Jetten cabinet's future in doubt as VVD demands new deal
VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz demands changes to both the coalition agreement and the make-up of the cabinet, leaving the Jetten government formally intact but its future in doubt.
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Illustrative photo: Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) / CC BY-SA 4.0.jpg){kind=link}
Deputy prime minister Dilan Yesilgöz said on Friday evening that the VVD wants to renegotiate both the content of the coalition agreement and the composition of the cabinet. She spoke after almost eight hours of crisis talks on the future of the minority cabinet of D66, VVD and CDA.
The cabinet is formally still intact. "We cannot go on like this," Yesilgöz said, calling the minority coalition "a failed experiment". She accused D66 and CDA of having "made a deal with the left behind our backs".
“Journalists' closing words to MP #Jetten, which show a total lack of self-reflection: "Good luck! Thank you!" What the hell. #persconferentie #kabinetscrisis”
The row centres on the Belastingplan, the annual tax package. D66 and CDA backed an amendment from Pro and Volt under which returns on wealth are taxed for a total of €1bn extra. The VVD voted against the package on Thursday evening. D66 and CDA also secured the support of small left-wing opposition parties, including Denk and the Party for the Animals, so the VVD vote was not decisive.
“Hours of debate on the #Belastingplan. And what has cabinet-Jetten agreed with the far left? We still don't know that. It's about YOUR wallet. Do you also think: that Keijzer is doing a good job? Also become a member of Project 2029 👉🏻”
Yesilgöz wants a "substantive correction" of the coalition agreement, saying D66 and CDA have looked too much towards the left. The tax plan can no longer be changed, but she wants talks on compensating entrepreneurs for its "harmful effects". She also wants "the political balance" restored in the cabinet, preferably with an extra right-wing party.
“There have been good things happening in the recent period, but there are also things that are not going well. And that has had an effect on the mutual relationships. That can and must be better - substantively, politically and personally. This calls for fundamental conversations, which we started today and this conversation is not finished yet. The Netherlands deserves to keep moving forward.”
The question for the talks ahead is whether D66 and CDA will agree to reopen the coalition agreement and the make-up of the cabinet.
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