THE HAGUE: A new Dutch government took power on Monday, with 38-year-old centrist Rob Jetten sworn in as the country´s youngest-ever prime minister. “Sworn in. We´re going to get started. Let´s get to work,” Jetten posted on X, formerly Twitter, with a picture of his cabinet posing with King Willem-Alexander on the steps of the royal palace.Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders by a razor-thin margin.
The snap election was called after the PVV withdrew from the previous coalition, the Netherlands´ most right-wing government in recent history, which lasted just 11 months. Jetten´s D66 has teamed up with the centre-right CDA party and the liberal VVD to form a coalition, but will fall nine seats short of a parliamentary majority with only 66 seats.
The parties took 117 days to form their coalition -- much less than the 223 days taken to form the previous government. After his election victory, Jetten declared that it was possible to beat populist movements “if you campaign with a positive message for your country”.
