No PM Wilders: Party leaders to be MPs in right-wing extra-parliamentary Cabinet

The Netherlands' next Prime Minister won’t be any of the leaders of the four right-wing parties taking the next step in Cabinet formation talks, sources told the Telegraaf. Geert Wilders (PVV), Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), Pieter Omtzigt (NSC), and Caroline van der Plas will all be parliamentarians. The four parties want to negotiate an extra-parliamentary Cabinet, the newspaper’s sources said after formation leader Kim Putters said the parties were ready to take the next step.

The four right-wing parties want to negotiate a concise coalition agreement for an extra-parliamentary Cabinet. It was the only way to get the four parties facing the same direction again, the newspaper’s sources said. A concise agreement, instead of the detailed one that typically accompanies a majority coalition, gives the Tweede Kamer more room to put its stamp on Cabinet policy. That has been a long-cherished wish of NSC leader Omtzigt.

The parties will decide between them who to nominate for Prime Minister and the other Cabinet positions, the sources said. The intention is for the party leaders to be in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. With an extra-parliamentary government, the Cabinet positions can also be filled by politicians from other parties or even non-politicians who are experts in the field.

Putters needed a two-day session with the four party leaders away from the public eye to force a breakthrough in the Cabinet formation process. According to the Telegraaf’s insiders, the first day was spent unruffling feathers and rebuilding trust after Omtzigt’s abrupt departure from the previous round of talks, led by Ronald Plasterk. The content only made it onto the negotiation table on day two.

Afterward, Putters spoke of two “intensive” but ultimately successful days. “These were good conversations, and they also had results,” he said on Tuesday. He will finalize his report on these past weeks and plans to submit it to the Tweede Kamer on Thursday. The parliamentarians can then debate it next week and decide how to proceed with the formation process.