Sources: New Cabinet will not be formed before Christmas

The parties at the formation table do not expect to present a new Cabinet at the Noordeinde Palace before Christmas. Involved sources confirmed this after a report by AD. There is still hope among the negotiating parties to be able to present a coalition agreement before then.

When the VVD, D66, CDA, and ChristenUnie started negotiating the continuation of the current coalition two months ago, they still hoped that they would be done before Sinterklaas. But that hope now seems to have vanished. VVD leader Mark Rutte acknowledged at a party conference on Saturday that the estimate was too optimistic.

Because a substantive agreement is not yet in sight, the appointment of a Cabinet will also take longer, insiders say. Informateur Johan Remkes previously noted that the composition of the new government team would only start after the four parties' government program has been discussed with the lower house of Dutch parliament.

Senior officials from various Ministries warned in AD against presenting a new team at the end of the year. After almost two years of the coronavirus crisis, many officials are exhausted and ready for rest, the newspaper wrote.