Four-party coalition led by De Mos agrees deal to run The Hague

Four parties have agreed to form a city government to run The Hague, nearly four months after the local elections in March.

The coalition will be led by Hart voor Den Haag (HvDH), the right-wing populist party led by Richard de Mos, with the right-wing liberal VVD, the Christian Democrats (CDA) and left-wing Denk as junior partners.

HvDH became the largest party at the local elections, winning 16 of the 45 seats on the council. De Mos hoped initially to share power with one of the next two largest parties, D66 or the left-wing alliance GroenLinks-PvdA, since rebranded as Progressief Nederland (PRO).

But talks with D66 broke down in May after two months when the parties were unable to agree on how to house the 2,200 asylum seekers who the city is obliged to take in under the so-called “spreading law”, designed to distribute refugees evenly through the country.

HvDH will have twice as many seats in the new coalition as its three partners put together, with a slender majority of three seats.

The inclusion of Denk has raised eyebrows, as the party’s vote comes mainly from the city’s minority ethnic communities, while De Mos is a former MP for Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV party. But Denk also shared power in Rotterdam until this year with another local right-wing party, Leefbaar Rotterdam.

Asylum row

De Mos had vowed to impose a freeze on asylum accommodation, but Denk and the CDA are committed to meeting the city’s quota. A plan to accommodate most of the refugees on a former hospital site on Sportlaan is likely to be scrapped in favour of smaller-scale facilities.

The parties are also expected to water down plans to extend an emission-free zone along the coastal strip from Kijkduin to Scheveningen and instead promote car ownership. All four parties argue that large numbers of people in the city are dependent on their cars.

The administration is set to appoint 10 aldermen, with five for HvDH, two each for the VVD and Denk and one for the CDA. Two of the officials will have to work part-time because local government laws only permit 9.8 full-time equivalents.

De Mos is expected to take up one of the posts, with VVD leader Lotte van Basten Batenburg, Denk’s current alderman for work and participation Nur Icar and CDA leader Kavish Partiman also cited as potential members of the team.

Local news broadcaster Omroep West speculated that HvDH could find a role for the former health minister Fleur Agema, who was an MP with Wilders’ PVV party at the same time as De Mos.