D66 and CDA set policy agenda, opening path for cabinet formation talks
D66 and CDA have finalized an agreement on a substantive document intended to guide the next steps of the Dutch cabinet formation, the Bureau Woordvoering Kabinetsformatie, the government’s cabinet formation press office, reported. The document will be formally handed over at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday to Tweede Kamer President Thom van Campen by informateur Sybrand Buma.
D66 leader Rob Jetten and CDA leader Henri Bontenbal have been collaborating since mid-November on what they call a “positive agenda,” focusing on five key policy areas: migration, housing, nitrogen, defense, and the economy. The two party leaders intend to use this agenda as a foundation for discussions with other political parties.
Earlier in the day, Jetten confirmed that D66 and CDA had resolved “major issues” in the formation document they were preparing, De Telegraaf reported.
Jetten said Tuesday, “It is in any case an agenda in which we show on these five major issues that we can once again make political decisions and get things moving.” Jetten anticipates that all parties will participate in these renewed talks.
When asked about the possibility of a minority cabinet, Jetten said, “I am not ruling out any option at this moment. A majority cabinet is what we are used to in the Netherlands, and of course that provides more stability in seats.”
CDA leader Henri Bontenbal also acknowledged that the outcome could result in a minority cabinet. “It is up to the informateur to discuss the content with the other party leaders and then draw conclusions,” Bontenbal told De Telegraaf.
