Left-wing parties call on caretaker cabinet to increase purchasing power

The outgoing cabinet must ensure that families, people living alone and the elderly will benefit financially next year. The PvdA and GroenLinks together called for this. They want this improvement in purchasing power to come at the expense of tax reduction for the business community.

According to the latest estimates of the Central Planning Office (CBP), purchasing power will remain the same in 2022, despite a strong economic recovery. It remains to be seen whether the cabinet will do something about this in view of its caretaker status. There is also probably little room for the salary increases in healthcare and education desired by the left-wing parties.

"People are the victims of the slow cabinet formation," concluded PvdA parliamentarian Henk Nijboer. As long as there is no progress, everything will remain the same and companies in particular can count on tax relief. "That has to change," said Nijboer.

His colleague Bart Snels of GroenLinks also denounced the "drag" of the VVD and CDA in particular, and wants a different course. According to him, companies will already benefit enough from the strong economic recovery in the coming years. "They don't need tax relief on top of that."

PvdA and GroenLinks expressed their willingness to participate in discussions about a new government coalition, but only want to do so together. VVD and CDA aren't eager to cooperate with both left-wing parties, also because they are not both necessary for a majority in parliament.