Paars
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Paars is the Dutch word for purple, but it carries a much broader meaning within the modern political history of the Netherlands and Belgium.
The Netherlands
The colour stood for two consecutive Dutch cabinets between 1994 and 2002, led by social democrat Wim Kok. Combining the colours red and blue—red representing the social democrats (Partij van de Arbeid, or PvdA) and blue representing both the conservative liberals (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, or VVD) and progressive liberals (Democraten 66, or D66)—cabinets were formed with very broad political support. The purple cabinets Kok I and Kok II based their rule on consensus, consultation and compromise, known as the "poldermodel". (The word "compromise" does not carry a negative load in Dutch.)
In this period also thanks to the Akkoord van Wassenaar in 1982 and the no-nonsense politics of the Reaganite-Thatcherite Ruud Lubbers cabinets (1982–1989), the Netherlands became an example of perceived harmony and prosperous economy. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair hailed Wim Kok and its cabinet for being a perfect example of the so-called Third Way.
The formation of the first purple cabinet was very innovative at the time, combining progressive elements of the D66 and the PvdA with conservative elements of the VVD. Though both the VVD and the D66 are called "liberal", this word does not carry the same load in Dutch as it does in English. Liberalism, especially the VVD-kind, is perceived in the classical way, meaning "without state interference" (see Adam Smith). Though the cabinets of Wim Kok have been quite successful in certain areas, after the collapse of purple due to the NIOD (Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie; Dutch Institute for War Documentation) report into the fall of Srebrenica in 1995, politicians of all three parties turned away from the achievements of purple. The Dutch people were notably discontent at that time, partly because of the seeming lack of responsibility taken by the purple cabinets over the previous eight years, and partly because of a declining economy.
Pim Fortuyn and Leefbaar Nederland made good use of criticizing the moral decline of the Netherlands during Kok I and Kok II. During the elections following the purple political crisis the Dutch electorate swung right, creating support for the first Balkenende cabinet.
Belgium
In Belgian politics, Paars is used as a term for the two governments of Guy Verhofstadt, from 1999 to the current moment. The term is used similarly as in the Netherlands, as the purple cabinet consists of Social Democrats (SP.A and PS) and liberal democrats (VLD and MR). The first government also included the green parties Groen! and Ecolo, but they lost many seats in the 2003 elections, whereas the purple parties gained enough to form a majority coalition.
Similar to the Netherlands, the purple coalition receives much criticism from the Christian Democratic and far-right opposition parties.
Paars is also the name of a commune of the Aisne département in France.