Silence: Coalition parties refuse comment after meeting to decide the next Dutch PM

The leaders of the political parties in a new coalition have completed their consultations with formateur Richard van Zwol about who will take the role of the prime minister. It is not clear what emerged in talks on Thursday.

After more than two hours, Geert Wilders (PVV), Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) and Caroline van der Plas (BBB) ​​emerged and walked past reporters. They did not comment about the talks.

Van Zwol said he could say “even less” during the Cabinet formation phase. “Because yes, it is about an individual, so you have to handle it carefully and confidentially. So we have jointly agreed with the four party leaders to maintain complete radio silence and TV silence in the coming weeks,” he stated.

Normally, the formateur tasked with narrowing down candidates into a Cabinet would actually become the next prime minister. Van Zwol has said he does not want the job, and the coalition’s first choice withdrew.

That was Ronald Plasterk, the former interior minister and microbiologist embroiled in a scandal over the ownership of a lucrative patent for which he has claimed sole credit at the expense of the Amsterdam University Medical Center and another researcher.

“In ideal circumstances” the name of the new prime minister would already have been known, said Omtzigt before the meeting. He said he was “very curious to hear what we will hear.”

The coalition leaders will not meet again in the formation area on Thursday. The four faction leaders will be received again by the formateur on Friday morning. Later that morning, Yeşilgöz is expected to attend the regular weekly Cabinet meeting, in her current role as outgoing justice minister