The Senate is considering launching its first parliamentary inquiry ever. The investigation would look at the effects of 20 years of government privatisation in the Netherlands.

The senate has had the right to hold parliamentary inquiries since 1887, but has never used it. The initiative for the inquiry came from the Senate's oldest member, Christian Union Senator Egbert Schuurman, who has been a Senator for 27 years.

The Labour Party, Socialist Party, democrat D66, and the Green Left are all in favour of the plan. Senator Schuurman will today send his 74 colleagues an official memorandum. Coalition partner CDA (Christian Democrats) has declined to comment until they have received Schuurman's official proposal. It is not known how the other coalition partner, the conservative VVD, feels about the idea. 

Not head-hunters
The inquiry as envisioned by Senator Schuurman would be very different from the kind of inquiry held by the lower house of parliament, in which politicians are are interviewed under oath and which quite often lead to serious consequences. The senator says he wants a 'calm and wise' inquiry in which employers' organisations, unions, and experts will be heard. 

SP Senator Tiny Kox said: "We are not from the head-hunters ministry."

"Negative and unexpected effects"
Senator Schuurman wants to focus on public sectors like health care, postal services, public transport, telecommunications and utilities. "There is much dissatisfaction among citizens about the privatisation of public services. The Senate has always been concerned about the quality of the services provided by privatised utilities."

Senator Kox agrees: "Privatisation has been the most far-reaching process of the past 20 years, and yet we have not studied it, while at the same time we know that in addition to positive effects, it has also had many negative and unexpected effects."

Politicised
To avoid turning the inquiry into a campaign issue in the 2 March provincial elections, Senator Schuurman wants to postpone any debate on the subject till after the new Senate has been installed on 7 June. "It would be a shame if the issue became politicised. It's about the people, not political parties." Senator Schuurman himself is not up for re-election, so he would not play an active part in the inquiry if it is actually held.

The Dutch Senate has 75 members. It has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals, but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Members of the Senate are elected indirectly through provincial councils, which in turn are elected by the people of the Netherlands every four years.