Formal talks on forming a new Dutch coalition government will resume on Tuesday after the holiday weekend, and chief negotiator Herman Tjeenk Willink is expected to kick off by meeting the leaders of GroenLinks and ChristenUnie, RTL news reported.

The two parties are the only realistic partners for the main block formed by the two Liberal parties VVD and D66 plus the Christian Democrats.

However, both parties were part of earlier negotiations which failed: GroenLinks pulled out because of divisions over immigration while D66 opposes ChristenUnie on ethical issues.

GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver said last week he is prepared to form a government with the other parties but that there are wide gaps between them in some policy areas. ChristenUnie has said it will only rejoin the talks if all three other parties, including D66, support its presence.

Weekend

According to the Telegraaf, efforts to form a new government did continue off the radar over the holiday weekend. Sources told the party Tjeenk Willink is doing all he can to improve the relationship between the potential partners after the disagreements of the past few days.

Sources told the paper that he aims to restore harmony first, before getting down to serious negotiations again.

The Netherlands has been without a government since the March 15 general election.