The Netherlands: coalition agreement unveiled
Three months after the general election, three parties in the Netherlands have agreed to form a minority government. The left-liberal D66, the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the right-liberal VDD have presented their coalition agreement. Since a future government under D66 leader Rob Jetten would only have 66 of the 150 seats in the lower house, the national media examine how open it will be open to compromise in parliament.
Time for cooperation instead of confrontation
NRC refers to planned severe cuts to pensions and the social security system:
“At the same time, this coalition claims to want to be a 'reliable and humane government'. This is a contradiction, but that's how it is with a coalition agreement that contains a number of important and painful decisions for the future. The fact that D66, CDA and VVD have set a clear course after a long period of stagnation certainly testifies to courage on their part. It is now up to the Jetten government to convince the opposition over the next four years that this is the right course. This will require The Hague to ease up on its ingrained culture of confrontation.”
Policies that benefit of the wealthy - for now
De Volkskrant sees the coalition as socially unjust but suspects it will seek compromise with the left-wing opposition:
“The changes to social security are based entirely on the assumption that they will have an 'activating' effect, while in fact they simply undermine the livelihoods of often vulnerable people. Meanwhile, large fortunes and corporate profits remain largely untouched. ... Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to assume that the new governing coalition parties have recognised that they are dependent on the support of the opposition for all their policies and that they will have to focus above all on the red-green alliance.”