Amsterdam city council has appointed a new local government. Following lengthy negotiations after the March local elections, the Dutch capital will for the next four years be governed by a coalition of Labour, conservative VVD and the Green Left party.

The big winner of the local elections, the progressive liberal D66 party, dropped out of the coalition negotiations after a row with Labour over the way an interim mayor was appointed. Labour mayor Job Cohen stepped down in order to lead the national Labour party, and Labour alderman Lodewijk Asscher was appointed as caretaker mayor. D66 accused Labour of turning Amsterdam into a Labour republic, and relations between the two parties could not be mended.

Testbed
Local government groupings are often seen as foreshadowing possible coalitions on the national level. A Labour-Green-conservative combination has never governed nationally, which is likely to guarantee that national politicians will keep a close eye on how the new Amsterdam executive works. General elections will take place in the Netherlands on 9 June.

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