Six months after the snap elections in the Netherlands, four parties have agreed to work together and put forward Dick Schoof, former head of the secret service AIVD and highest-ranking civil servant in the Ministry of Justice, as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister. The fact that he previously held no political office is symbolic of the desired form of cooperation in the new government – an extra-parliamentary cabinet is to be formed comprising 50 per cent representatives of the parties supporting it and 50 per cent politically independent experts. The reason for this decision is the complicated election result in November 2023 and the strong polarisation around the right-wing populist election winner Geert Wilders. The new cabinet is to be sworn in by King Willem-Alexander at the beginning of July.
