Geert Wilders acknowledges D66 victory; NS boss Koolmees to guide Cabinet formation

PVV leader Geert Wilders has acknowledged that D66 received the most votes in the elections and congratulated its leader, Rob Jetten, on the victory for the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. Although both parties are projected to win 26 seats, D66 leads the PVV by more than 28,000 votes in the preliminary count.

In The Hague, the largest party traditionally takes the initiative in forming a government and almost always provides the prime minister. Even if Wilders’ party had won, his chances of becoming prime minister were slim. Due to the PVV’s discriminatory policies and the turmoil during the previous Cabinet when the PVV was the largest party, most parties had excluded any cooperation with Wilders.

Earlier, Wilders hinted at possible vote tampering, but offered no credible evidence to support the claim. When his party won 37 seats and became the largest in the last elections, he did not take that step. “My main goal was to have it investigated,” he said Tuesday regarding his recent tweets. “The likelihood of gaining roughly 30,000 additional votes is low.” The official election results will be confirmed by the Electoral Council on Friday.

Former minister Wouter Koolmees has been appointed as a scout to guide the coalition formation process. He was nominated by D66 to meet with party leaders to explore options for a new government. Tweede Kamer chairman Martin Bosma announced the appointment at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, with discussions set to start on Wednesday.

All parties have given their unanimous approval to D66’s proposal. In his role as scout, Koolmees will first hold discussions with party leaders to explore potential options for a new coalition government.

Koolmees has until November 11 to complete his discussions. He will submit his report on that day, and two days later, in the Tweede Kamer, he will hold a debate on the findings and the process for forming a new coalition. The scout may also propose an informateur to guide the talks between the parties.

Koolmees had previously acted as both scout and informateur in 2021, helping form the Rutte IV Cabinet, a coalition of VVD, D66, CDA, and ChristenUnie. In a press conference, Bosma also emphasized Koolmees’ role as formateur in Rotterdam, where he successfully included Leefbaar and Denk in the city council coalition.

Koolmees is currently CEO of NS, his role will be taken by Eelco van Aasch on a temporary basis while Koolmees is working as scout. The Tweede Kamer would like a scout who “keeps some distance from day-to-day politics,” according to Bosma.