Little shot in the negotiations about the Spring Memorandum, distrust in the coalition is delaying

According to Prime Minister Dick Schoof, it should have been the week when the coalition agreed on a spring memorandum. But a week after the start of this crucial negotiation game, PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB are not even about the question of where the lines are on the field. After three days of consultation, there is no agreement yet about how much money is actually available.

The Spring Memorandum, which the parties talked about, is an update of the current budget and an important pass for next year’s budget. In recent months, the cabinet has shifted almost all problems, with the promise to find a solution for it in the spring. From money for the nitrogen and climate goals to financing for prisons and defense.

But on the three negotiation days – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – everyone stood outside again well before five. Just like during the formation, not all parties feel like talking to each other until the evening. To some of some. The parties have all facilities at their disposal at the Ministry of Finance. The minister, the State Secretary and some of their officials had cleared their agenda. Why did they use it so much?

First of all, this week was not yet experienced as crucial. The parties were mainly able to get rid of clarifying questions to the ministry, and then occasionally withdrawn into their own halls at the ministry. Exchanging was not yet the case. This week an attempt was made to see what the parties do agree on – but what came out there is not shared with the outside world.

Dream date

The method is reminiscent of the way in which the parties negotiated during the formation. They read each other’s wish lists, but did not get ahead for a long time. At the time, there was only talk about finances at the very last moment.

The fact that this week was not experienced as crucial was also because the deadline was not taken seriously. That was already apparent last Tuesday at the entrance of the large debate hall of the Lower House. Friday, April 11, said MP and negotiator on behalf of BBB Henk Vermeer, was the « desired dream date. » And, he knew: « Most dreams are deceit. » The same Tuesday, PVV leader Geert Wilders was talking about ‘oceans of differences’. He also put the pressure on by saying that something really had to be done for his voters.

Envelope

A lasting problem in this coalition is distrust, whatever things slows down. Where this was made known internally in earlier budget negotiations, this round comes out in all openness through a motion by NSC, which was co -signed by coalition parties BBB and PVV.

It was not a motion of no confidence, but a motion full of distrust, which on Tuesday reached a majority in the Lower House. The parties demanded that their own minister Heinen would make public at the latest on Thursday at 12:00, in the middle of the Spring Memorandum, how things are going with the income and expenditure of the cabinet and what the economic prospects look like before 2025. The request must be seen in the context of the question of how much money there is. BBB, NSC and PVV want to spend more. Heinen says: there is hardly any room.

The administrative side of The Hague gave the motion qualifications as ‘incomprehensible’, ‘absurd’ and ‘unnecessary’. NSC just saw that information when they started negotiations at the Ministry of Finance? Moreover, their state secretary, Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen (NSC), was also at the table. And the NSC State Secretary also sees the documents that Eelco Heinen has from the ministry.

Then why, while the negotiations are still going on, the desire to reveal all the pieces? NSC duofraction chairman Nicolien van Vroonhoven suggested on Thursday morning that she thought she did not yet have all the papers for a good picture of the current state of affairs of the Finance. The wait was for extra information. Perhaps, you could hear on the NSC wing in the Lower House, Minister Heinen did hold an envelope with money in his inside pocket.

Striking: the old coalition parties of Rutte III and IV (VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie) were the only parties in the Lower House last Tuesday against the NSC information request. At the former coalition they found the motion wonderful. In their time, requests related to negotiations while the conversations were still walking were stopped like a block. Otherwise you will disturb the process.

‘Crunch Time’

In response to the motion, Minister Heinen sent a letter from two A4s to the Lower House on Thursday morning. For the last economic prospects, he refers to the latest publication of the Central Planning Bureau. He lists a number of accounts, and a small windfall, but does not give a complete overview. For the rest, he says: we are still talking, so I can’t share the complete image yet.

There was no response to the letter from PVV, NSC and BBB on Thursday afternoon. The coalition parties did not speak to the press after the negotiations. The conversations will continue on Sunday. Next week it is “crunch timeAnd it’s time to « war« You can hear, and they will certainly continue until the evening.

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