Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s fourth coalition government in a row was invested in the Netherlands on Monday January 10, ten months after the elections in mid-March. The new government, dubbed “Rutte IV”, has notably promised significant investments to fight against climate change.
This new coalition wants to build two nuclear power plants and plans to devote 35 billion euros over ten years to global warming – a major threat for the Netherlands, a third of whose territory is below sea level. Rutte, known for getting around by bicycle, the government intends to tackle the problem of global warming. “For the next generation” from a country heavily dependent on gas.
The Netherlands thus has for the first time a Minister for Climate and Energy, in the person of Rob Jetten, 34, and the new government has announced the objective of making the country climate neutral. here in 2050. But in the shorter term, one of the first tasks of the government will be to decide whether to extend the ” confinement “ in effect until Friday in the country, when SARS-CoV-2 contaminations reach record levels.
Parity government
The new government, invested in an official ceremony at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, has a record number of women, fourteen out of a total of twenty-nine ministers and secretaries of state. More specifically, out of twenty ministerial posts, ten are held by women.
One of the most important portfolios was allocated to Sigrid Kaag, who thus becomes the first female finance minister in the country. Suffering from Covid-19, she was sworn in by videoconference, which is also a first in the Netherlands. His predecessor, Wopke Hoekstra, becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In the face of ambient skepticism, Mr Rutte promised a fresh start, despite being prime minister since 2010, making him the second longest-serving European Union (EU) leader, after Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Despite a record 271 days of negotiations after the legislative elections in mid-March, the coalition is made up of the same four parties as in the last government: the center-right VVD of Mr. Rutte, the center-left D66 of Mr.me Kaag, Mr. Hoekstra’s center-right CDA and Christen Unie (conservatives).
“Restore[er] trust “
The outgoing government resigned in January 2021 following an administrative scandal in which thousands of parents were wrongly accused of child benefit fraud. Dubbed ‘Prime Minister Teflon’ for his ability to stay in power despite scandals and political crises, Mr Rutte said in December that he wanted his new government “Restores confidence”.
It will also have to tackle the housing crisis in the Netherlands, one of the most densely populated countries in the world. At the finance station therefore, Mr.me Kaag, a 60-year-old former diplomat, could also ease tensions in Brussels, the Netherlands being one of the so-called four countries. “Frugal” (with Austria, Denmark and Sweden), supporters of budgetary discipline and frequently clashing with the states of southern Europe.
Mr Rutte is expected to become the longest serving prime minister in The Hague later this year, although the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic remains politically sensitive. The far-right and coronasceptic populist Thierry Baudet has spoken out for a revolt that sparked violent riots last year. An anti-vaccine activist was also recently arrested for brandishing a lighted torch in front of Sigrid Kaag’s house.