The two cabinet negotiators Uri Rosenthal and Jacques Wallage met queen Beatrix on Wednesday afternoon to brief her on the latest failure to put together a new coalition.

The general election took place on June 9, but the Netherlands has been without effective government since the end of February when the coalition collapsed.
Talks on forming a coalition between the two Liberal parties, Labour and GroenLinks broke down on Tuesday after the parties failed to agree on reforming government finances. Earlier efforts to form a right-wing alliance with the VVD, anti-Islam PVV and Christian Democrats also failed.
The negotiators are expected to brief the press after the meeting.
What next?
It is not at all clear what will happen next. Beatrix is expected to consult a number of her political advisors before any new attempts to form a coalition are made.
The four parties were in their third week of talks on forming a so-called purple plus cabinet, named after the combination of party colours.
VVD leader Mark Rutte said a very real effort had been made to bridge the differences between the parties but in the end the talks ‘broke down over the finances’, Nos tv reported.
Cuts
The VVD wants to make cuts between now and 2015 of €18bn – a figure the party says is the bare minimum. Labour, D66 and GroenLinks say this was too much.
There are also sharp differences between them about reforming mortgage tax relief and introducing a tax on motoring.
The VVD is opposed to cuts in the mortgage tax break and road pricing. The other parties want mortgage reform and a kilometre tax.
Definitive
Rutte described the break as definitive. ‘There will not be a purple cabinet,’ he was quoted as saying.
The other parties were less final. ‘I never say never,’ Labour leader Job Cohen said.
‘We knew before we started it would be difficult. Everyone did their very best,’ the Telegraaf quoted him as saying.
D66 leader Alexander Pechtold and GroenLinks’ Femke Halsema both said they were very disappointed with the outcome.
More on this:
Few options open to Liberal leader
What should happen next? Take part in our poll