Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative party is expected to see the fourth consecutive election victory in a vote held during a nationwide lockdown and dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, near-complete results indicated on March 18.
Key Points
- The process of forming a new Dutch governing coalition began Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative party powered to a fourth consecutive victory in a vote held during a nationwide lockdown and dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The feat put Rutte in a position to lead coalition talks, most likely with another big winner the centrist, pro-European D66 party led by former diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who danced on a table Wednesday night when an exit poll showed her party capturing one of its biggest-ever victories.
- However, those two parties will likely need at least two more partners to form a majority coalition. According to the national news agency ANP, based on 88% of votes counted, Rutte’s party, known by its Dutch acronym VVD, won 35 of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament while D66 garnered 24.
- Rutte wants to move quickly to hammer out a coronavirus recovery plan before getting into a government blueprint for the new coalition’s four-year term.
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since October 2010 and Leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since May 2006.
