Prime minister Rob Jetten emerged from two days of debate on his government declaration with enough support to start governing, but with major political battles ahead, Dutch papers said in their analyses of the debate.

The new minority cabinet of D66, VVD and CDA holds 66 seats and must find shifting majorities for every proposal. “We want to be a cabinet of cooperation,” Jetten said repeatedly during the debate, stressing again his willingness to work with the opposition.

Jesse Klaver, leader of the biggest opposition party GroenLinks-PvdA, called it “a respectful debate”, but beneath the civility opposition parties made clear they are deeply unhappy with key elements of the coalition agreement.

The most contentious issue was the plan to accelerate the rise in the state pension age from 2033, linking it more closely to life expectancy.

Hours before the second day began, unions FNV, CNV and VCP said they would refuse to hold talks with the cabinet unless the plan was withdrawn. Klaver said the move amounted to “a slap in the face” for unions that had backed the earlier pensions deal.

Jetten insisted there is room to adjust the plan, saying the cabinet is prepared to consider alternatives.

Other points of contention also surfaced. A majority in the lower house wants the cabinet to map the impact on vulnerable groups before cutting social security, and the plans to curb spending on healthcare and cut unemployment and disability benefits face uncertain support, particularly in the senate.

On asylum and nitrogen policy – issues that dominated previous debates – exchanges between the government and MPs were, however, relatively brief.

Far-right leader Geert Wilders attacked what he called an empty asylum policy, but Jetten brushed his comments aside. “I’m not as agitated about it as Mr Wilders,” he said.

At the close of the debate on Thursday evening, Jetten struck an upbeat note, describing the exchanges as “calm” and “substantive”.

“The assignment is now clear,” he said.

Klaver warned Jetten not to rely too heavily on ad hoc deals. “Be careful with too many makeshift coalitions,” he said. “Before you know it, you don’t have a permanent formation but a permanent chaos.”