27/01/2003 
The Netherlands after the parliamentary elections: Continuity in agricultural policy – dissolving the Ministry of Agriculture?
A comment by Detlef Breuer
From the elections on January 22nd, the Christian Democrats came the as the strongest force, winning 44 out of 150 seats in parliament. The Social Democrats gained 42 seats, thus making up for the losses they suffered in May 2002. However, it remains yet unclear into what coalition the CDA will enter. There are two possibilities:
A new alliance of CDA, LPF and the liberal economic VVD.
This alliance, however, had come to its end after three months’ time only last year. For that reason, the re-elections were held on January 22nd 2003. The LPF had to cope with landslide losses, winning just 8 seats instead of 26.
Should this coalition be formed, the old Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Cees Veerman, will be appointed new Minister of Agriculture. For more than 15 years, 53-year-old Veerman had been a lecturer at the Katholieke Universiteit Brabant, holding the chair for Agricultural Business Management and Sociology at the faculty of economy. This chair had been established by Noord-Brabantse Christelijke Boerenbond. As a scientist, Veerman is particularly interested in the agrarians’ reasons for their way of acting economically. Veerman himself is a farmer at Goudswaard.
A grand coalition of CDA and Social Democrats (PvdA)
Such coalition had already been governing the Netherlands from 1989 until 1994. Should such coalition be established, it were quite possible that the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture were dissolved. It is planned that the area of responsibility for agricultural economy be allocated to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. This is one of the important positions taken by the Social Democrats.
Regardless of the results of the coalition negotiations, a new change of direction cannot be expected for the Dutch agricultural policy. The political parties involved in the negotiations are definitely well aware of the significance from an economical point of view of the Dutch agricultural economy.
As could be seen from the latest restructuring of the Schleswig-Holstein regional government in Germany last week, the persons responsible in some federal states do think that agriculture were in better keeping at the Ministry for the Environment – corresponding better to the will of the electorate. And who, indeed, should be interested in the fact that the pig farmers alone make EUR 5 thousand million in Germany (which is only the proceeds from slaughtering pigs!). And this does not yet include any preparation- or processing work. And quite apart from the increase in value of the 500,000 jobs that either directly or indirectly depend on pig farming in Germany. And there needs to be no more talk of the significance it has a s a source of tax and income, from the fiscal point of view. But please do not cling to the false hope that special importance be granted to pig farming now. It’s quite the reverse!
German pig farmers, anyhow, consider themselves as a part of economy, as a part of the last free agricultural market which has not yet been regulated by either the national law-maker or the EU authorities. The pig farmers do not regard themselves as the inhabitants of a
From the elections on January 22nd, the Christian Democrats came the as the strongest force, winning 44 out of 150 seats in parliament. The Social Democrats gained 42 seats, thus making up for the losses they suffered in May 2002. However, it remains yet unclear into what coalition the CDA will enter. There are two possibilities:
This alliance, however, had come to its end after three months’ time only last year. For that reason, the re-elections were held on January 22nd 2003. The LPF had to cope with landslide losses, winning just 8 seats instead of 26.
Should this coalition be formed, the old Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Cees Veerman, will be appointed new Minister of Agriculture. For more than 15 years, 53-year-old Veerman had been a lecturer at the Katholieke Universiteit Brabant, holding the chair for Agricultural Business Management and Sociology at the faculty of economy. This chair had been established by Noord-Brabantse Christelijke Boerenbond. As a scientist, Veerman is particularly interested in the agrarians’ reasons for their way of acting economically. Veerman himself is a farmer at Goudswaard.
Such coalition had already been governing the Netherlands from 1989 until 1994. Should such coalition be established, it were quite possible that the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture were dissolved. It is planned that the area of responsibility for agricultural economy be allocated to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. This is one of the important positions taken by the Social Democrats.
Regardless of the results of the coalition negotiations, a new change of direction cannot be expected for the Dutch agricultural policy. The political parties involved in the negotiations are definitely well aware of the significance from an economical point of view of the Dutch agricultural economy.
As could be seen from the latest restructuring of the Schleswig-Holstein regional government in Germany last week, the persons responsible in some federal states do think that agriculture were in better keeping at the Ministry for the Environment – corresponding better to the will of the electorate. And who, indeed, should be interested in the fact that the pig farmers alone make EUR 5 thousand million in Germany (which is only the proceeds from slaughtering pigs!). And this does not yet include any preparation- or processing work. And quite apart from the increase in value of the 500,000 jobs that either directly or indirectly depend on pig farming in Germany. And there needs to be no more talk of the significance it has a s a source of tax and income, from the fiscal point of view. But please do not cling to the false hope that special importance be granted to pig farming now. It’s quite the reverse!
German pig farmers, anyhow, consider themselves as a part of economy, as a part of the last free agricultural market which has not yet been regulated by either the national law-maker or the EU authorities. The pig farmers do not regard themselves as the inhabitants of a
Museum Germany.
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