Netherlands: Record of 226 days of negotiations to form a new government

Negotiations to form a new coalition government in Netherlands They broke records, as the parties have not yet agreed on the terms seven months after the parliamentary elections in the country.

Today, Friday, is completed the 226th day of negotiations, which are the longest in the history of the country, and their end is nowhere to be seen on the horizon.

Four parties are taking part in talks to return to power under the current Conservative Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

But substantive talks have just begun, and Mr Rutte has admitted he does not expect them to be completed any time soon. “There is still a lot to be done,” he explained, according to AMPE.

The previous record was 225 days and was set in 2017, when the negotiations that led to the formation of the 3rd government of Mark Rutte were taking place.

Neighboring Belgium, however, holds the world record for the longest-running negotiations to form a coalition government: in 2010-2011, it took 541 days for the parties to agree and form a government. For now at least, it does not seem to be threatened.

The Dutch voted on March 17th.

The right-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) took first place, while the left-liberal D66 party made significant gains. However, at least four parties are needed to form a government with a parliamentary majority.

Since 2017, the VVD and D66 have been co-ruling with the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the small Christian Union.

Following scandals Who hit Mark Rutte and the Christian Democrats hard, the D66 called for a change of government leadership in favor of forming a five-party government coalition with the Social Democrats and the Greens. The announcement of new elections was avoided only because it was decided by the D66, accepting to continue to co-rule in the current format.