New Dutch government sworn into office

 On January 10, 2022, Mark Rutte was sworn is as Dutch Prime Minister for a fourth time. The new coalition government followed 229 days of intense negotiations: the longest such negotiating period in Dutch history. 

The new cabinet is formed of four political parties: the VVD, D66, the CDU; and the CU. All are clustered around the centre and centre-right of Dutch politics. The largest party, the VVD of Mark Rutte, has named proportionally the largest number of new Ministers- with the rest being allocated positions based on their vote share. 

With Mark Rutte sworn in again as Prime Minister, the D66 leader Sigrid Kaag becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance. The CDU (Christian Democratic Appeal) leader Wopke Hoekstra becomes Foreign Minister, whilst CU (Christian Union) politician Carola Schouten becomes the new Social Affairs Secretary.  

Well-known former Health Secretary Hugo De Jonge has been put in charge of housing policy. The ‘Rutte IV Cabinet’ has set its sights on achieving a net-zero energy transition, sorting out the Dutch housing crisis, and ending poverty in the Netherlands. Around half of the Cabinet are women, though unfortunately its ethnic mix does not reflect the Netherlands in general.