The Netherlands operates a multi-party parliamentary democracy (parlementaire democratie) with a coalition government system. Because no single party ever wins an outright majority, Dutch governments are always coalitions (coalitie) of multiple parties — typically 3–4 — formed through negotiations (formatie) that can take months. The prime minister (minister-president) leads the cabinet (kabinet), which must maintain the confidence of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer).
Major political parties (positions change, but historically): VVD (center-right liberal), PvdA (social democratic), CDA (Christian democratic), D66 (progressive liberal), GroenLinks (green-left), SP (socialist), PVV (populist right), ChristenUnie (Christian social). The Dutch political landscape has fragmented significantly in the 21st century — understanding that Dutch politics is genuinely pluralistic helps explain why news coverage references so many different parties.
Political vocabulary: de verkiezing (election), stemmen (to vote), de Eerste Kamer (Senate/Upper House), de Tweede Kamer (Lower House/Parliament), het kabinet (cabinet), de minister (minister), de staatssecretaris (state secretary), de coalitieakkoord (coalition agreement), de oppositie (opposition), het referendum (referendum). Reading Dutch news becomes significantly more accessible once you understand the basic political structure and can identify the major parties and their broad positions.