The six party leaders – Jetten, Timmermans, Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), Henri Bontenbal (CDA), Joost Eerdmans (JA21) and Jimmy Dijk (SP) – crossed swords on care, migration and housing.
The contrasts appeared to be particularly great on the subject of care. Parties on the right want to keep the deductible at 385 euros or even increase it to 440 euros, in order to keep costs under control. Left-wing parties want to reduce or abolish the deductible and pay the bill elsewhere. “If we lower the deductible, the monthly premium for everyone will increase,” Yeşilgöz warned. Jetten attacked Dijk on this point: according to him, the SP is selling “lukewarm beer” because, according to experts, the abolition of the deductible will lead to longer waiting times (in the already overheated healthcare sector). Dijk called the deductible “a fine for being ill” and received support from Timmermans, who wants to halve the amount.
Escalation
The discussion escalated when Jetten stated that Timmermans “continues on the path of Wilders”, since the PVV also advocates abolition on this point. Timmermans responded fiercely: “Mr Jetten is just standing here and joking.” He referred to the CPB calculations, in which, according to him, D66 wants to freeze the basic package, so that new medicines – for example for cancer treatments – are no longer automatically reimbursed. “That is in black and white.” Jetten denied this and stated that there remains room for new treatments. But Timmermans stood his ground: “You have to be honest. This is not the truth.”
Henri Bontenbal (CDA), Rob Jetten (D66) and Dilan Yesilgoz (VVD) © ANP / ANP
Yeşilgöz also received criticism for her plans for the basic package. According to her, it is not true that the VVD wants to freeze the package completely. “The CDA, for example, does it for half,” she said. “That’s so out of tune, not normal,” Bontenbal whispered audibly from the sidelines. The CPB calculations show that the CDA wants to partially freeze the basic package, while VVD and D66 want to freeze it completely.
Migration debate
In the migration debate, right-wing parties in particular clashed over the dispersal law. “The VVD is turning the Netherlands into a large asylum seekers’ center,” Eerdmans said. Yeşilgöz shot back that JA21 is cutting funding for shelter in the region. Bontenbal also received criticism from Yeşilgöz because the CDA voted against the asylum laws. “Those laws were rubbish,” he defended himself, with support from Dijk.
Jetten backs down about JA21: ‘See earlier VVD and GL/PvdA sitting together in a cabinet’
The consensus on labor migration was striking. Yeşilgöz praised the SP for their years of efforts against exploitation. “We see that people are being discarded and put on the street,” said SP member Dijk. Eerdmans and Bontenbal also joined the call for stricter rules.
Living
The debate on housing was milder, because all parties agree that much more needs to be built. Bontenbal did argue for more realism: “First a small street, then the big plans.” Eerdmans mainly focused on abolishing the priority for status holders in the allocation of social housing. Jetten called this “scapegoat politics”.
Finally, Eerdmans attacked Jetten on his plans to tackle mortgage interest deduction, as did parties on the left and now also the CDA. “That is income politics that belongs to the left,” Eerdmans replied to the right.
But according to Jetten, measures are necessary because the housing market is stalling, an analysis that Bontenbal endorsed. “We are going through the front door,” said Bontenbal about the plan to phase out the mortgage interest deduction in thirty years. The CDA leader called JA21’s plan to tinker with the notional rental value (for houses with a value above 500,000 euros) as a “hidden rabbit” that crawled out of Eerdmans’ party’s CPB calculation.