Dutch prime minister concedes his coalition needs 'serious fresh start' after anger at tax deal

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten conceded Thursday that his struggling three-party minority ruling coalition has to undergo a "serious fresh start," as a divisive deal to support a proposed tax plan for next year was narrowly approved by lawmakers, angering one of the coalition partners whose lawmakers voted against it.

Jetten's government was in crisis less than nine months into its four-year term as it relied on center-left and other parties to pass a package of tax plans that underpin its 2027 budget.

While the tax package survived a fraught day, it is not yet clear if the embattled coalition will hold together.

Tax package causes tensions

Lawmakers from Jetten's centrist D66 party and the center-right Christian Democrats (CDA) reached the deal Wednesday with two center-left opposition parties -- PRO and Volt -- to get the tax package through the Dutch parliament in a tight vote Thursday night after a daylong debate.

But fellow coalition member, the right-wing People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, slammed it as a breach of the coalition agreement the three parties hammered out in weeks of negotiations before taking office.

VVD lawmakers voted against their own coalition's tax plan and the party's parliamentary leader, Ruben Brekelmans, told reporters after the package passed that it was "disconcerting" how coalition partners had acted.

"I didn't expect the CDA and D66 to take such a huge turn to the left," he said. "Bad for our economy, bad for business in the Netherlands, bad for our country." He said he would discuss the outcome with his party.

PRO leader Jesse Klaver was jubilant.

"Tonight, the center-left majority has taken responsibility for governing the country. There is now a majority in favor of the tax plan," he said. "A 'millionaire's tax' is being introduced, and with it, we are making the Netherlands a little bit fairer."

Jetten reacts to the backlash

Jetten skipped a European Union leaders' summit in Ireland to attend a debate in parliament about the tax measures.

He told lawmakers that he agreed his coalition "must make a very serious fresh start, in order to function much better together."

After the vote he said he would call his two vice premiers -- one each from the CDA and VVD -- for a meeting Friday morning as he seeks to hold together the coalition.

"No one is waiting for endless political squabbling in The Hague or for new elections, and we must do everything in our power to find a way forward together," he said.

Brekelmans, the leader of the VVD's bloc in the lower house, said during Thursday's debate that a "very fundamental discussion has to take place within the coalition regarding the way forward."

"I am not pushing for any specific outcome, nor am I ruling out any options in advance," he said, adding that it could lead to interim coalition-building talks or even D66 and the Christian Democrats continuing in a minority coalition with PRO.

Concerns for the future of the current coalition

A review by the finance ministry, led by VVD minister Eelco Heinen, warned that the amendment could create a funding shortfall of more than 400 million euros ($442 million), and the government advised lawmakers against supporting it.

It passed anyway, though it is not yet certain of surviving a vote in the upper house of Dutch parliament.

Christian Democrat leader Henri Bontenbal told national broadcaster NOS before the debate started that he wanted the coalition to survive and serve its full four-year term. "Preferably eight years," he added.

If a reset does not patch up the differences between the ruling parties and Jetten's government falls, it would likely pave the way for fresh elections next year, the fifth general election in less than a decade in the politically splintered Netherlands. Alternatively, Jetten could seek to continue in an even smaller minority administration without the VVD or try to enlist the support of center-left parties.

Jetten's government was a risky political experiment from day one, holding only 66 of the lower house of parliament's 150 seats. In February, Jetten was sworn in as the Netherlands' youngest and first openly gay prime minister.

He narrowly won an election in late October last year, securing the same number of seats as anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom, but with slightly more votes.

Jetten said when he took office that he wanted to usher in a new era of consensus politics in parliament after years of bickering between parties. But that has largely failed to materialize, with his coalition unable even to avoid internal divisions over its plans and opposition parties making tough demands in return for supporting legislation.

The crisis echoes a similar impasse in neighboring Belgium, where Prime Minister Bart De Wever tendered his resignation to the king following a protracted crisis over the country's budget. King Philippe last Friday rejected the resignation and asked De Wever's coalition to resume negotiations.