The three parties forming a new coalition – D66, VVD and CDA – published their formal agreement on Friday, but the Dutch papers see a long way to go before their plans make it onto the statute books. The minority cabinet will have to work with parties from across the political spectrum and that will be anything but easy, the papers warn.

In its editorial, the NRC says the coalition’s call for cooperation and a “new political culture” is a sensible opening for a minority cabinet that lacks a majority in either house. The agreement’s emphasis on working with opposition parties, local authorities and social partners is framed as an attempt to restore trust after the chaos of the previous cabinet.

The paper highlights the scale of the defence agenda, including legally anchoring higher Nato spending and expanding the armed forces, calling these “necessary choices in an unsettled world”, but also “far-reaching”. It asks pointedly: “Who will take Jetten’s outstretched hand?”

• The main points of the coalition agreement

The NRC argues that the biggest stumbling blocks ahead lie in how the plans are paid for, pointing to deep future cuts to healthcare and social security and a faster rise in the state pension age.

That, the paper says, “sits uneasily with the coalition’s claim to want to be a reliable and humane government”, while crediting the three parties with showing political courage after a long period of paralysis.

A comparison of the coalition agreement with the three election manifestos leads to a blunt conclusion, the Volkskrant writes in its analysis. “The VVD is leaving a very heavy imprint, while D66 is making major sacrifices,” the paper says.

Income tax will rise while taxes on wealth and business assets are largely spared, and VVD positions have prevailed on issues such as keeping mortgage interest relief and lowering fuel duty, the paper says.

When it comes to climate, the Volkskrant says D66 leader Rob Jetten “certainly did not bang the drum at the negotiating table”. National climate policy is thin, the paper argues, with an emphasis on subsidies, carbon capture and storage and plans for “at least four” new nuclear power stations — all VVD and CDA priorities. Measures such as a national CO₂ levy for industry and stricter targets have been dropped.

On migration and nitrogen policy, the paper argues that D66 again moved towards its partners, accepting tougher asylum policies and weaker nitrogen targets and timelines. D66 gains, according to the Volkskrant, are limited, with the agreement containing only “relatively small amounts” for education, the rule of law, media and development cooperation.

According to the Financieele Dagblad, “the negotiations are only just beginning” for the opposition parties that will be needed to steer new legislation through parliament. The coalition agreement, the FD says, can be seen as an opening bid, with key opposition parties already positioning themselves ahead of talks on individual measures.

GroenLinks-PvdA leader Jesse Klaver has called the deal “the starting point for negotiations” and insisted that his party will only offer support in return for a “fundamental change of course”. He was particularly critical of planned cuts to healthcare and social security and of the decision to speed up the rise in the state pension age, which he said undermines long-term agreements.

The paper says the minority cabinet will have to rely heavily on deal-making in parliament and points to a central role for CDA leader Henri Bontenbal, who is staying on as parliamentary leader, where much of the political wrangling will be done.

Coalition resistance

The Telegraaf focuses on mounting resistance to the coalition’s cuts, saying the opposition is “sharpening its knives” ahead of the parliamentary debate on Tuesday. During that debate, parties will try to establish whether there is any appetite to back measures such as a faster rise in the state pension age or cuts to unemployment benefits.

Klaver has already said he wants to see a “fundamental change of course”, and other parties have also flagged their own red lines, the paper says. The BBB, for example, opposes cuts to healthcare and parts of the climate and nitrogen strategy, while several parties, including the ChristenUnie, see the pension age increase as a major problem.

The Telegraaf also reports that opposition parties are trying to avoid being played off against each other. Jan Struijs, leader of the one-man party 50Plus, says that “finding friends and forming coalitions will be our core business”, and the paper concludes that the real test will come later when the coalition’s first budget is published in September.

MPs will debate the coalition agreement on Tuesday, with Klaver, as leader of the biggest opposition party, kicking off the proceedings.