The three parties forming the new Dutch coalition government presented their plans for the next four years on Friday, including a higher own-risk element in healthcare insurance, no change to mortgage tax relief and a income tax based €3 billion “freedom contribution” for defence spending.

“People expect solutions,” said D66 leader Rob Jetten, who is poised to become the Netherlands’ youngest prime minister at the age of 38. “I would call this a ‘cabinet of collaboration’. Let us pool our strengths in and outside parliament, with social organisations, industry and everyone living here.”

The tasks ahead are major he said, “but the Netherlands became a great country through collaboration. History shows us that make advances is something that you do together.”

The cabinet plans to invest heavily in defence, with €19 billion earmarked over the coming years. It will invest €1 billion a year from 2029 in building affordable homes and introduce annual income checks for social housing tenants.

It aims to hire more neighbourhood police officers and  cybercrime investigators and to boost spending on prisons by €100 million. It also plans to charge football clubs when police are needed to ensure public safety at matches.

Everyone will be asked to pay a “freedom contribution” via income tax, ultimately raising more than €3 billion a year, and the healthcare own-risk charge will rise from €385 to €460.

The new administration also plans to introduce major cost-cutting measures in healthcare and social security, including cutting unemployment benefit from two years to one. At the same time, the previous cabinet’s plans to slash spending on education will be scrapped.

D66, the VVD and the CDA have put together a minority coalition that will rely on support from opposition parties in both houses of parliament to get legislation onto the statute books. The new alliance will have 66 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament and just 21 in the 76-seat senate.

That means that while the agreement contains the new government’s ambitions, it will have to negotiate with other parties to win enough support for their plans and close deals on an issue by issue basis.

Ministers

Little was leaked ahead of Friday’s publication, and insiders say this is a sign of the trust between the three parties.

Not much has been said either about who is likely to be a minister, but CDA leader Henri Bontenbal has said he will remain in the lower house. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz is tipped as a minister, with defence and justice, where she served in Mark Rutte’s last administration, seen as possible options.

The aim is to finalise the ministerial line-up so that the formal presentation to the king can take place on February 23.

More to follow