General elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2006, following the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. The election proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest party with 41 seats, a loss of only three seats. The largest increase in seats was for the Socialist Party (SP), which went from nine to 25 seats. The main opposition party, the social democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats, while the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal Democrats 66 lost a considerable portion of their seats, six of 28 and three of six, respectively. New parties, such as the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders and the animal rights party Party for the Animals (PvdD) were also successful, with the PVV winning nine seats and the PvdD winning two, thereby becoming the first animal rights group to enter a European parliament.
The government formation talks led to the installation of the Christian-social fourth Balkenende cabinet, composed of the CDA, PvdA and the Christian Union on 22 February 2007.
Background
Internal elections
In the month before the fall of the cabinet, two parties held internal elections on who would lead their parties in the next election, which were scheduled for 2007. In the internal election of the conservative liberal VVD, the more liberal State Secretary for Science and Higher education Mark Rutte beat the more conservative Minister without portfolio for Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk. In the internal election of the progressive liberal D66 the more radical democratic minister without portfolio for government reform Alexander Pechtold beat the more social liberal chair of the parliamentary party Lousewies van der Laan.
Fall of the Cabinet
The next general election was originally scheduled for 15 May 2007 as parliament was to be dissolved on 2 April 2007. However, it was announced that election would be held on 22 November 2006, as Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende offered the resignation of the cabinet on 30 June 2006 after one of the coalition partners, D66, withdrew its support from the cabinet the day before over Rita Verdonk's treatment of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali case. A new cabinet continued for five months as a caretaker government until the election. The opposition had pressed for speedy a election because they were on a winning streak. The late date for the election probably worked to the advantage of the CDA because in those five months the economy improved and in the past the biggest coalition partner had always come out as the biggest party if the economy blooms. A major issue in the campaigns was whether this improving economy was because of or in spite of the right-wing government.
Splintered Fortuynists
After the fall of the cabinet several new small right-wing and conservative parties announced that they would contest the general election. Most of these parties either emerged from the remains of Pim Fortuyn's populist Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) or split from the conservative liberal VVD, and were inspired by Fortuyn's ideas. In the period before the election the small right was characterized by a chaos of secessions, new formations and party switches. Former Rotterdam alderman Marco Pastors and member of parliament for the LPF Joost Eerdmans formed Eén NL which emulated Fortuyn's policies. The right-wing Party for the Netherlands was led by former LPF minister Hilbrand Nawijn. Former VVD MP Geert Wilders recruited people for his new Party for Freedom, which would take part in the 2006 election. Nawijn and Wilders had become independent in parliament at that time before the election, while Eerdmans has formed the "Group Eerdmans-Van Schijndel" along with former VVD MP Anton van Schijndel. Two other LPF politicians had formed one man fractions but they did not form their own party: Gerard van As, former leader of the LPF, and Gonny van Oudenallen, also former LPF. Margot Kraneveldt left the LPF, resigned her seat and joined the social democratic PvdA. Meanwhile, the LPF announced that it would also contest the next election under the name "List 5 Fortuyn". The party was led by Olaf Stuger, who served as member of parliament in the period 2002–2003 and returned to parliament in 2006 to replace Gerard van As.