The cabinet is trying to structuralise its alliance with the three opposition parties who agreed to help push through 2014’s spending plans, the Volkskrant said on Wednesday.

This means the leaders of the D66 Liberal democrats and minor Christian parties ChristenUnie and SGP will be briefed on financial and economic developments by ministers every two weeks, the paper said.

The first meeting took place on Monday and lasted around 15 minutes. ‘You can see they [ministers] are happy and relieved. They can continue [in government],’ one of the three party leaders said.

Strategy

Sources told the Volkskrant that ministers have not tried to win the three parties’ support for other issues which remain outside the budget agreement. However, insiders expect they will be the first parties ministers turn to when looking for backing in other policy areas.

The cabinet does not have a majority in the upper house of parliament which it needs to ensure draft legislation comes into effect.

In return for the three parties’ support, ministers were forced to make changes to their 2014 budget plans. These included extra spending on education and earlier reforms to redundancy law and the jobless benefit system.