Centre-right party NSC has called for the minimum wage to be raised to €18 an hour and dental check-ups to be included in the basic health insurance package in its draft election manifesto.

The party founded two years ago by former Christian Democrat MP Pieter Omtzigt has toned down its plans for constitutional reform to concentrate on its other main theme, bestaanszekerheid or improving basic living standards.

NSC also wants to simplify the tax system by phasing out the complex tax credits mechanism and scrap incentives that fail to meet their objectives.

The tax credit system was at the heart of the childcare benefits scandal that led to families being financially ruined when they were wrongly targeted as fraudsters by the tax office and ordered to pay back tens of thousands of euros.

However, NSC has no plans to abolish the much-criticised mortgage tax relief scheme that has been blamed for driving up house price inflation and income inequality.

NSC’s support has collapsed dramatically since the general election of November 2023, when it won 20 seats just three months after being founded. Opinion polls suggest it could be wiped out when the next election is held on October 29.

Clashes between Omtzigt and the other leaders in the four-party coalition, notably Geert Wilders of the PVV, have blighted its short history. Omtzigt quit politics altogether in April after several spells of absence with burnout symptoms.

MPs defecting

NSC has also lost several MPs and potential candidates in recent weeks: asylum spokesman Diederik Boomsma has joined anti-immigration party JA21, pensions specialist Agnes Joseph has switched to the farmers’ party BBB and Aant Jelle Soepboer has quit as an MP to become leader of the Frisian National Party (FNP).

Party leader and caretaker social affairs minister Eddy van Hijum said the party was emphasising continuity, with many sections of the 93-page draft manifesto unchanged from the 2023 edition.

One section that has been cut down is asylum policy, where NSC has not committed itself to abolishing permanent residency for refugees even though it voted for the plan during the last government’s term. The cabinet collapsed before the law could be passed by the Senate, where NSC is not represented.

Migration cap

NSC remains committed to reducing the number of international students and migrant workers arriving in the Netherlands and wants to set an overall target for net migration of 50,000 a year.

It is also committed to raising defence spending to meet the new Nato target of 5% of GDP, including 1.5% on critical infrastructure, as well as investing in more affordable housing.

The party has not provided detailed costings for its manifesto, but in contrast to two years ago Van Hijum says he will have it assessed by the economic planning agency CPB.

Party members will debate and vote on the manifesto at a conference on September 6.