Netherlands moves toward a centre‑right minority government

Brussels – The Netherlands is attempting to emerge from the political crisis triggered by Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s resignation after the far-right PVV party withdrew from the majority coalition. D66 (liberals), VVD (liberal-conservatives), and CDA (Christian democrats) have reached an agreement to form a minority coalition. The three parties will try to lead the country with a government that will have to constantly seek votes in Parliament, given that, together, they have 66 seats in the lower house, 10 fewer than the 76 required for control. In the upper house, on the other hand, they are 16 seats short.

“The new government team will have to work hard,” acknowledges D66 leader Rob Jetten, who has been nominated for the role of next prime minister. Nevertheless, “we think we can do it,’ he said, speaking to the Dutch press.

The early elections on 29 October produced a situation that made it almost impossible to form alliances and coalitions. However, to avoid having to return to the polls yet again in the EU’s founding country, there is nonetheless an effort to try to govern. In these negotiations, the liberal-conservatives proposed extending the coalition to include the conservatives of J21, a proposal that was vetoed by D66, which was opposed to the idea of shifting the executive even further to the right, especially considering that the party has nine MPs in the lower house, which is not enough to achieve a majority of seats. The opposition Labour Party (PvdA) and the Greens (GroenLinks) are sceptical of the choice, fearing new and even greater instability that could lead to ungovernability.

English version by the Translation Service of Withub