Dutch cabinet formation delayed after death of GreenLeft leader's mother

The negotiations for a new Dutch government will be delayed for one day next Tuesday due to the funeral of the mother of green lefties leader Jesse Klaver, government explorer Edith Schippers announced on Friday.

The mother of Klaver suffered from a stroke and had to be taken to hospital earlier this month. For that reason Klaver already had to leave the negotiation table temporarily two weeks ago. His mother has now passed away and will have her funeral on Tuesday.

Klaver was born on May 1, 1986 in Roosendaal in the province of North Brabant when his mother had a young age. He grew up without his father, and was raised by his mother of Dutch-Indonesian descent and his grandparents.

During his campaign for the Dutch elections, Klaver had regularly praised the role of his mother in his life. Klaver's party GroenLinks became the biggest winner of the elections, with a rise of 10 seats from 4 to 14 seats compared to the previous elections.

The negotiations for a government coalition between GroenLinks, the rightist liberals VVD, the Christian Democrats CDA and the leftist liberals D66 started on March 29, two weeks after the parliamentary elections.

The negotiators currently have a spring break of one week and to continue next Monday. Outgoing Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Edith Schippers leads the negotiations. Endit