Caretaker prime minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte and Labour leader Diederik Samsom have confidence they can work together well, they told reporters on Monday afternoon.

Both party leaders had talks with coalition negotiator Henk Kamp on Monday morning and said after the meeting they plan to begin concrete talks after Thursday. After the talks, they both made a short statement to the press. Both of us have confidence we can have a ‘fruitful’ alliance, Rutte said.
The new-look lower house of parliament will debate Kamp’s report on the formation process so far on Thursday.
Danger
During the election campaign, Rutte described Labour as a danger to the Netherlands and some commentators believe a third party may be added to the coalition to bridge the gap between left and right.
However, the two party leaders did not make any comment about the potential involvement of a third party in the coalition.
The VVD, part of the outgoing government, won 41 seats in the 150-seat parliament in last week’s general election. The PvdA took 38, making a cabinet involving both parties a natural choice.
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