Almost half a year after the parliamentary elections, the Netherlands still does not have a new government. However, the economy is offering consolation: growth in 2018 is targeted to be a healthy 2.5 percent.

According to local media, coalition negotiations have been tough and tedious. Given the clear fragmentation in parliament and the overarching wish to isolate the right-wing Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders, incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been having a hard time finding the coalition partner he needs, despite his success in the elections. The social-democratic Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) suffered a major defeat in spring and now wants to move to the opposition.  

In 1977, it took an extremely long 208 days for a government to be formed, even without the problem of having to deal with the strong right-wing party of the time. Meanwhile, Geert Wilders refers to a survey conducted by the Telegraaf newspaper, according to which just 13 percent of voters believe that integration problems resulting from migration can be solved as previously done. However, consolation comes in the form of the economy: growth in 2018 is targeted to be a healthy 2.5 percent.