New coalition government takes office in the Netherlands led by youngest-ever premier Rob Jetten

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new minority Dutch coalition government took office Monday led by the Netherlands’ youngest-ever prime minister, who will have to use all his bridge-building skills to pass laws and see out a full four-year term in office.

Rob Jetten, 38, heads a three-party administration made up of his centrist D66, the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.

In a message on X, Jetten, who is the Netherlands’ first openly gay premier, said it was “an enormous honor to be able to get to work as prime minister.”

The parties together hold only 66 of the lower house of parliament’s 150 seats, so Jetten will have to negotiate with opposition lawmakers to find support for every piece of legislation his government wants to pass. The largest opposition bloc, the newly merged Green Left and Labor Party, has already signaled it will push for changes to some of Jetten’s plans.

Jetten and his team of ministers were took their oath of office in the presence of King Willem-Alexander in the ornate Orange Hall of the royal palace in a forest on the edge of The Hague. The king wished the new government good luck “in uncertain times.”

A small group of demonstrators from the Extinction Rebellion environmental group protested outside the gates of the palace during the ceremony and sounded sirens as the new ministers lined up for a formal photo.

Following the traditional photo of the new Cabinet on the steps of the palace, the new government began work with its first Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.

The Netherlands’ main LGBTQI+ organization, COC, welcomed Jetten’s appointment.

“The new premier can be a role model for people from the rainbow community,” the group said in a statement. “It shows that your sexual orientation doesn’t have to matter. That you can become a construction worker, a doctor, a lawyer, and even prime minister.”

The government was sworn in 117 days after national elections that Jetten’s party won by a narrow margin from the Party for Freedom led by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The final result was decided only after a count of postal ballots after the fourth national election since 2017 in the politically splintered Netherlands.

Jetten’s new government took office a day before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has pledged to continue his country’s strong support for Kyiv as it battles the forces of President Vladimir Putin.

Jetten also has said he will continue spending to beef up the Dutch military in times of geopolitical uncertainty.