THE HAGUE, May 29 -- Dutch government minister Edith Schippers has handed in her assignment to get parties together for a new Dutch government after failing to form a majority coalition on Monday.
Although her mission failed, Schippers still sees possibilities to form a majority government. In a report presented on Monday to Khadija Arib, chairman of the lower house of parliament, she advised a "targeted intermediate step in which parties can find new willingness to negotiate with each other without conditions."
She advised to install Herman Tjeenk Willink as the new mediator.
After the elections on March 15, Schippers was installed as mediator by the Dutch parliament.
Schippers stated in her report that all possible majority options are opposed by one or more parties.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte's VVD won the elections with 33 out of 150 seats in the lower house of the parliament, before the PVV (20 seats), the CDA (19), D66 (19), GroenLinks (14), SP (14) and the PvdA (9).
"These results ask for a formation which takes more time," Schippers stated on Monday, adding that "Parties have to cross over to parties that are far away in terms of their principles and opinions."
She, meanwhile proposed Tjeenk Willink, 75 and retired PvdA politician, for new mediator.
Willink played an important role in the formation of the first government of prime minister Wim Kok in 1994 and was the mediator during the formation of the first cabinet of current PM Mark Rutte in 2010.