Two more negotiators have been appointed in an effort to end the impasse surrounding the formation of a new city council administration in Amsterdam.

Roger van Boxtel, a senator for the D66 Liberals, and Arjan Vliegenthart of the Socialist Party will now look at possible combinations of parties. Amsterdam is one of a handful of local authorities which have not formed a new coalition in the wake of the March local elections.

The SP and Labour party are keen to detach D66 from the right-wing VVD Liberals and form a left-leaning coalition. GroenLinks pulled out of the talks last week because of the involvement of the VVD.

D66 emerged as the biggest party after the vote with 15 out of 45 council seats. Labour has 10 and the VVD, SP and GroenLinks each have six.