The debate can be seen as the conclusion of a real ‘argument marathon’, thinks political journalist Leendert Beekman. “The topic has been discussed for 15 years,” he says. “Initially, there was supposed to be a pension deal, which was in effect in 2020. And the debates that have taken place on this in the House of Representatives have really lasted over a hundred hours.’
“It stands to reason that it’s not taken lightly”
A lot of time, but also a lot of material. After all, this is 1.5 trillion euros of pension funds that have been talked about and about 3.5 pensioners in the Netherlands. “Plus, we also have 6 million people working, so it stands to reason that this isn’t taken lightly.”
Humor
The Senate will vote on the issue next Tuesday, but despite a large majority in the House, success in the Senate is far from guaranteed. Especially since the science office of the coalition party CDA said this weekend that the Senate party will not accept the pension bill because it would be “too big a gamble for the future”.
And so there’s suddenly the possibility that the pension issue will turn into a debacle, according to Beekman. “Just like allowances or the loan system,” he explains. ‘And then the question is whether that hard-fought retirement account is going to be jeopardized.’
Bothersome
FD pensions journalist Martine Wolzak confirms it will be hard work, but also thinks there will still be a majority in the Senate. “They’re heading for that,” she says. ‘Although the PS’s Tiny Kox dropped a little bombshell: he thinks he’s found a way to dictate that approval should be given with a two-thirds majority. This will lead to a diligent newspaper search to see if it is correct.’
It has everything to do with the Constitution, Wolzak knows. He says that if politicians’ pay changes, it must be adopted with a two-thirds majority. “And politicians’ pensions will also suffer.”