Going Dutch: Look out, German coalition talks could be long

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — As Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany embarks on the task of piecing together a new ruling coalition after Sunday’s knife-edge election, observers need only look to its neighbors, Belgium and the Netherlands, to see how tricky the process can be. Parties in the Netherlands have been negotiating on and off for more than six months since an election in March and still no coalition is in sight. Across the border in Belgium, Alexander De Croo’s government was formed a year ago, ending almost 500 days of talks, caretaker cabinets and a minority coalition to see the country through the start of the COVID pandemic. And after four inconclusive elections in two years, Israel’s current eight-party government is unlike anything seen before.