Mark Rutte believes he has found a solution to a problem he created himself. The outgoing prime minister, who, like Christian Democrat leader Wopke Hoekstra, has advocated for months that he does not want to govern with two left-wing parties, spoke with D66 leader Sigrid Kaag about the merger of the PvdA and GroenLinks groups. This was reported by NOS.
The merger of the parliamentary parties of PvdA and GroenLinks is seen as a serious way out of the impasse in formation. (…) The joint faction has the advantage of VVD and the other parties in the government that it is more stable than two separate factions.
PvdA and GroenLinks seem unpleasantly surprised by reports that their groups should merge. A source at GroenLinks calls it “ridiculous” against AD. “The arrogance that other parties think they can determine how to implement our cooperation. We are very angry about this.”
GroenLinks responded strongly to the NOS report that a PvdA-GL merger is under discussion at the formation table. “Ridiculous,” says GL’s source. “The arrogance that other parties think can determine how our cooperation is carried out. We are very angry about this.”
– Peter Winterman (@WintermanAD) August 19, 2021
How far will PvdA and GroenLinks go to satisfy right-wing parties? “You can count on us to do what we want by ourselves and not dance to other party tunes,” a PvdA spokesperson said. https://t.co/JJ2f7o05ZC
– Peter Winterman (@WintermanAD) August 19, 2021
Rutte’s tendency to decide what to do for other parties had already caused the necessary problems earlier in the formation of the government. The Prime Minister’s plan to give Peter Omtzegt “a job elsewhere” put the formation on hold for some time.
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