Christian Democrat leader Henri Bontenbal was the first party leader to meet formation mediator Wouter Koolmees on Monday morning as coalition talks resumed in The Hague.

Koolmees is attempting to outline a potential new coalition government following last month’s general election, in which the Liberal Democratic party D66 emerged as the winner.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Bontenbal said he had spent the weekend making “many phone calls” with those involved in the process but declined to say with whom, broadcaster NOS reported.

“The conversations have not brought me to new insights,” he said. “I don’t think the problem lies with me. We are being constructive.”

Bontenbal would not comment on where the deadlock lies or what his coalition preference is, saying only that “the mediator will outline a route, and I will respond to that.”

The main disagreement remains between the VVD and D66. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz has ruled out a coalition involving GroenLinks-PvdA while D66 leader Rob Jetten still sees a combination involving the VVD, CDA and GroenLinks-PvdA as his preferred option.

Jetten, for his part, opposes Yesilgöz’s preferred coalition of D66, VVD, CDA and the far right JA21. Yesilgöz and Jetten are also due to meet Koolmees later this morning, separately.

Koolmees is expected to send his report to parliament on Tuesday which will  summarise how each party interprets the election outcome and which coalitions they consider feasible.

Koolmees will use his findings to give his advice on the next step in the formation process.

After the new MPs are sworn in on Wednesday, the lower house will hold a debate with Koolmees present to decide who should take the process forward — either by appointing another mediator or naming an informateur to explore a specific coalition.

Senate

Koolmees continues his meetings this afternoon with Mei Li Vos, chairwoman of  the senate. Achieving a majority in the upper house remains a key challenge for any new coalition, since new legislation also requires senate approval.

Last week, Koolmees warned that significant differences still exist between parties, though he remained hopeful of progress. However, he said the likelihood of a new cabinet being in place before Christmas was “not very high”.