New cabinet poses with queen, but had to be sworn in twice

The new Liberal-Labour Dutch cabinet, made up of 12 ministers and prime minister Mark Rutte, was officially sworn in on Monday.


The ceremony was broadcast live on television for the first time in history, an event which did not proceed completely smoothly.
An early start meant some of the swearing-in took place during the Nos advertising break. The ceremony was then repeated so Nos could sent it out in its entirety, but not live. RTL broadcast the entire swearing-in as it happened.

According to Nos television, the queen did not want to carry out the ceremony a second time, and was recorded off air as saying it would make a ‘theatre play’ of the process.
Fast work
The formation of the new cabinet has taken 54 days which is much faster than the average 83 days it takes to put a majority administration together.
The number of women in this cabinet is a record, with women holding five of the 13 ministers’ posts, according to news agency ANP.
DutchNews.nl has prepared a two-page pdf listing the ministers and junior ministers, as well as the main policies, which can be downloaded here.
Your thoughts on the new cabinet? Have your say using the comment box below.

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