Wilders rejects combined budget negotiations with Prime Minister Schoof

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), has rejected a proposal by Prime Minister Schoof to negotiate education, health care, and foreign aid budgets simultaneously. Wilders declared on X, formerly Twitter, that his party had already made enough compromises. "We are not doing this," he stated firmly.

The debate over the education budget has exposed divisions within the Dutch coalition government, which comprises PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB and has no majority in the Senate. Talks with opposition parties have been ongoing in an attempt to secure support, but tensions have mounted over funding priorities and policy concessions.

Coalition and opposition parties have less than a week to finalize the education budget. The opposition bloc—including D66, CDA, CU, SGP, and JA21—has demanded that the government reduce planned education cuts by 1.3 billion euros. Coalition insiders suggest the final compromise will involve a lower reduction.

Opposition leaders have proposed adjusting the government’s planned halving of health care deductibles to redirect funds to education. However, Wilders and the BBB have categorically refused to consider this option.

The deductible reduction, agreed upon by coalition parties earlier this year, has become a non-negotiable point in the talks.

Opposition negotiators expressed little surprise at the veto from PVV and BBB. “Our alternative financial plan is simply an opening bid,” one opposition representative said. “Our core goal is to mitigate education cuts. How we achieve that is open for discussion.” Negotiations continue behind closed doors, with party leaders expected to reconvene on Monday to assess progress.

However, some coalition members remain hopeful that the Christian opposition parties—CDA, CU, and SGP—will avoid bringing down the government.