Jetten's minority cabinet hangs in the balance after weekend talks
D66, VVD and CDA met again on Sunday after the first day of weekend talks produced no announced result. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz called the minority cabinet a failed experiment.
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Illustrative photo: Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) / CC BY-SA 4.0.jpg){kind=link}
The leaders of D66, VVD and CDA resumed crisis talks at 11:00 on Sunday at the De Zwaluwenberg estate in Hilversum, with the future of Prime Minister Rob Jetten's minority cabinet at stake. By about 11:10 all six party leaders were inside.
On Saturday, Jetten and vice-premiers Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Bart van den Brink (CDA) arrived shortly after 11:00. Faction leaders Jan Paternotte (D66), Ruben Brekelmans (VVD) and Henri Bontenbal (CDA) joined around 14:45. The group left in the evening, and nobody spoke to the press. On Friday, Jetten, Yesilgöz and Van den Brink had already held hours of crisis talks.
The crisis began after D66 and CDA struck a deal with opposition parties PRO and Volt on the tax plan (Belastingplan). The PRO and Volt amendment passed the Tweede Kamer on Thursday evening with 76 seats, the narrowest possible majority. The VVD voted against the tax plan and said the deal had caught it off guard ("overvallen").
After Friday's talks, Yesilgöz said: "This minority cabinet is a failed experiment, and the coalition cannot continue like this." She demanded a "fundamental reset" and wants the cabinet's political balance restored, saying: "Too much attention is being paid to the left. That's why, for us, this is a failed experiment.". She also floated the idea of bringing another right-wing party into the cabinet.
Jetten wants to carry on and said he is open to a "a serious fresh start". Van den Brink said cooperation is "under strain" but that a solution is still possible and he is hopeful. He said the cabinet has agreed to defend the tax plan, including the PRO and Volt amendment, in the Eerste Kamer.
Jetten cancelled his Sunday trip to Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten because of the "current political situation", the RVD said. King Willem-Alexander will still attend the Statia Day celebration. Jetten has also skipped the climate summit in Antalya and an EU leaders' meeting in Dublin. The parties have agreed not to leak anything from the talks.
Source: Tweede Kamer
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