D66 and CDA plan to bring VVD into formation talks after deadlock

D66 and CDA are expected to bring the VVD into the next round of formation talks, according to multiple sources close to the process who spoke with ANP. The move comes after a series of failed efforts by informateur Sybrand Buma to break the political deadlock and one day before he delivers his final report.

Buma said Thursday that he saw no workable majority or minority coalition. In an effort to force movement, he met Friday with the party leaders of D66, VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, CDA and JA21. Those talks also produced no breakthrough.

The five parties remained in informal contact through the weekend, but those exchanges did not result in any firm agreements. Sources, however, now see a likely shift toward formal talks among D66, CDA and the VVD.

Buma will meet Monday — his last day before presenting his report — with the three party leaders in two separate sessions, including one held digitally. He also plans to speak individually with Jesse Klaver of GroenLinks-PvdA and Joost Eerdmans of JA21, also digitally.

Former ministers Roger van Boxtel of D66 and Cees Veerman of CDA urged on Sunday, in the television program Buitenhof, that a minority coalition of D66, VVD and CDA should be seriously examined. Such a coalition would hold 66 seats in the Tweede Kamer, well below the 76 needed for a majority, requiring support from opposition parties to pass legislation. The three parties are even further from a majority in the Eerste Kamer.

Klaver warned last week that it would be a “crucial mistake” for D66 and CDA to negotiate with the VVD about a minority cabinet. He said that doing so would reward what he called the VVD’s “blocking behavior,” since the VVD continues to rule out cooperation with the left-leaning alliance.