Modi Congratulates Netherlands’ New PM Rob Jetten

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Rob Jetten on assuming charge as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and said he was looking forward to working closely with him to add further momentum to the growing ties between the two countries.

Jetten is the youngest Prime Minister of the Netherlands and assumed office on Monday.

In a post on X, Modi wrote: "Congratulations Mr. Rob Jetten on assuming office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. India and the Netherlands share an extensive relationship across diverse sectors. I look forward to working closely with you to add further momentum to the growing ties between our two countries and people."

Jetten, 38, heads a three-party administration made up of his centrist D66, the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

Netherland's Youngest Prime Minister Rob Jetten Takes Oath

AMSTERDAM, Feb 23: The new Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who was formally sworn in on Monday by King Willem-Alexander at the Huis ten Bosch Palace.

The new Netherlands cabinet is a coalition of members from three parties including the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66) and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

Rob Jetten, 38-year-old centrist, has become the country's youngest-ever prime minister and the first openly gay one.

Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders by a razor-thin margin.

The snap election was called after the PVV withdrew from the previous coalition, the Netherlands' most right-wing government in recent history, which lasted just 11 months.

Jetten's D66 has teamed up with the centre-right CDA party and the liberal VVD to form a coalition, but will fall nine seats short of a parliamentary majority with only 66 seats.

The parties took 117 days to form their coalition -- much less than the 223 days taken to form the previous government.

After his election victory, Jetten declared that it was possible to beat populist movements "if you campaign with a positive message for your country".

On the campaign trail, Jetten said he wanted to "bring the Netherlands back to the heart of Europe because without European cooperation, we are nowhere".

In a manifesto published in January, the three parties pledged full support for Ukraine and vowed to live up to the country's NATO spending commitments.

Although the new government is not as far to the right as the previous one, it still has a "right-wing signature", according to Sarah de Lange, a professor of politics at Leiden University.

"The coalition has opted for budget cuts rather than running a deficit to finance any investments it wants to make" and there is "substantial continuity between the immigration plans of the new government and the previous one", De Lange said.

The parties have pledged to press ahead with a crackdown on migration, including measures such as tougher rules on family reunification.

They also want to cut social benefits, including unemployment benefits, to help finance proposed investments in the military and defence.

But since the coalition will rely on support from opposition parties to pass legislation, "getting larger reforms passed by parliament might take longer than usual", De Lange said.

Jetten and his cabinet will be sworn in on Monday by King Willem-Alexander at the Huis Ten Bosch in The Hague.

The prime minister in waiting was initially more keen on a broad coalition including the left-leaning Groenlinks/PvdA, but this was firmly opposed by VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz.

Wilders, who shook Europe's political scene to the core with a shock election win in November 2023, saw his fortunes plummet in last year's election.

His PVV party plunged from 37 seats in 2023 to 26 seats after what was widely seen as a lacklustre campaign.

The PVV still finished in second place, but all parties in the coalition had ruled out working with Wilders, leaving him sitting on the sidelines.

Other far-right parties have made inroads in Europe's fifth-largest economy, however, the Forum for Democracy, led by 28-year-old Lidewij de Vos, gained four seats in the 2025 election with a message against "uncontrolled immigration" and "the hopeless EU".

Hard-right party JA21 also shot up the rankings, gaining eight seats and nearly securing a place at the cabinet table before being blocked by Jetten.

Taiwan congratulates new Netherlands Prime Minister

TAIPEI, Feb 24: Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated the new Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

The MOFA said that Taiwan and the Netherlands share common values of democracy, freedom, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The bicameral legislature known as the States General of the Netherlands passed ten Taiwan-friendly resolutions from 2024 to 2025. In 2024, the Dutch government dispatched naval vessels to the Taiwan Strait for the first time.

The Netherlands is Taiwan’s second largest trade partner in Europe and the largest source of foreign investment into Taiwan. The MOFA pledged to deepen collaboration in industrial supply chains, semiconductors and technological innovation to benefit both sides. (POC-E)