Yeşilgöz still hopes for right-wing support for Dutch tax plan

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz says she still hopes opposition parties on the right will support the government’s tax plan, despite fresh disputes over asylum policy and abortion.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, the VVD leader said talks with opposition parties were continuing. She said there was “little daylight” between the government and JA21 on asylum, and described the prospect of the party supporting the tax plan as having become “more concrete”. [1]

JA21 leader Joost Eerdmans has set four conditions for backing the plan. Three appear compatible with the coalition agreement, but one remains a sticking point: asylum minister Bart van den Brink has said he cannot give a written guarantee that municipalities will never be compelled under the Distribution Act to accommodate asylum seekers. JA21 has made that a firm condition for its support. [1]

Yeşilgöz said the coalition agreement envisages removing compulsion from the law eventually, but only once the asylum system is functioning properly. That depends not only on reducing arrivals but also on having enough accommodation places. Van den Brink had approached municipalities that week because the shortage of places was growing, the report said. [1]

Meanwhile, the SGP is in dispute with health minister Sophie Hermans over the party’s abortion-related demands, which she has refused to meet. Yeşilgöz said the government wanted a broadly supported agreement that would endure over the long term. Opposition parties on both the left and right have urged the cabinet to choose a side, arguing it cannot satisfy both. [1]