The clearing was not forthcoming, but the culture sector ‘now craves for ambitious policy’

Now that the government coalition has ended, the culture sector is saying goodbye to a cabinet that was not expected. The coalition did not formulate cultural policy when it took on, but did announced a financial setback: the VAT on culture would be increased. And the largest government participant, the PVV, had made it clear in its election program that “nonsensical” culture subsidies had to be put to an end.

The dark clouds who took themselves together with the cabinet’s appointment above the cultural world have largely blown over in the eleven months that the coalition lasted. Yet the relationship between culture and coalition has remained bad. The cabinet has meant ‘little’ for the cultural sector, Jeroen Bartelse of the Arts Association Arts ’92 resumes. Cultural policy has “almost stopped,” he says. The cultural and creative sector now craves “ambitious” cultural policy, “in times of polarization, society can use attention and investments for what binds us instead of what separates us.”

Arts ’92 warned last year with, among other things, the Cultuurfonds for a ‘stacking of measures’ from the coalition that would cost the culture sector millions. Those measures, including the VAT increase, cutbacks at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and adjustment of the gift deduction have largely been better than expected.

A lot of energy from the culture sector went to the lobby against the VAT increase, which should be for culture, books, sports and accommodation from 9 to 21 percent. It was a measure that none of the coalition partners wanted to be publicly in favor. The increase was definitively deleted in April, in the Spring Memorandum.

Unrest about subsidies

There was no cut on the multi -year culture subsidies, yet the distribution of money has led to much unrest. That was because one day after the cabinet took office last year, it became known how the government subsidy would be distributed for the next four years, and that well -known and beloved theater companies in particular fell outside the boat. But that was not necessarily due to the actions of the Cabinet Schoof, which had not been handed in the conditions for cultural subsidies, and the assessment of the applications is done by experts from the field.

The culture sector hoped that OCW minister Eppo Bruins (NSC) would come up with a solution for the renowned theater companies that lost their subsidy. He did not do that, even from the House of Representatives, the support was not sufficient to get that arranged, something that did happen during earlier subsidy rounds. Where the minister did intervene with extra money, the unintended loss of talent development for classical music is unintended.

Something has been cut on the cultural budget of OCW: ten million euros. Against the substantial cuts that the ministry implemented across the board, that is an amount to be oversee. Due to a combination of cutbacks, also on development cooperation, organizations have risen problems that work on international cultural policy. The Prins Claus Fund and the Cultural Emergency Response organization must look for alternative financing to continue to exist.

Revision

Before the concerns about the deleted VAT increase, the culture lobby had its arrows aimed at another large policy issue: the way in which the culture subsidies are distributed. The subsidy system must be reformed, concluded former D66-State Secretary Gunay Uslu in 2023: the way in which the money was distributed until then prevented renewal. With input from a few hundred people from the sector, the Council for Culture came up with a new vision, a redesign of the subsidy system. At the plan that the culture sector was in large numbers, Minister Bruins said: too expensive. Last month the Council for Culture came up with a proposal on how improvements could still be made, without spending extra money. Based on this, the minister would come up with a plan for adjustments to subsidy sets before the summer. As soon as the cabinet is outgoing, the House of Representatives will determine which subjects it is ‘controversial’, on which subjects the cabinet may still make decisions, and which it should be for the next cabinet.

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