New (minority) government in the Netherlands
Compromise becomes a key issue
On February 23, 2026, the Netherlands will have a new government led by Prime Minister Rob Jetten. The minority government, consisting of the liberal-progressive Democraten 66 (D66), the right-wing liberal Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA), was sworn in by King Willem-Alexander 117 days after the election.
With its coalition agreement “Aan de slag” (“Let's get to work”) , a clearly structured work program, the new government has set itself ambitious goals: domestically, it is reform-oriented and willing to invest in the economy and defense; foreign policy-wise, it is clearly pro-European. Now the “Jetten Cabinet” must prove that it can win majorities for its plans even without its own parliamentary majority in politically polarized times. The Netherlands does not have much experience with minority governments, but the “experiment” at least offers the chance to overcome the political paralysis left behind by right-wing populist Geert Wilders with parties from the political center and to tackle the pressing domestic and foreign policy challenges.
