The coalition does not have a majority in the Senate, something the opposition from left to right took advantage of in the debate with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
With the support of the PvdA, the Nanninga faction (JA21), PVV, SP, Party for the Animals, 50PLUS, the Otten faction, SGP and the Independent Senate faction, the proposal of GroenLinks party leader Paul Rosenmöller can count on a majority not to to stick to the cuts. Rosenmöller called the “unsubstantiated, flat cut” of 500 million during the debate the “ugly duckling in this coalition agreement.”
The Nanninga faction’s proposal not to temporarily disconnect the state pension from the minimum wage was supported by the same majority. The new cabinet wants to increase the minimum wage, but then plans not to increase the state pension, while other benefits will grow with it. That is not fair, according to the opposition ‘on the other side’, as the Senate is often called.
The PvdA also won a majority for a plan to look for other options to compensate for the ‘bad luck’ generation of students who studied during the years of the loan system.
FNV Youth Care said in a response that it would continue with a 24-hour strike and a protest on 15 March. “Because we do not yet know whether Prime Minister Rutte will now look for another way to implement the cuts in youth care. After all, the 1 billion euros that should come from the reforms in youth care is still booked. Reforms that haven’t even been enacted yet.”