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 and the first openly gay one. 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". On the campaign trail, Jetten said he wanted to "bring the Netherlands back to the heart of Europe because without European cooperation, we are nowhere". — AFP
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