Formateur

The formateur's work may be preceded by one or more informateurs, also appointed by the same authority as the formateur. The informateur is not expected to finalize a coalition, but attempts to find enough points of agreement to identify a likely coalition, from which a formateur is then selected to conclude a political program and compose a cabinet, usually headed by himself. The informateur should be someone not otherwise considered for ministerial office, although some do obtain a portfolio in the future government. The role is often filled by a retired statesperson of some stature, often a former government minister or party leader.^{[citation needed]}

These positions are usually not described in any statute, but they tend to become part of political tradition. Informateurs have become customary in Belgium and the Netherlands since the 1950s.^[2]

In Belgian political parties, nearly identical political ideologies are represented by distinct parties for each language. This may lead to coalitions of four or more parties. The post of informateur became too prestigious to risk failure, so new terms for essentially the same task were introduced, such as "royal mediator" and "explorer" after the 2007 Belgian government formation failed for months to produce a clear prospect for a majority, and "preformateur" (presumed to succeed himself as formateur and PM if successful) after the 2010 federal elections. The job can even be shared by two conjoint (in)formateurs, e.g. a Flemish and a Francophone one.

In the Netherlands, the coalition usually comprises two, three or four parties. Ever since the Netherlands adopted proportional representation in 1918, no party has even come close to winning an outright majority in the House of Representatives. Thus, the formation process is at least as, if not more, important than the election itself.

The informateur, who researches the possible coalition options before a new cabinet is formed, is often a veteran politician, member of the Senate or Council of State. Often the informateur presides over talks with possible coalition partners, leading to a communal program, the coalition agreement. Sometimes, after the formation of a cabinet, the informateur becomes a minister.^[3]

Once the informateur has found a potentially successful coalition, he goes back to the House, who appoints a formateur, who presides over the talks about the ministerial positions that are held between the parties that have already established a coalition agreement.^[1]

In provincial and municipal politics, a formateur can also be appointed. In the past, the negotiations were led by the largest party; but especially in tough negotiations, a formateur is appointed to be a "chairman" during the negotiations which is somewhat more neutral. The difference with a formateur on national level is that this local formateur does not report to the king, but to the mayor (municipal) or the King's Commissioner (provincial).