Rutte hopes agreement on Cabinet formation can be reached before Christmas

It will no longer be possible to reach a coalition agreement before Sinterklaas, but VVD leader and Prime Minister Mark Rutte "earnestly" hopes to reach a coalition agreement before Christmas.

"Everyone wants to be done with it and get started," he said in a digital VVD conference on Saturday.

Rutte said in the VVD, it is mainly deputy leader Sophie Hermans who has a lot of work ahead of her. He acknowledged that he has done much less work in the formation partly due to the coronavirus crisis than Hermans. Rutte said he "feels a little guilty because a lot of work comes down to her."

According to Rutte, it is not surprising that almost eight months after the elections, there is still no agreement. It took more than six months before the parties found out who negotiates with whom. The Prime Minister said it is "not surprising" that the parties are still writing a coalition agreement for another six to eight weeks.

According to the prime minister, the fourth Rutte Cabinet must become "more transformative" than the current one. The third Rutte Cabinet was mainly focused on recovery after the economic crisis, according to the VVD leader. Now, the Netherlands is in a strong economic position and can resolve security, climate, and education issues, Rutte said. "The financing is there, but I cannot guarantee whether it will all work out," the prime minister said.