Groningen and Drenthe form first provincial coalition governments
Eight weeks after the provincial elections, Groningen and Drenthe have become the first of the 12 Dutch provinces to agree coalition deals.
Groningen will be run by a six-party group headed by GroenLinks, with the PvdA, ChristenUnie, VVD, CDA and D66. The left-wing green party, which emerged as the biggest after the March vote.
Together, the six parties control 25 of the 43 seats on the provincial council.
The SP had been the biggest party in Groningen but saw its support halved to four seats in the March 20 vote. It has been excluded from the coalition along with nationalist newcomer Forum voor Democratie, which won five seats.
In Drenthe the PvdA, with six seats, leads a five-party coalition with VVD, CDA, GroenLinks and ChristenUnie. The parties have 24 of the 41 council seats. Forum voor Democratie again missed out after winning six seats in the election.
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