Cabinet formation talks resume after winter break
The Cabinet formation process will resume on Tuesday after a two-week-long winter break. The party leaders of the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB, and their seconds, will gather at the De Zwaluwenberg estate in Hilversum and continue their discussions there until Thursday.
Geert Wilders (PVV), Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), Pieter Omtzigt (NSC), and Caroline van der Plas (BBB) will discuss their concerns about guaranteeing the rule of law. These concerns mainly stem from PVV positions, which aren’t always consistent with the Dutch Constitution. In an attempt to ease those concerns, Wilders shelved three of the PVV’s most controversial initiative laws on Monday.
The party leaders and their fellow negotiators may also discuss other substantive issues, such as migration and poverty reduction. Both topics are important themes for all parties involved in the negotiations.
The negotiations are happening at the Hilversum estate to gain some distance from The Hague and the press and give the party leaders some room to just talk. “Sitting around the table without taboos and not knowing where you end up,” Wilders said about the benefits of this type of negotiation in November, according to NU.nl. The estate was also used during formation talks in 2007, 2017, and 2021.
The party leaders can also spend the night on the estate, which happened in the last few times. “It helps that you can chat in the evening with a glass of wine or beer,” then VVD leader Rutte said two years ago. “That makes a difference, of course. You don’t have that in The Hague.”
