Former ministers press VVD to join talks on D66–CDA minority cabinet

Former ministers Roger van Boxtel and Cees Veerman said Sunday that the VVD should join D66 and CDA for talks on forming a minority cabinet, arguing that a broader coalition including GroenLinks-PvdA is no longer realistic. The two party veterans made their remarks during the political program Buitenhof.

Both former ministers said the VVD must shift its stance in the formation process. Van Boxtel, a former D66 minister for Grote Stedenbeleid, said he would have “given a great deal” to see a “broad coalition” that included GroenLinks-PvdA. “But the reality is: that does not seem to be within reach,” he said.

Unlike GroenLinks-PvdA leader Jesse Klaver, he considers a minority cabinet a serious and workable option. “That is nowadays perhaps a very good formula,” he said.

Veerman, a former CDA agriculture minister, said he sees several obstacles in working with GroenLinks-PvdA. He argued that “GroenLinks is further removed from the CDA than the old social democracy.” He also noted that the merger between GroenLinks and PvdA is not yet complete.

Veerman warned that the party’s decision to rule out GroenLinks-PvdA could place the liberals “in an isolation, if you’re not careful.” He said the VVD should engage seriously with the policy outline recently presented by D66 and CDA. “And not immediately say: who with whom. That is classic The Hague behavior, and we simply cannot have that right now.”