After a very eventful Budget Day, marked by burning hay bales along the highways, red paint dumped on the route the Royals took, and large-scale sabotage on the railway, the Cabinet is undoubtedly facing a fierce debate in parliament today. The question is whether the coalition can stay united long enough to convince opposition parties to support their plans during the two-day-long budget debate known as the General Political Deliberations.

During the debate, opposition parties will likely focus mainly on what they think is missing from the plans. The sticking points are the same as they’ve always been in recent years: nitrogen policy, asylum policy, the housing shortage, grid congestion and energy prices, and defense spending. On top of that this year, is the matter of how taxes on income and wealth are distributed.

As a minority Cabinet, the coalition of D66, VVD, and CDA doesn’t hold majorities in either Parliament or the Senate, so they must get support from opposition parties to implement their plans.

So far, the coalition has failed to strike comprehensive deals for support for its budget with the parties large enough to secure a majority. Before Budget Day, the Cabinet spoke extensively with PRO on the left and JA21 and SGP on the right of the political spectrum. But the talks were cut off when it became clear that the coalition first had internal divisions to sort out.

The opposition factions are pushing the coalition to choose whether they want support from the right-wing or the left-wing of the political spectrum. Klaver said over the weekend that his party is open to negotiating the budgets of all Ministries, provided that the Cabinet scraps plans to cut social security funding and clearly opts for cooperation from the left.

The Cabinet maintains that it is seeking a broad majority involving parties from across the political spectrum for plans that “move the Netherlands forward.”

“I understand that the opposition isn’t exactly waiting with a big bouquet of flowers,” Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said on Tuesday, according to NOS. “But we are willing to take steps – on both sides of the aisle.” It remains to be seen whether this “extended hand” will be enough.

“Parliamentary democracy belongs to everyone and is for everyone,” King Willem-Alexander said in his annual speech from the throne on Budget Day, calling for cooperation. But he also added: “The honest message regarding the 2027 budget is that not everything can be done at once. Not everything will be resolved by tomorrow.”