At age 38, Rob Jetten was sworn in as the new prime minister of The Netharlands by King Willem-Alexander on February 23. Born in the southeastern town of Uden, Jetten studied business administration before turning to politics and won his first parliamentary seat in 2017.
Once sworn in, Jetten posted on X, “Proud to be doing this together. In a new phase, which creates responsibility and, above all, a shared promise to work for everyone in the Netherlands.” He continued, “By not dwelling on what’s wrong, but by building on what can be improved. That requires courage and collaboration.”
He is the parliamentary leader of Democrats 66, a center to center-left party described as progressive, pro-European and socially liberal, with climate change, affordable housing and restoring trust in government among the topics the party has campaigned on.
Jetten picked two more parliamentary groups – People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) – to support him. Combining the seats of the three parties, they fall nine short of the majority, meaning they will work with other potentially, opposing state officials to push policies.
The minority cabinet seeks to give an extra €19bn ($22 billion) to defense forces to meet new NATO standards, with funds reportedly coming from healthcare and social security budgets.
Jetten’s slogan during his campaign was “Yes we can,” which is a clear shift from his older far-right opponent, Geert Wilders. Jetten promoted his campaign and showed glimpses of his personal life, like photos of him with his husband, Nicolas Keenan, on social media.
The LGBTQ+ organization, COC Netherlands, complimented Jetten for his historic position. Referring to him as a role model, they said, “It shows that your sexual orientation doesn’t have to matter. That you can become a construction worker, a doctor, a lawyer, and even a prime minister.”
Though celebrated as a historic achievement by many, not all parties and people agree with Jetten’s plans and policies.
Head of the Green Left-Labour Party Jesse Kalver stated, “With this coalition agreement, ordinary people are once again [footing] the bill. Cuts are being made to social security, health care, and education.” He continued: “If the right-wing [and] minority government wants our support, a fundamentally different course is needed.”