Bontenbal calls for coalition talks on what a ‘fundamental reset’ means

CDA leader Henri Bontenbal says the Dutch coalition should discuss what VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz means by a “fundamental reset” after she warned one may be needed over a proposed tax deal with opposition parties PRO and Volt.

Bontenbal said he understood a reset as a way for the coalition to work together better, adding that the issue had not yet been discussed among its members. He said he hoped the government would remain in office on Thursday.

Yeşilgöz said a reset would be necessary if coalition partners D66 and the CDA backed an amendment shifting €1 billion in tax burdens from workers to wealthier people. Both parties said shortly afterwards that they still supported the plan.

Yeşilgöz argued the deal ran counter to the coalition agreement. Bontenbal rejected that view, saying the proposal was “absolutely” not contrary to it and was “defensible”. The dispute follows an earlier warning from Yeşilgöz that a reset would be needed if the coalition supported the opposition’s tax proposal.