Role
Although he is the most important political figure in the Netherlands, the Prime Minister is not as powerful as his British and German counterparts. This is mainly because it is nearly impossible for one party to get a majority of seats in the House of Representatives (lower house), so the government is always a coalition between two or more parties. Because of his limited powers, the prime minister is described as primus inter pares (first among equals).
As a result of the constitutional review of 1983, the position of Prime Minister was inscribed into the Dutch constitution for the first time. According to the constitution, the Government is constituted by the King and the ministers. The constitution stipulates the prime minister chairs the council of ministers (article 45) and is appointed by royal decree (article 43). The royal decree of their own appointment and those of the other ministers are to be contra-signed by the prime minister (article 48).
The prime minister chairs the weekly meetings of the council of ministers and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister is also Minister of General Affairs (Minister van Algemene Zaken), which takes an important role in coordinating policy and is responsible for the Government Information Service (Dutch: Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst). The prime minister is also responsible for the royal house and has a weekly meeting with the Queen on government policy. Informally the Prime Minister functions as the "face" of the cabinet to the public. After the meetings of the cabinet on Friday, the Prime Minister hosts a press conference on the decisions of the cabinet and current affairs. The prime minister also has some functions in international affairs, attending the European Council every six months and maintaining bilateral contacts. The prime minister's office is a hexagon shaped tower, named "The Little Tower" (Dutch: Het Torentje) on the Binnenhof in The Hague. The official residence (which is only used for official functions) is the Catshuis.
Conventionally, the party with the largest number of seats in the Second Chamber will initiate coalition talks after elections. This usually leads to its party leader being instituted as formator of the cabinet. After the negotiations are concluded he or she becomes prime minister. A minister from the smaller coalition party usually becomes vice prime minister of the cabinet. If there is a third party in the coalition, one of its ministers will become second vice prime minister.
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