The governing coalition clinched an eleventh-hour agreement on its inaugural annual budget, heading off another political crisis for Prime Minister Rob Jetten. Jetten's administration, a centrist minority in place for six months, still lacks a guaranteed majority in parliament.
Disagreements within the coalition about whether to court backing from left- or right-leaning opposition groups slowed the process. Even so, following two weeks of negotiations involving both opposition and coalition parties, the cabinet filed a draft budget ahead of the late-August cutoff.
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"I'm glad we've reached an agreement on next year's budget," Jetten wrote on X late Monday, adding that the effort "wasn't without a struggle." The budget is slated for formal presentation on Sept. 15, when, he said, "we'll present plans that will help us achieve breakthroughs on the major issues that have been stalled for far too long." After the unveiling, debate in the House of Representatives will follow, and parties will be able to propose changes before a vote finalizes the budgets.
