Few options to boost purchasing power this autumn, says Dutch PM

Despite the "historically poor purchasing power figures" that came out on Friday, the possibilities are "extremely limited, if not absent" to do even more for households this year, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during his regular weekly press conference. The Central Planning Bureau (CPB) released extremely worrying figures about the consequences of inflation.

The coalition parties will discuss a purchasing power package in the coming weeks. But the measures that will be decided upon will not take effect until January at the earliest, Rutte said.

Since the spring, the government has warned that it has few resources to combat diminished purchasing power this year. "We have not ruled it out completely, but we are mainly looking at 2023," said Rutte in his first press conference after the summer vacation period. He emphasized that the Cabinet has already earmarked 7 billion euros for this year, including 1,300 euros in support for the poorest households.

But a large part of that group is already in danger of getting into financial trouble this year. One in ten children could wind up in poverty, according to the CPB report. Purchasing power will decline by an average of 6.8 percent this year. These are unique and "dramatic figures," the CPB said.

The cold, hard data masks the harrowing situations people are enduring, Rutte acknowledged. He said he understands the concerns of many Dutch people who fear that they will no longer be able to make ends meet. The opposition has accused the Cabinet of doing far too little about the money problems that more and more residents of the country are facing. Rutte emphasized that many of the measures proposed for this autumn would be difficult to implement.

Even in 2023, the Cabinet cannot completely remove the pain, but at the most soften the effects of the high prices, Rutte stated. The coalition parties have already met a few times recently, but the insights from the CPB give a starting point for the actual negotiations on the purchasing power package.

That will be a "massive package," coalition leaders said. CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra spoke in an interview about investments of at least 10 billion euros in the financial situation of households.