Dutch parties agree on rare minority government, Rob Jetten to be youngest PM

Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands have agreed to form a rare minority government, they said on Tuesday (January 27).

The centrist pro-EU D66 party, which won the election last October, will team up with the conservative Christian Democrats and the right-wing VVD in a coalition that will only hold 66 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament.

The coalition also lacks a majority in the upper-house Senate, which can block legislation that has been passed in the lower house, and will have to seek support for its policies among opposition parties.

The government will be led by D66 leader Rob Jetten, 38, who will become the youngest prime minister in Dutch history.

The parties' members of parliament will be asked to confirm the agreement in the coming days, with an official presentation of the pact expected on Friday (January 30).

Other cabinet posts will be filled in the coming weeks, and the government is expected to be officially installed within a month.