Cabinet formation to begin again today

Informateur Mariëtte Hamer started meeting the leaders of the nine smallest parties in Tweede Kamer on Monday to further discuss the Cabinet formation. As the new informateur Hamer is set to meet the leaders of the nine largest parties on Tuesday to continue the next round of formation talks, ANP reported.

At this stage, Hamer on behalf of Tweede Kamer will focus on initial proposals for a national recovery plan to help the Netherlands out of the coronavirus crisis. In this round of Cabinet formation discussions, Hamer expects to be able to gain insight into the stance eighteen leaders have about the recovery and transition plan intended to take on after the crisis.

She said on Friday she felt optimistic about reaching an agreement with the political leaders on this matter soon. According to Hamer, this must be “quickly set up”. She also revealed she plans to meet young people and representatives of sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic to ensure their voices are also heard as the country emerges from one of the biggest crises in recent history.

The leader of Bij1, Sylvana Simmons, was slated to be the first party chair to meet Mariëtte Hamer on Monday. Prior to her meeting with the new informateur, Simmons said she particularly wanted to tackle the issues of trust in the government, the growing divisions within society and wealth inequality.

Hamer’s final report on this round of discussions is expected to be ready on June 6, but she already made it clear on Friday that this is not a hard deadline for her. While she acknowledged the urgency of the recovery plan, it is more about the "quality of the work," she said at the time.