The leaders of three Dutch political parties said Tuesday they had agreed in principle to form a minority coalition government after months of negotiations.
The centrist D66 party, which took first place in last October’s election, the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) will join forces in a coalition that will only hold 66 seats in the Netherlands’ lower house of parliament, 10 seats short of a majority. Minority governments are rare in the Netherlands.
D66’s leader, 38-year-old Rob Jetten, will be the youngest Dutch prime minister in history. He appeared alongside CDA and VVD’s leaders Tuesday night and said the three “still have a few final details” to iron out before their coalition agreement is formally presented Friday, but sounded an optimistic note.