AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Three right-leaning Dutch parties which broke off talks to form a new government last week said Tuesday they were ready to resume negotiations, after a dissident from one of the parties quit parliament.
VVD Liberals, Christian Democrats (CDA) and the Freedom Party said they wanted to reopen the talks called off by Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders Friday after a split in the CDA.
Their announcement came as parliament debated the failure of the negotiations and head of state Queen Beatrix consulted with politicians on how to solve the impasse.
The queen was set to consult her closest advisors again on Tuesday evening, the state information service said.
She needs to decide whether to reopen the informal talks or consider an alternative, such as starting formal talks or seeking broader political support. The queen appoints someone to chair the coalition talks and gives them a mission letter.
After a heated internal debate, the leader of the CDA dissidents, Ab Klink, said Monday he was leaving parliament. Klink had tried to stop the CDA concluding a deal with Wilders due to concern over his Freedom Party (PVV)'s views on Islam. The PVV says it wants to expel Muslims from the country.
Wilders told reporters after a meeting of his parliamentary faction Tuesday the decision by Klink to step down had "removed the main obstacle" to resuming the talks.
The Netherlands has been without a permanent cabinet since February 20, when the government collapsed in a dispute over whether to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
MARKETS UNAFFECTED
Earlier coalition talks between the CDA, VVD and Labor had foundered on the size of an austerity package. Word the latest coalition talks were to resume had no significant impact on financial markets.
There is virtually no chance of a new government before the current caretaker government presents a 2011 budget on September 21. It will contain around 3 billion euros in austerity measures to cut a budget deficit expected to top 6 percent of gross domestic product this year.
Klink was the right-hand man of CDA leader Maxime Verhagen, who told reporters Tuesday he was convinced his party could reach a deal with Wilders and Liberals leader Mark Rutte, while adding: "There are many surprises in these formation talks, I have stopped making predictions."
Labor leader Job Cohen, whose party came second in the June 9 election, called for talks on a broader coalition. The Liberals led in the election while the CDA, which has held power for most of the last 40 years, dropped to fourth place.
A Maurice de Hond poll of 2,000 people released Sunday found that neither a right-leaning nor a left-leaning coalition would get majority public support, while the populist Freedom Party extended its leading position.
The latest talks aim to form a government combining the VVD and CDA with an agreement for parliamentary support by the PVV, which would have no ministers in the cabinet. Such a government would have 79 seats in the 150-seat parliament.
Historically it has taken an average of 87 days to form a Dutch government after an election. In the longest period so far, almost seven months passed in 1977 before CDA leader Dries van Agt formed a coalition government with the VVD.
(Additional reporting by Ben Berkowitz; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
