Opposition parties Pro and Volt have joined forces for the next round of budget negotiations as they try to step up the pressure on the cabinet to make further concessions on social security.
Prime minister Rob Jetten said ministers had spent the last week drawing up “a new and attractive offer” addressing opposition parties’ concerns on welfare, the cost of living and replacing the “Box 3” asset tax mechanism.
Pro leader Jesse Klaver said the combined votes of his left-wing party and the pro-European Volt would give the government a “stable majority” in both houses of parliament.
An agreement with both Pro and Volt would give the coalition parties a comfortable majority in the lower house and the 16 seats it needs in the Senate, where Pro is the largest group but still needs Volt’s two seats to get over the line.
But the right-wing liberal VVD, the party of finance minister Eelco Heinen, is anxious not to make too many concessions to Pro, which would risk driving its voters away to its rivals such as JA21 and Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV.
Pick a side
“We are fighting for progress for ordinary people and a fair contribution from the super-rich,” Klaver said. “We believe in progressive co-operation.”
Volt leader Laurens Dassen said: “The world is changing rapidly. People expect politicians to work together towards a sustainable and innovative future.”
Jetten has been under pressure from the opposition on left and right to choose a side after all parties poured cold water on his hopes of finding a route through the middle.
The prime minister argued he would be “short-changing the country” if he excluded one side from the talks, but JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans said a broad approach “isn’t going to work” while Klaver warned his party would block the entire budget if the cabinet tried to do separate deals for each department.
Welfare cuts
Heinen has already agreed to postpone or cancel around half of the €6 billion cuts to welfare spending that were in the coalition agreement in February, but Pro wants the cabinet to go further.
Parties such as JA21, on the other hand, want to see even bigger welfare cuts, arguing that lower taxes are the best way to relieve the pressure on households and businesses.
Jetten and Heinen held talks on Saturday with Pro, Volt and the ChristenUnie, whose leader, Mirjam Bikker, said there had been “movement” from the coalition parties.
The ChristenUnie’s priorities are to ensure households are able to pay for essentials through the winter as energy and grocery bills rise. Bikker said it was “high time” that the coalition parties “feel the urgency” to make a deal.
BBB back on board
Later on Saturday the two ministers are due to talk to JA21 and the orthodox-protestant SGP, who have formed a right-wing alliance with 12 seats in the lower house.
Jetten and Heinen will also speak to Jan Struijs, leader of pensioners’ party 50Plus, and Henk Vermeer of the farmers’ party BBB, who are the second largest party in the Senate.
Jetten had initially said the BBB were no longer an option after the party backed a motion of no confidence during the budget debate, but he and Vermeer patched up their differences in a phone call last week.
