Right-wing coalition agreement "disastrous," filled with fantasies, opposition says

The center and left-wing opposition parties are critical of the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB’s newly presented coalition agreement. GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans described it as “disastrous” and “built on quicksand.” Rob Jetten of the D66 said it was made up of fantasies.

Timmermans, leader of the largest opposition party, said that the new government will “really be a PVV Cabinet” in response to the coalition agreement. “Wilders will be in the center of power. I find that very worrying,” he told the media.

“It was promised that people would make progress. That the minimum wage would be increased. Unemployment benefits are being cut. Civil servants are being put on the zero line while there is enough money to also grow their salaries. When you are talking about social security and you focus mainly on lining the wallets of shareholders and directors, then you undermine solidarity in the Netherlands,” the GroenLinks-PvdA leader said.

Timmermans wondered whether VVD and NSC voters also wanted such a prominent role for the PVV in the Netherlands. “This country that is so in need of reconciliation and building bridges is now putting someone at the center of power who has been dividing it for 20 years.”

The coalition agreement contains a few good things, but Timmermans hopes they don’t distract from the fact that the Netherlands will be government with “the dominance of a radical right-wing party.”

D66 leader Rob Jetten said the coalition agreement is full of fantasies and built on “financial quicksand” with no insight into the consequences. He spoke of a “shaky coalition” and criticized cuts to climate and education. “More manure and less nature will not make it easier to build homes,” he said. He is “not at all impressed” by the four parties’ promises, expecting that many of them will prove impossible to fulfill.

D66 parliamentarian and the outgoing State Secretary for Mining Hans Vijlbrief said on X that he’ll ask the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) to calculate the agreement's main lines. He spoke of a “messy financial substantiation without insight into outcomes.”

ChristenUnie parliamentarian Pieter Grinwis will also ask the CPB to have a look at the agreement.

CDA leader Henri Bontenbal thinks the agreement is lacking when it comes to solving “major problems that will arise in the future.” He sees no answers in the agreement for addressing the increasing pressure on an already overburdened healthcare system due to the aging population, for example. There is also no long-term vision for pensions, he said.

The CDA will assess the plans the coalition parties submit on a case-by-case basis to see whether they can support them. But for now, Bontenbal sees a “lot of ingrained disappointment in the agreement.”

According to SP leader Jimmy Dijk, this will be a government for the “rich right.” He specifically criticized the proposals to combat poverty. “The promised social progress is lacking.” There are a few small measures addressing energy and income, but these are very disappointing. He also thinks the decrease in the healthcare deductible in 2027 is too late.

At the same time, the new government spares rich shareholders. There is nothing about taxing large assets, while that is exactly where you should start, he said.