Rob Jetten ‘big winner’. What could that mean for innovation?

In the preliminary forecast, D66 and the PVV end up as the largest parties. The race between the PVV and D66 remains exciting. If Geert Wilders becomes the largest party, he will probably be the first to have the opportunity to form a government. However, that attempt seems doomed to failure from the outset, as all the major parties have ruled out cooperation with the PVV. Rob Jetten could become the first D66 prime minister ever. What could a new coalition with D66 mean for innovation?

D66 in parliament

During the last term of office, D66 demonstrated in parliament what the party stands for when it comes to innovation. The editors of IO+ recently conducted a study: The Hague Innovation Check. This study shows that there are major differences between parties when it comes to promoting innovation in the service of an innovative, sustainable society. The main question in our study was: Which parties actually translated innovative ideas into the House during the last term of office?

We looked at motions, amendments, and legislation. A pro-innovation score was calculated for each party by weighing the votes and the sentiment of the motions against each other. Of the 15 parties, D66 finished in fourth place with an overall score of 77.5%.

We also looked at various subcategories of innovation. In one of those categories, D66 even scored the highest. This is the community category, which concerns the preconditions for innovation, such as policy, regulation, and knowledge migration. Think of subsidies for innovative projects, support for start-ups, and policy measures that promote cooperation and knowledge exchange. The result here was that D66 and Volt shared first place (72.6%), while PVV (24.2%) and PvdD (41.9%) scored lowest.

In a motion, Joost Sneller of D66, for example, calls for an action plan to ensure that the Netherlands achieves the European target of 17% innovation-oriented procurement by 2030.

D66 in the coalition

It is clear that D66 voted innovatively in the House of Representatives during the last term of office, but how the party can shape its innovation ambitions in a new coalition depends on a number of factors. For example, which parties they collaborate with, how much influence they will have in the coalition agreement, and which ministries they will control.