Key facts
- D66 and CDA struck the tax deal with opposition parties PRO and Volt, leaving coalition partner VVD out.
- VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said the deal goes against the coalition agreement and threatened to reconsider cooperation.
- D66 and CDA said late Wednesday they would not renegotiate the agreement.
- Prime Minister Rob Jetten is expected to attend the debate and vote, missing the European Political Community meeting in Dublin.
- The D66-VVD-CDA coalition holds 66 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 22 of 75 in the Senate.
The Netherlands' minority coalition is under strain after two of its three members, the centrist D66 party led by Prime Minister Rob Jetten and the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), struck a deal with opposition parties PRO and Volt to secure support for a contentious tax plan. The agreement, announced ahead of a debate and vote on Thursday, shifts about €1 billion in tax from wealth to income and reflects a key demand from PRO, the largest opposition party.
The deal leaves the coalition's third party, the center-right VVD, on the sidelines. On Wednesday evening, VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said she was surprised by the agreement, which she called "bad for the Netherlands" and said "goes against the coalition agreement." She threatened to reconsider cooperation with her coalition partners, saying: "This is not the way we should be working with each other." She added that if D66 and CDA vote with PRO and Volt in Thursday's parliamentary ballot, "we will also have to see how this cooperation can continue."
D66 and CDA said late Wednesday that they would stand by the deal and would not renegotiate, adding to the pressure on the already-fragile coalition. Jetten is expected to attend the debate and vote in the House of Representatives, and will miss Thursday's European Political Community meeting in Dublin with other continental leaders.
The D66-VVD-CDA coalition is a minority government, holding 66 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 22 of 75 in the Senate, a rare arrangement in modern Dutch politics.