, they have developed a huge inferiority complex. In truth, healthcare policy is decided upon by the major private insurers.
The Ministry of Domestic Affairs & Justice, the Interior Ministry, is responsible for a broad range of tasks. These include the regulation and management of transport, water management, justice and immigration policies. These divergent policy areas are, for the most part, managed by different semi-autonomous agencies which are dominated by experts in their respective fields.
Legislative Branch
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Left wing Opposition Parties Government Coalition Right wing Opposition Parties |
- Main article: Staten-Generaal
The Staten-Generaal (States-General) is the parliament of Knootoss. The Staten-Generaal is a unicameral parliament with 200 members, elected by direct proportional representation. The meeting rooms of the Staten-Generaal are located at the Binnenhof in The Hague. Because of proportional representation, minor parties also find themselves represented in parliament. Although there is no legal separation between 'major' and 'minor' parties, the latter often find themselves starved of media attention and corporate funding. Quite a few minor parties are more "pure" ideological alternatives to their bigger counterparts. Outside the Katholieke Volkspartij, the Christian vote finds itself hopelessly divided on virtually every issue.
Judicial Branch
See Also
| Knootian political parties represented in the Staten-Generaal | |||||||||||||||
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| Left | |
Right | |||||||||||||
| AP |
SP |
KSDP |
PP |
KGP |
CvvD |
KvPV |
SLP |
KVP |
CD |
CP |
KEP |
VP |
NHS |
N-SA |
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| AP | SP | KSDP | PP | Knootiaanse Groene Partij | CvvD | KvPV | Sociaal-Liberale Partij | Katholieke Volkspartij | C-DA DCA |
Conservatieve Partij | KEP | Vrijheidspartij | NHS | N-SA | |
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| Communism | Socialism | Progressivism | Liberalism | Christian Democracy | Conservatism | Nationalism | Fascism | ||||||||
