Arts and Culture discount may start as early as 13 December policy

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On 6 December, the new House of Representatives will be sworn in. a week later, the deliberations on the budget tabled by the incumbent caretaker cabinet in September will begin. The then secretary of state for culture, Gunay Uslu, has since flown the coop and cannot be challenged on her budget. Someone else will now have to defend that budget.

For those who wondered whether calm in politics is guaranteed at least until the next budget, we can tell you that there is no such guarantee. That applies to all budgets, and since the PVV is unanimously of the opinion that no more money should go to what Wilders calls 'leftist' culture, the sector should hold its heart.

This is what the law says

Indeed, in the Netherlands, a caretaker cabinet can present a budget, as is customary on Prinsjesdag in September. This is mainly a technical matter; the cabinet then limits itself to managing current affairs and will not introduce new policies.

When a new Lower House takes office after elections, it certainly has the ability to make changes to the budget. The Lower House has the budget right, which means it can change both the state's revenue and expenditure. This is an important part of parliament's control over the government.

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In practice, this means that after taking office, the new House of Representatives can amend the budget proposed by the caretaker government. This is often done through amendments, in which MPs propose changes. These changes can be both minor and major, depending on the political composition of the House and the priorities of the various groups.

Peaceful sleep?

This is what my consultant OpenAI says: "However, the budget-setting process is complex and requires a majority in the chamber for any change. Therefore, substantial changes are less likely when the composition of the new Chamber is very similar to that of the Chamber that supported the outgoing government. However, if there is a significant political shift, more substantial changes may be made.“

And so that is what is going on now. The Chamber has changed dramatically and can - even without a new Cabinet - turn everything upside down.

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