Fourth Rutte Gov't Sworn In As Lockdown Decision Looms

The fourth gov't of PM Mark Rutte was sworn in earlier today, ending a record period of demissionary gov't in the Netherlands. It is 299 days since the last election, and the new gov't has the same composition as the previous one, with Rutte's centre-right liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) joined in coalition by the centrist liberal Democrats 66 (D66), the centrist Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), and the social conservative Christian Union (CU).

• The swearing-in of the new gov't Cabinet (with a stronger role for D66 following its strong performance in the 2021 general election) comes as the gov't weighs up the decision on whether to end or phase out the COVID lockdown restrictions currently in place.
• The COVID situation in the Netherlands, combined with a sizeable swath of the population opposed to lockdowns, has seen public support for Rutte fall to new lows.
• The Netherlands was previously seen as an example of cooperative coalition politics, but the political landscape has become much more polarised during the course of the pandemic, making compromise between political parties a more difficult task. This in turn could see a more combustible atmopshere for the four-party gov't to work in over the coming months.