D66, CDA starts "wrestling" over coalition outline after speaking with experts
After meeting with dozens of experts, D66 leader Rob Jetten and CDA leader Henri Bontenbal have reached the point where they start working on their coalition document, with which they hope to attract other parties at a later date. The time has arrived where they “also have to wrestle” over decisions, Jetten said on Wednesday, NOS reports.
The two party leaders promised that they are keeping other parties in mind when drafting the agreement. “You’re constantly thinking about them,” Jetten said. “How do you write an agenda that others will also be attracted to?”
Bontenbal added that they wouldn’t pander, however. “We think everything we write is brilliant, of course, but if all the parties think so, it might mean that no clear-cut choices have been made.”
It is not yet clear when they will approach other parties, but it will be in the near future. Bontenbal said that they don’t know yet how long the writing phase will take, but he added that “informal contacts have already been established.” He didn’t say with which parties.
Both parties are confident that they’ll be ready for the next step before the December 9 deadline set by the formation informateur, Sybrand Buma (CDA).
On Wednesday, the two party leaders met with the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB). During that meeting, the advisory body reiterated to the D66 and the CDA that the government can’t keep spending more money.
After his meeting with Jetten and Bontenbal, CPB director Pieter Hasekamp said he warned them that additional spending by the preceding Cabinets often didn’t amount to much beyond leading to an even tighter labor market.
“These are political choices, but just more of everything won’t work,” Hasekamp said. “The Dutch economy can only handle a certain increase in expenditure. At some point, these expenditures and revenues will have to become more balanced.”
