THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 26: The new ministers and state secretaries of the cabinet Rutte III pose for a group photo with King Willem-Alexander (C) and Prime Minister Mark Rutte at Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, Netherlands on October 26, 2017. On the front row from left to right, Halbe Zijlstra (L), Kajsa Ollongren (2L), Mark Rutte (3L), King Wilem-Alexander (M), Hugo de Jonge (3R), Carola Schouten (2R), Ferdinand Grapperhaus (1R) and 2nd row from left to right Arie Slob (1L), Sigrid Kaag (2L), Eric Wiebes (3L), Ank Bijleveld (4L), Ingrid van Engelshoven (5L), Wopke Hoekstra (5R), Cora van Nieuwenhuizen(4R), Wouter Koolmees (3R), Sander Dekker (2R) and Bruno Bruins (1R). ( Paco Nunez - Anadolu Agency )
By Abdullah Asiran
THE HAGUE, Netherlands
Dutch parties on Thursday agreed on a coaliton government after 225 days of talks, a record in the country's history.
The Netherlands -- ruled by coalition administrations since World War II -- last saw 208 days of political horse-trading in 1977.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte, leader of the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), was sworn in with his Cabinet of 16 ministers and eight secretaries of state at King Willem-Alexander's Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.
Rutte's liberal VVD formed a coalition with the centrist Democrats 66 (D66) and the conservative Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU).
Dutch voters went to the polls on March 15, but no single party won enough support to form a government.
The largest group in parliament is the VVD with 33 seats, followed by the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) with 20.
Coalition partners the D66 and the CDA have 19 MPs in parliament apiece, while the CU has five.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
