Two The Hague city councillors have left their respective parties and joined the party set up by Richard de Mos, which was sidelined in the most recent coalition negotiations because De Mos was facing corruption charges.

The move means the current coalition, made up of six parties, no longer has a majority on the city council. Between them, GroenLinks, Denk, PvdA, CDA, Partij voor de Dieren and D66 now have 22 seats out of 45.

Mairan Sewtahal (previously PvdA) and Ismet Bingöl (CDA) have switched to Hart voor Den Haag, saying that De Mos’s party actually listens to locals, particularly when it comes to controversial traffic and parking measures.

De Mos was cleared of corruption by the appeal court earlier this year and said during a debate on Thursday that what happens next is up to the minority coalition. There was also a coalition crisis in the city in 2023, when the VVD pulled out.

Hart voor Den Haag now has 11 council seats, making it by far the biggest opposition party on the council.  The next local elections are in 2026.