Dutch face difficult coalition talks

With the Netherlands facing the possibility of difficult negotiations over the formation of a coalition government, people have been giving their reaction on the streets of The Hague.

One woman said: “It always takes a long time. We are used to that. Sometimes it takes months. Hopefully it will only take a few weeks. People are under a lot of pressure to get things done.”

A man said: “I think Cohen would be the most trusted man, but anyhow it will be very difficult. I don’t think Rutte is going to make it so it will be fairly lasting … like a Belgium time.”

People have also been reacting to news of Jan Peter Balkenende being ousted after eight years in office.

One man said: “He worked very hard. He really gave the best of himself, but with such a great number of parties it just didn’t work. He could not honour the commitments he made before the elections.”

There may be the prospect of drawn-out coalition talks, but it seems many will not mind if that leads to a stable government that can stay in office.

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