GroenLinks refuses A'dam council negotiations

GroenLinks does not want to partake in negotiations with the D66, VVD and SP to try and form a Amsterdam municipal council coalition as advised this morning by Roger van Boxtel (D66) and Arjan Vliegenthart (SP), who were appointed as advisors last week. [Update: 10:45 a.m.] The advisors spoke with the fraction presidents in the last few days. D66 was the biggest winning party at the municipal council elections two months ago. GroenLinks fraction president Rutger Groot has now decided, however, that his party will not sit in on the meeting with the three other parties. This means a new Amsterdam council is still not at hand. D66 fraction president Jan Paternotte called it "very unfortunate", and had not seen it coming, the Volkskrant reports. Previous advisors Thom de Graaf and Alexander Rinnooy Kan of the D66 could not manage to solidify a new council for Amsterdam. Under their guidance, PvdA and SP had refused to take part in a four-party council with D66 and the VVD.