Prime minister says ‘broad’ support needed for new savings

A €9bn package of spending cuts currently being drawn up by the minority government and anti-immigration PVV will require support from a broad group of opposition parties, prime minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly news conference on Friday.


The coalition has lost its overall majority in parliament following the decision of PVV parliamentarian Hero Brinkman to leave the party but stay on as an independent.
Rutte said this ‘special political situation’ meant he would be looking to all 11 parties represented in parliament for support. ‘We are going to go very broad,’ he said.
Party funding
For example, legislation on transparency in political party funding would need opposition support because it is not supported by the PVV, the prime minister pointed out.
Rutte refused to go into any more details about the talks on finding new savings, saying that it is in the interest of the negotiations to remain silent. Nor would he say how long they are likely to last.
However, reports that all government proposals which involve spending money have been cancelled are untrue, the prime minister said.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation