SP will only work with cabinet dedicated to fighting inequality

Left-wing socialist party SP has always been part of the opposition, but after the parliamentary election next week, the party wants to rule in a cabinet dedicated to fighting inequality. "Ultimately we want everyone in the Netherlands to have an equal chance," SP leader Lilian Marijnissen said in an interview with NU.nl. 

The SP wants fair wages, to tackle rent increases, more investment in safety and education, and less influence from market forces in healthcare. 

To achieve these goals, Marijnissen doesn't think working with current ruling party VVD is a good option. "They are at the bottom of the list. I think it would be very good for the Netherlands if there would be a cabinet without the VVD," she said to the newspaper. Like PvdA leader Lilianne Ploumen, Marijnissen believes that many Netherlands residents vote for Mark Rutte, and not so much his party. "But the point is: with Mark Rutte you get the VVD for free."

The SP's ideal coalition would be "one that breaks with the policy of the past years," Marijnissen said. "So that is breaking with the expansion of the dichotomy, breaking with the economic idea that everyone will do well if the top is doing well. That means breaking with market forces gone wild and means investing more in the public sector. If I were in charge, I would first invite parties who want to do that with us." And that means looking first to the left, she said. "PvdA and GroenLinks."

The SP doesn't have a hard breaking point for cabinet formation talks, Marijnissen said. "I think if you want to form [a cabinet], you have to talk about everything. You cannot get your way 100 percent. But I cannot imagine participating in a cabinet that would not tackle inequality in the Netherlands," she said.

"Ultimately, we want everyone in the Netherlands to have an equal chance. When you see that children grow up in a family where there is so little money that they can't do sports or cannot even go to school with a decent breakfast, I don't think it fits in a wealthy country like the Netherlands."