Prime minister Mark Rutte steered the government’s 2012 spending plans smoothly through parliament on Thursday, despite hostile clashes with PVV leader Geert Wilders.

Rutte agreed to accept three out of 28 motions for changes to the plans submitted by MPs, but none of the changes involve extra money, the NRC reports.
Rutte agreed to a motion which would give inner city schools more money to help children with Dutch language difficulties, but the cash will come from council funds.
He also agreed to the SGP’s demands that extra help for poor families be spread over more than just the first two children. The fundamentalist Christian party’s supporters include many large families.
Red tape
The prime minister also agreed to a motion which would encourage social organization to do more to generate their own income and reduce the red tape affecting this.
A majority of MPs also backed a motion stating that the government may not cut spending on development aid below 0.7% of GDP. Wilders says the aid budget should be cut further if the government needs to make more reductions in spending.
With the main budget debate now over, attention will turn to the individual ministry spending plans. These will come under the spotlight over the next few weeks.