THE HAGUE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Dutch political parties Democrats 66 (D66), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) announced on Friday that they will work together to form a minority cabinet following a two-day meeting at the De Zwaluwenberg estate in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
According to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, it is highly unusual for political parties to form a government without majority support from the outset.
The prospective minority cabinet would fall well short of a majority in both chambers of parliament. The three parties together hold 66 seats in the House of Representatives, leaving them 10 seats short of a majority, while in the Senate they are 16 seats short.
Over the past few days, party leaders have held extensive discussions on the cabinet's structure and financial framework. D66 leader Rob Jetten said the talks were intensive, particularly on policy substance and budgetary issues, adding that negotiations on major policy dossiers will continue in the coming period.
"We will also invite the leaders of other parties in the House of Representatives for brief discussions in the coming week, so we can explain how we envision this cooperation," Jetten said.
A total of 27 parties contested the Dutch parliamentary election last October, with 15 securing seats in the House. D66 and the Party for Freedom (PVV) each won 26 seats, followed by the VVD with 22 seats and the Green Left-Labor alliance (GroenLinks-PvdA) with 20. The CDA and JA21 secured 18 and nine seats, respectively.
During coalition talks, all major parties ruled out governing with the PVV, which had brought down the previous government. D66 also declined cooperation with JA21 over differences on issues including the rule of law and foreign policy, while the VVD rejected working with GroenLinks-PvdA.
