THE HAGUE, Feb 23: Dutch King Willem-Alexander has sworn in a new minority Dutch coalition government led by the Netherlands’ youngest-ever prime minister, who will have to use all his bridge-building skills to pass laws and see out a full four-year term in office.
Rob Jetten, 38, heads a three-party administration made up of his centrist D66, the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
The parties together hold only 66 of the lower house of parliament’s 150 seats, so Jetten will have to negotiate with opposition lawmakers to find support for every piece of legislation his government wants to pass.
Jetten and his team of ministers were sworn in by the king in the ornate Orange Hall of the royal palace in a forest on the edge of The Hague 117 days after national elections.
Following a traditional photo of the new Cabinet on the steps of the palace, the new government plans to begin work with its first Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.
The king wished the new government good luck “in uncertain times”. (AP)
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