The municipal elections have been held, so it is time for political formation. Many municipalities are used to coalition agreements, in which a coalition of parties appoints the aldermen and establishes the policy plans for the next four years. However, there is an alternative; the council agreement. Lianne van Kalken, lecturer of Constitutional Law at Erasmus School of Law, explains in Ien, de Podcast that such an agreement helps close the gap between coalition and opposition and stimulates an open debate.
The law does not say anything about how a municipal council has to come to a possible agreement. "The one thing that has to be done is the appointment of aldermen", explains Van Kalken. Although municipal councils traditionally come to a coalition agreement, the law does not cover such an agreement. A phenomenon on the rise is the council agreement. This is an agreement in which all parties do not choose a traditional coalition agreement, but an agreement with the entire municipal council. Not capturing everything beforehand leaves room for debate for the municipal council. All parties can keep their own opinion regarding specific topics.
Breaking the coalition vs. opposition culture
In some municipalities, the council agreement is designed to appoint the aldermen and broadly decide the entire council's policy. In other municipalities with a council agreement, the aldermen are from the coalition parties, and substantial matters are covered in the council in an open debate. "The goal is to breach the opposition and coalition culture. There are different majorities, depending on the subject. It is not coalition versus opposition, but it is a substantial debate", explains Van Kalken.
Not just benefits
A council agreement is a good alternative and offers opportunities, but it is not as simple as some people think; it requires the cooperation of the mayor, aldermen, the clerk's office, and council members themselves. "It is difficult too; it requires a different culture and approach. It is not guaranteed that all municipalities nail it the first time", says Van Kalken.
Municipalities that think about a council agreement should take the following advice: "it would be best if councils think about why they would even consider such an agreement and what the goal is. They can pick a variant of the agreement that would fit that municipality based on that. (…) It would help if municipalities know what variants are available and what implementation choices they then have to make."
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Click here for the entire episode of Ien, de Podcast (in Dutch).
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