Coalition MPs back leaders’ plans, ready to “get down to work”

MPs from the three parties forming a new minority government in the Netherlands have backed the coalition agreement, which outlines the coalition’s plans for the next four years.

The agreement will be presented to the public on Friday but, according to the Telegraaf, is titled Aan de slag, or “get down to work”.

VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz said after the party’s 22 other MPs voted in favour of the package that the agreement is a “cohesive” document in which “the VVD stamp is clearly visible”.

CDA leader Henri Bontenbal, whose MPs were the last to clear the deal, said they had taken their time with a “very big document” and that he believed the CDA MPs were “pleased” with the results.

The Telegraaf said on Wednesday evening that the three parties had adopted a tough line on budgetary discipline and had agreed the deficit cannot exceed 2% of GDP. The EU limit is 3%.

The parties have also agreed to scrap an extra €50 million budget cut for the public broadcasting system, the paper said.

Prime minister-in-waiting Rob Jetten said on Tuesday that the parties were keen not to pass the bill for boosting the supply of affordable homes and improving spending on defence on to future generations.

The Financieele Dagblad said in an analysis that the three parties have already booked their first success – agreeing on a strategy within 90 days of the general election. The previous three cabinets took well over twice as long.

However, the paper points out that because the coalition is 10 seats short of a majority in the lower house and 16 seats short in the senate, the agreement marks the beginning of “continual negotiations” with opposition parties.

Once the agreement has been finalised on Friday morning and presented to the public later in the day, work will start on appointing ministers. Next week parliament will debate the agreement and Jetten will be formally named as informateur, whose job will be to lead that process.