Greens leader rejoins Dutch coalition talks despite ailing mother

Negotiations between the VVD, D66, CDA and GroenLinks on forming a new Dutch government together will resume today. Talks were suspended last week after GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver's mother was hospitalized. Her condition is still worrying, but Klaver will be back at the negotiation table on Tuesday, his spokesperson said to ANP.

Klaver had to leave the negotiations on Wednesday after receiving news about his mother's hospitalization. His predecessor as GroenLinks leader and current GroenLinks MP Bram van Oijk took his place for the rest of Wednesday's negotiations. But as the formation talks are now at a serious stage, it is "important that you have the complete team to perform these negotiations well", negotiation leader Edith Schippers said on Wednesday. The party leaders therefore decided to suspend talks until Klaver could return.

The negotiations will restart at 2:30 p.m. today. Schippers and the negotiators will meet with Leiden professor Kees Goudswaard, who teaches applied economics and is a professor of social security. Mariette Hamer, chairman of the Social Economic Council, is also invited to the negotiations. The Council is the main platform of dialog between employers and employees in the Netherlands and a key adviser to the Dutch government.