En proeve van weinig zeggen

Abstract

The praiseworthy intention of the authors of the Concept to pave the way for possible constitutional developments by a curtailment of the constitution’s size, has unfortunately not been accompanied by a clear insight into future social, economic and political developments. These could stimulate, or even necessitate, an easier procedure of revision of the constitution. The Concept was drafted by a group of civil servants, assisted by juridical advisers, — a fact that made it only a technical revision with a conservative flavour. One of the important problems concerns the cabinet formation with its consultation procedure. The present system keeps the parties from binding themselves to coalition partners before the elections — a deplorable situation. The abolishment of political parties would not be very realistic, for political parties are more than mere rationalistic ‘channels of political opinion’ — their life and function is based above all upon their social roots. The same applies to a revision of our electoral system; the distribution of the votes is determined by these same social forces rather than by the system. These social factors also make the use of compromise and coalition inevitable. In the author’s view, the solution lies in a revision of the formation procedure, which would enable the parties to present to the electorate several alternative coalition governments before the elections (by way of combining their lists). On this point a revision of the constitution, although not formally required, deserves recommendation.