BBB takes lead in provincial talks, D66 has no seat at the table

Pro-farmers party BBB has taken the lead in forming new administrations in all 12 provinces following its win in the provincial elections in March, news website Nu.nl reported on Friday.

But D66, which lost seats but remains a significant force in regional politics, is not included in any of the tentative coalitions so far, Nu.nl said.

The VVD is likely to be part of coalitions in nine provinces and the PvdA in eight. The Christian Democrats, who were hammered in the vote and have lost massive support to BBB, are included in six possible coalitions. Even GroenLinks could end up in as many as five coalitions, the Nu.nl analysis showed.

In Overijssel, for example, work has started on forming a coalition involving BBB, the VVD, GroenLinks, the PvdA and fundamentalist Christian SGP.

‘BBB is seeking cooperation on both sides of the political playing field but D66 does not have a seat at any negotiating table so far,’ Nu.nl said.

D66 has not ruled out working with BBB but the two parties are but are sharply divided over dealing with nitrogen. BBB and GroenLinks are also divided on the nitrogen issue but would appear to be less opposed to working with each other, Nu.nl said.