The Elections Are Over, What Is Happening Now?

The elections are over and the votes are counted. These elections were more exciting than ever. The differences between the two leading parties were really close, but in the end D66 won with a difference of almost 30.000 votes compared to the second leading party, PVV. But what is happening now?

Although D66 won these elections, both D66 and PVV secured 26 seats each. The VVD ended up with 22 seats, and PvdA–GL with 20. In addition, there are ten smaller parties holding between 18 and 1 seat each. The task now is to form a coalition with a majority. Since there are 150 seats in total, a majority requires at least 76 seats. This may sound simple, but the parties’ standpoints are so diverse that it’s almost impossible to govern together while still keeping the promises they made to their voters.

Wouter Koolmees is a Dutch politician and member of the political party D66. He previously served as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and is now appointed as the verkenner scout) after the recent elections. As verkenner, his task is to explore possible coalitions. He does this by consulting the newly chosen parliamentary groups about which combinations they see as feasible for forming a government.

According to Koolmees, D66 and CDA formed the backbone for creating the coalition. These parties are part of almost every possible government, and their positions are the most closely aligned. If they can reach an agreement, a coalition could be formed. Together these parties hold 44 seats, so other parties need to be included. But there are multiple blockades. For example the VVD does not want to work together with GL–PvdA and D66 said they would prefer to not work together with JA21. A minority cabinet would therefore be an option, but this could lead to political instability and difficulties in passing legislation.

What we do know is that Rob Jetten is probably becoming the new prime minister of the Netherlands. Not only will he be the youngest prime minister in the Netherlands, he will also be the first openly gay person to hold this position. This shows a significant change in the history of Dutch politics.

For the first time, there will be more women than ever in the Dutch house of representatives. According to the results so far, the percentage has risen to 43,3%. Greater diversity in the parliament can lead to broader discussions and more balanced decisions. The rise of women in Dutch politics reflects a broader social movement towards equality. For now we have to be patient and see how the process of forming a coalition goes. Sometimes this can take a long time, during the last elections it took them 223 days. Only time will tell how long the coalition talks will take and what the new government will look like.