Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Monday swore in a new minority coalition government, with centrist Rob Jetten as prime minister.
Jetten becomes the youngest-ever and first openly gay prime minister in the Netherlands.
His party, pro-EU D66, won the October’s election, narrowly defeating the far-right populist Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders.
To form the new coalition, D66 joined forces with the center-right Christian Democrats and the right-wing VVD, holding just 66 of 150 seats in the lower house.
The Netherlands is usually led by majority coalitions, but a heavily fractured political landscape has made it increasingly difficult to assemble one. Former Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s government collapsed just 11 months into its term.
The new coalition also lacks a majority in the Senate, meaning it will need opposition support to pass key legislation.
Who is Rob Jetten?
Jetten was first elected to parliament in 2017 for the D66 party. He was widely nicknamed as “Robot” Jetten for his apparently pre-rehearsed responses to reporters’ questions.
Since then, he has moved to present himself as more relaxed and gained popularity over time, even reaching the final round of a prime-time television quiz called “The Smartest Person.”
Jetten also served as a cabinet minister under Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longtime prime minister and now NATO secretary-general. He championed a climate legislation package with 120 measures aimed at slashing Dutch carbon emissions by 60% in 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
He is engaged to be married to his partner Nicolás Keenan, an Argentine two-time Olympian and field hockey star.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
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