Wim Kok was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1994 to 2002. He was the leader of two ‘purple’ cabinets and was one of the founders of the polder model.
Biography
Wim Kok was born on September 29, 1938, and grew up as a very normal boy. He went to MULO and later to HBS. After his military service in 1958, he got a job at a trading office. Kok would not work there for long, in 1961 he became an assistant international employee at the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (NVV). At that time, the NVV was the largest trade union in the Netherlands. Kok quickly made a career within the NVV and had already become chairman at the age of 34. After the merger of the NVV with another trade union, the Dutch Catholic Trade Union, the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV) was founded. Wim Kok also became chairman of this.
Kok also ended up in politics through the FNV. Before the 1986 elections, Joop den Uyl had asked him to stand as a member of parliament for the PvdA. Kok had been a member of the PvdA since 1961. After a number of years as a member of parliament and leader of the faction, Kok became Minister of Finance in the Lubbers-3 cabinet after the 1989 elections. During this period the WAO was revised and Kok agreed to this. The plan was not without controversy and because Kok had agreed to it, his popularity, and that of the PvdA, fell sharply. In the 1994 elections, the PvdA lost no fewer than 12 seats, partly as a result. Because the other parties suffered even greater losses, the PvdA became the largest party, and Wim Kok became Prime Minister for the first time.
Purple cabinets
The first Kok cabinet consisted of PvdA, VVD and D66, which was very special because PvdA and VVD in particular had always been each other’s opponents. It was also the first time since 1918 that there was no Christian party in the government. The first Kok cabinet is also called Purple 1, after the red color of the PvdA and the blue color of the VVD, which together become purple. Things went very well for the Netherlands during the cabinet’s term of office, the economy is growing and many jobs are being created. The 1998 elections were therefore a success for the Kok cabinet. Although D66 loses seats, PvdA and VVD gain more seats. There will therefore not be a completely new government; the policy that was already in place will actually be continued. The second Kok cabinet is running less smoothly than the first, but is still almost completing its four years. Just before the end of the government period, in 2002, the cabinet fell over the Srebrenica issue. Kok then announces that he will no longer be a party leader in the coming elections and will retire from politics.
Polder model
However, what Kok has become most interested in is the polder model. The polder model is an economic system in which consultation between government, trade unions and the business community is paramount. The polder model also involves moderating wages and putting public finances in order. Thanks to the polder model, the economy in the Netherlands grew and unemployment decreased. After some time, there was even a shortage of workers on the labor market. The disadvantage of the polder model is that making a decision takes a lot of time because everything requires extensive consultation. Kok firmly believes in the polder model and always waits patiently and talks to solve a problem. His style is therefore completely different from that of Joop den Uyl, who always went on the attack when faced with problems. The Netherlands also gained a lot of prestige internationally because of the polder model, and especially because of the jobs and economic growth it generated. It is difficult to say that something like this was achieved by one person, but Wim Kok certainly had a major influence.