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The Dutch general election of 2003 held on January 22, 2003 was held after the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet on October 16, 2002. The election was focused on the chaos created by the LPF, the new party of late Pim Fortuyn.
In the early days of the campaign the CDA of incumbent prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and the VVD, the smallest coalitionA Coalition is an alliance between entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. This alliance may be temporary, or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant. See Axelrod's book partyA political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues. In party-list proportional representation, parties (and sometimes multi-party cartels) can play a functional role in the voting system., saw a major lead.
After TV debates the PvdA (which experienced a humiliating defeat in the 2002 general election) of oppositionOpposition may refer to a number of topics: Astronomical opposition Parliamentary Opposition. leader Wouter BosWouter Bos is party leader of the Dutch Social Democrats ( PvdA) and member of the Dutch parliament. His is a former State Secretary of Finance in the Dutch cabinet Kok II (also known as Paars-II'). Personal Wouter Bos was born in Vlaardingen on July 14th caught up, overtaking the VVD and making a comeback.
The LPF lost as spectacularly as it won in 2002: it dropped from 26 to 8 seats.
The exciting race of which party would become the greatest was eventually won by the CDA, who went from 43 to 44 seats, which meant a continuation of Balkenende’s career as prime minister.
The small parties on both the left and right side didn’t experience many changes. Several other parties (amongst them Leefbaar Nederland, a 2002 newcomer) didn’t manage to get over the threshold and thus gained no seats. They aren’t listed here.