D66 leader expects clarity on status of government formation today

D66 leader Alexander Pechtold hopes that by the end of today's government formation negotiations - the last session before the May recess - there will be more clarity on the status of forming a government between the VVD, CDA, D66 and GroenLinks, he said before entering the talks on Thursday, NU.nl reports.

"We should get an idea today about where we stand", Pechtold said. "This past week was important and useful. Sometimes very tough, but still with good steps."

According to him, the exploratory phase of the formation is over and the real negotiations are underway. The four parties, led by Edith Schippers, started negotiating about forming a government together on March 29th.

Pechtold made no secret about this combination of parties being his favorite for the new Dutch government. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a cabinet of which I said before the formation: this could work."

Schippers will give her weekly press conference on the progress of the formation negotiations on Thursday afternoon. There will be no negotiations next week, as it is May recess. Negotiations will restart on May 2nd.