THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new lower house of the Dutch parliament was sworn in Wednesday, two weeks after the far-right party of lawmaker Geert Wilders won a general election in a seismic shift that reverberated through Europe.
While the newly configured Second Chamber is now installed, talks to form a new ruling coalition remain at an early stage, with a “scout” still talking to leaders about possible combinations to succeed the last four-party administration led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The scout is expected to send a report to parliament before a debate, likely next week, on the next step in the coalition formation process.
Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest serving premier, will remain in office until a new coalition is formed and sworn in. Talks to form Rutte’s final coalition took some nine months, a record.
Wilders’ anti-Islam, anti-immigration Party for Freedom won 37 seats in the 150-seat Second Chamber of Parliament in the Nov. 22 election, putting him in pole position to succeed Rutte. But at least two potential coalition partners are balking at some of his policy pledges that they consider…
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