The Dutch government was set to resign yesterday in a crisis over budget cuts, spelling the end of a coalition that has strongly backed an EU fiscal treaty and lectured Greece on getting its finances in order.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was to write to parliament later in the day offering the resignation of his Cabinet, which relies on the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) to pass legislation, two sources said, opening the way for almost inevitable new elections.
The crisis marks an embarrassing setback for Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager, who has taken a tough line with eurozone “budget sinners” such as Greece, saying it should be denied international aid unless it gets its fiscal house in order.
The Cabinet gathered to discuss what to do after Geert Wilders and PVV walked out of the talks designed to meet EU budget deficit rules.
Without the PVV, Rutte’s right-wing coalition no longer commands a majority in parliament.
Rutte was scheduled to pay his regular weekly visit to Queen Beatrix in the early afternoon and the government information service said he would update her on the political crisis.
The remaining question hanging over the Cabinet is how — as a caretaker government — it can best comply with EU rules and shrink its deficit.
“Our main concern is how we can keep the state finances on the rails on the way to elections,” Dutch Economics Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen said via his Twitter feed.
Although the Netherlands has relatively low levels of national debt, its economy is in recession and it is expected to post a deficit of 4.6 percent this year — well over the 3 percent mandated by EU rules.
Opposition lawmakers say they are prepared to work with Rutte to draw up a budget for next year, but only if he quits first.
The package Rutte had been negotiating with Wilders would have slashed foreign aid and hastened a phased increase in the retirement age to 66 from 65.
Wilders said he ultimately could not support the package due to provisions for state pension cuts “for the sake of the dictators in Brussels,” he said.
European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes said in an interview with national broadcaster NOS that Wilders was being hypocritical, since the Netherlands itself, along with Germany, had been one of the loudest in demanding Brussels adopt a 3 percent deficit limit.
“Pointing to Brussels now is dumb, it’s untrue, it’s distracting and it doesn’t solve anything,” said Kroes, who is a member of Rutte’s free-market People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
She added that she still expects the Netherlands, like other countries, to turn in a preliminary budget plan for next year by Monday next week.
If Rutte is able to work with the left-leaning parties, they will likely seek to refocus attention in part on tax increases on the wealthy rather than just spending cuts, notably by reducing a tax deduction on mortgage debt.
Financial markets have taken the Dutch crisis in stride, with yields on Dutch bonds just 0.11 percent higher than they were before the weekend. Government bonds are trading around 2.35 percent for 10-year debt, about 0.6 percent more than Germany.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source