Breda city council coalition collapses; VVD begins anew

GroenLinks pulled out of the Breda city council coalition on Wednesday night, thereby collapsing the coalition. The VVD faction in the city is now looking for other elected parties to form a new coalition. GroenLinks decided to step out of the coalition because of the college of the mayor and aldermen's plans for a museum in the Brabant city, NU reports. GroenLinks felt that party member and alderman for Culture Selcuk Akinci had a good plan for the museum. But to the party's surprise, a second, very different plan was brought to the table on Wednesday, because of pressure from other parties. According to GroenLinks, it seems that the coalition is primarily concerned with survival instead of "realizing what is best for Breda". In a press release later on Wednesday night, the VVD announced that it will work with other elected parties on forming a new coalition. "The VVD has taken notice of the termination of the cooperation between the SP, CDA, PvdA, GroenLinks and B'97", the statement reads. "The VVD faction regrets this state of affairs. The lack of confidence has led to a new coalition having to ensure stability and a sustainable policy." The party also states that, as the largest party, the VVD is taking the responsibility of launching a new information process with the aim to "achieve a cooperation which is based on trust and which is formed along the lines of common content." Faction leader Boaz Adank will be discussing the situation with Mayor Paul Depla on Thursday and then with other parties, ranked by their size. "During these discussions, in addition to some procedural issues, we will also explore whether there is a basis to establish a new partnership."