Economize
“If you cut care, housing and social security, then the cement of society crumbles and threatens to collapse,” Klaver said in a news release. In it, he and Kuiken respond to statements by the leader of the VVD in the Senate, former minister Edith Schippers. ‘For months the Vvd has been threatening to cut spending, but won’t say on what. It’s time for them to open up and show their colors. I like to challenge the VVD to do it,’ says Kuiken.
The parties point to the VVD’s electoral program and note that 6.8 billion euros could be cut in areas such as social security, benefits, education and sustainable energy. The government’s proposed cuts to youth welfare, care homes, a discount for disabled youth and social welfare are a ‘breaking point’ for the parties. If necessary, the parties say they will block laws or budgets that regulate this.
The March 15 elections are actually for the Provincial Council, but since they elect members of the Senate, they also have direct national consequences. The coalition backing the incumbent cabinet already lacks a majority in the Senate. It seems that the four coalition parties (VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie) will soon win even fewer seats.
Pull yourself up together
GroenLinks and PvdA each enter Senate elections with their own lists, then merge factions in the Senate. According to polls, this could make them the largest group. The VVD has often launched this campaign against the “cloud of the left”, as VVD leader Mark Rutte has called the two sides, to prevent it.
The joint campaign meeting in Middelburg is the first of four so-called town halls organized by PvdA and GroenLinks. With this they kick off in the only province where the two parties have actually formed a common list: Zeeland.