D66, CDA and VVD to form rare minority cabinet in the Netherlands

Dutch political parties D66, CDA and VVD have agreed to form a minority cabinet after several weeks of coalition talks. 

Coalition government will lack majority in Dutch parliament

After the latest round of negotiations in the formation of the government with informateur Rianne Letschert, the liberal democratic party D66, which won the 2025 elections, will form a minority coalition with CDA and VVD. This is not a common outcome in Dutch politics, as the minority cabinet will now have to work with other parties to get support for each issue discussed in parliament.

Together, the three parties hold 66 seats in the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), 10 seats short of a majority. In the Senate (Eerste Kamer), they will be 16 seats short, reports NOS. "It will be hard work for the new cabinet, but we believe we can do it," D66 leader and future prime minister Rob Jetten said in a press release. 

Dutch parties faced struggles forming coalition

Originally, D66’s Jetten wanted to form a centre coalition with CDA, VVD and GroenLinks-PvdA to get a majority and form a “stable government”. However, VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz remained adamant about not being in a coalition with GL-PvdA, preferring a centre-right cabinet with far-right JA21, which also would have lacked a majority.

Jetten was opposed to JA21 joining the coalition, however, as D66 and JA21 have very different stances on important issues such as climate, nitrogen emissions, asylum and European cooperation. Getting support from GL-PvdA would also be a lot harder if JA21 were a part of the cabinet.

Opposition parties criticise choice for minority cabinet

Opposition parties have reacted negatively to the planned minority cabinet. According to NOS, JA21 thinks it is a “missed opportunity”, GL-PvdA has called it a “risky political experiment” and PVV, which used to be the largest Dutch party, believes there will be another round of elections next year.

The three coalition parties are set to talk to other party leaders in parliament about receiving support on some issues. “The hope is that such a minority government will also offer opportunities, as you can sometimes count on support from the left, for example, on nitrogen emissions, and sometimes from the right, for example, on migration,” said political reporter for NOS, Marleen de Rooy. “But it's uncharted territory, even for these three parties.”