Dutch coalition talks deadlocked 5 months after election

The Netherlands appears to be heading toward talks to form a minority coalition after efforts to piece together a Cabinet made up of five parties from across the political spectrum broke down Tuesday

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The Netherlands appeared to be heading toward talks to form a minority coalition after efforts to piece together a Cabinet made up of five parties from across the political spectrum broke down Tuesday. More than five months after a general election left the Dutch political landscape fragmented, two key parties said they do not want to form a new government with a pair of leftist parties. The decision by caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy — known by its Dutch acronym VVD — and the CDA Christian Democrats came after months of talks between party leaders and an official who is attempting to cobble together the coalition. Jesse Klaver, leader of the Green Left party, said Rutte's refusal to talk “did not fit in the Dutch tradition” of multi-party coalition negotiations.