The Dutch Government Formation Talks Just Got Weirder

The Dutch Government Formation Talks Just Got Weirder
Geert Wilders attends government formation talks, in the Netherlands, Jan. 16, 2024 (Sipa photo by Robin Utrecht via AP Images).

AMSTERDAM—The Netherlands’ strangest government formation process in memory keeps unfolding in unprecedented ways, with political drama shifting into farce and suspense yielding to surprise, along a path set to produce the oddest government anyone here can remember.

After months of false starts and melodramatic plot twists, it seems the country will, in fact, have a right-wing government. But it will be a very peculiar one. In fact, some are still betting that even after finally agreeing last week on a plan for governing, the incompatible coalition members will ultimately fail to agree on fundamental elements for implementing it that remain undecided.

That includes the rather important “detail” of who will be the country’s next prime minister.

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