THE HAGUE, Jan 28 — Three Dutch political parties clinched a long-awaited coalition deal yesterday, paving the way for a new government in the European Union’s fifth-largest economy, three months after a nailbiting election.

The centrist D66 party, led by likely new prime minister Rob Jetten, has been in marathon talks with two centre-right parties over forming a minority cabinet.

After lengthy last-minute wrangling over finances, the three party leaders announced late Tuesday they had come to an accord, the details of which will be presented on Friday.

“We’re incredibly eager to get started,” said Jetten, a charismatic 38-year-old who would be the country’s youngest-ever prime minister and the first openly gay one.

“We’re going to do it as a three-party coalition, but we’d also like to work with other parties” in the parliament, he said.

The breakthrough clears the path for a potential swearing-in of new ministers in mid-February.

Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders by a razor-thin margin.

After his election victory, he told AFP it was possible to beat populist movements “if you campaign with a positive message for your country”.

The fragmented nature of Dutch politics means that no single party secures enough seats in the 150-member parliament to govern alone, resulting in lengthy coalition talks.

Jetten’s D66 has teamed up with the centre-right CDA party and the liberal VVD, but will fall nine seats short of a parliamentary majority with only 66 seats.

Wilders, who shook Europe’s political scene to the core with a shock election win in November 2023, has seen his fortunes plummet in recent weeks.

His PVV party plunged from 37 seats in 2023 to 26 seats after what was widely seen as a lacklustre campaign.

And earlier this month, seven of those MPs splintered off from the party in protest at the authoritarian management of long-standing leader Wilders.

Other far-right parties have made inroads in the Netherlands, however.

The Forum for Democracy, led by 28-year-old Lidewij de Vos, gained four seats in the 2025 election with a message against “uncontrolled immigration” and “the hopeless EU”.

Hard-right party JA21 also shot up the rankings, gaining eight seats and nearly securing a seat at the cabinet table before being blocked by Jetten. — AFP