THE HAGUE, Netherlands: Dutch King Willem-Alexander is swearing in a new minority Dutch coalition government Monday led by the Netherlands’ youngest-ever prime minister, who will have to use all his bridge-building skills to pass laws and see out a full four-year term in office.
Rob Jetten, 38, heads a three-party administration made up of his centrist D66, the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. Together, the parties hold only 66 of the lower house of parliament’s 150 seats. That means he will have to negotiate with opposition lawmakers to find support for every piece of legislation his government wants to pass.
That is likely to be tough with the biggest opposition bloc, the newly merged Green Left and Labour Party, already expressing strong objections to Jetten’s plans to cut health care and welfare costs.
Opposition leader Jesse Klaver said Friday in a message on X that under the new government’s plans, “ordinary people will have to pay hundreds of euros more, while the wealthiest are not asked to contribute anything extra.” He added: “We are taking responsibility to adjust these plans. This must change.”
Jetten and his team of ministers will formally accept their new roles when they are sworn in by the king at his palace in a forest on the edge of The Hague. They will then pose for a traditional photo of the new Cabinet on the steps of the palace before getting down to work with their first Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.
