Dutch Government Crisis Averted for Now, but Talks Continue

The crisis meeting between Jetten and representatives of his two coalition partners lasted more than seven hours.

The meeting was an attempt to untangle the knots that have emerged in the minority government, which has governed the country for less than nine months.

“The talks are not over yet. So I’ll spend the next few days continuing them, calmly and collectedly,” Jetten says.

The rift emerged this week after his party, Democrats 66 (D66), and the Christian Democrats (CDA) agreed on a tax deal with two opposition parties.

The deal angered the minority government’s third party, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which voted against the proposal.