The Netherlands: Unrest In The Labor Party (PVDA) About JSF Purchase And Other Issues Could Topple Rutte Government

Wouter Bos

The former Dutch Vice-PM, Finance Minister and (PVDA) Labor party leader Wouter Bos, who writes a bi-weekly column for the well know Dutch Volkskrant newspaper  recently expressed his dismay in this column about the present Dutch Government of Mark Rutte's turn to what he called a "classical liberal American and ultimately marginalizing participative society".

"Even The King was allowed to announce that the established Dutch welfare state was going to make place for this so-called "participation society", said Bos 

Bos noted: "If the participation society as expressed in the speech from the throne on "Prinsjesdag" is not only the view of the  PM Rutte, but also that of  the Coalition (which includes the PVDA labor party), than the labor party must have gone through an ideological revolution... please tell me that this is not the case".

Given the unrest in the labor party on several actions undertaken by the government, including the recent decision by Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis and the government to abruptly finalize the year-long discussions about the JSF by unilaterally choosing to purchase 37 JSFs for the air-force at more than 5 billion euro's, has created a swell of protest not only in PVDA  circles, but around the country.

This could lead to a situation, if the present Labor party (PVDA) parliamentary leader Diederik Samsom does not succeed in holding his parliamentary fraction together, whereby several Labor party members would cast their votes in parliament with the opposition against the proposed government budget, and toppling the Rutte government. 

EU-Digest

Dutch Government coalition finds alternative for controversial health insurance premium plan - by Thomas Whittle

Mark Rutte: "I made a mistake"

The new Dutch government of Liberals VVD and Labor PvdA has found an alternative for the controversial deal on an income-related health insurance premium in the coalition agreement, local media reported on Tuesday citing the two parties’ announcement.

By linking health premiums to income, the plan on income-related health insurance premium means people with an annual income of over 70,000 euros (90,615 U.S. dollars) will have to pay 482 euros per month in health insurance fees while people on welfare benefits will pay just 20 euros, Nos television reported.

The plan has provoked strong reactions from voters and members of the VVD, traditionally a party of people with higher incomes. They blame VVD leader Mark Rutte for being trapped by PvdA leader Diederik Samsom.

The income-related healthcare premium is now replaced by higher tax. The new deal will still hit people with higher incomes the hardest, but their purchasing power will drop less than in the old agreement.

“I made a mistake as a negotiator of the VVD,” Prime Minister Rutte said at a press conference on Monday evening.  “I offer my apologies. I considered it as my job to correct the mistake, and that’s what we did. We seek to reduce the income differences now in the atmosphere of the income tax, and no longer in the care premium,” he said.

Read more: Dutch coalition finds alternative for controversial health insurance premium plan - NZweek

The Netherlands: Dutch Cabinet Negotiations in final stage

The talks between the VVD and the PvdA to form a new Dutch government have been going well say Mark Rutte (leader of the VVD) and Diederik Samsom (leader of the PVDA) and have now entered their final stage.

Next week could very well be the last full week of negotiations, informed sources in the Hague report. Somewhere around November 10th, the second Rutte cabinet could be standing next to the queen on the steps of the Royal Palace to be inaugurated.

The Dutch national news service NOS reported that a full agreement between the two parties will be reached either at the end of this week or early next week.

EU-Digest

Netherlands Election: politics back to the center and pro-Europe - Wilders ends up biggest loser

Mark Rutte of the VVD

The votes have been counted and it is nearly certain that the Liberal VVD of Mark Rutte ( 41 seats) and the Center left  PVDA of Diederik Samson (39 seat)  will now be the face of the Dutch political environment for the years to come.  

This means it's back to the center for politics in Netherlands.  Yesterday the voters in the Netherlands backed two pro-European centrist parties in large numbers, while the Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Freedom Party ( PVV) of right wing populist Geert Wilders ended up as the biggest loser of this election. His party dropping from 24 to 15 seats in Parliament. Also the Christian Democrats continued to loose support..

Diederik Samson of the PVDA

Diederik Samson, who has advocated spending on job-creation programs, indicated he would bargain hard in coalition talks.  "Nobody knows exactly what will happen tomorrow, but one thing is certain. The course can be changed. The course must be changed because the right-wing policies of the past two years cannot continue," he said.

Mr Samsom's approach has been broadly seen as a nod to the policies of France's recently elected Socialist President, Francois Hollande, who wants to increase spending and raise taxes on the rich.

Mr Rutte's policy echoes German Chancellor Angel Merkel's plans of strictly adhering to austerity measures that are designed to force down the country's deficit.

EU-Digest

EU-Digest reports can be published
only  if EU-Digest is indicated as the source   

Dutch voters seen shunning euro radicals in election - by Sara Webb and Gilbert Kreijger

Diederik Samson

Mainstream pro-European parties look set to dominate the Dutch parliamentary election on Wednesday, dispelling concerns that radical eurosceptics might gain sway in a core euro zone country and push to quit the European Union or flout its budget rules.

But the Netherlands is likely to remain an awkward, tough-talking member of the single currency area, strongly resisting transfers to euro zone debtors, regardless of whether caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberals or the centre-left Labour Party of Diederik Samsom win the most seats.

Opinion polls on Tuesday showed the Liberals and Labour on 36 seats each or the Liberals fractionally in front, with the hard-left Socialists and the far-right anti-immigration Freedom Party fading in third and fourth place respectively.

Read more: Dutch voters seen shunning euro radicals in election - chicagotribune.com

The Netherlands Elections: If left wing parties fail to support Samson's PVDA and splinter the vote experts believe Rutte poised for second term as PM

Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to once again form a coalition government after the general elections in the Netherlands on Wednesday (12 September), experts predict.

However, the outcome of the election is still highly uncertain as many voters remain undecided.

After an election campaign focused on the economy, the Netherlands' relationship with the EU, the eurozone crisis and health care, Rutte's liberal party VVD is supposedly  leading the polls with 35 seats in the 150-seat parliament even though a Saturday night poll put him in a draw with Samson's PVDA at 35 versus 35.

Some political experts now even foresee a new Dutch government consisting of Rutte's VVD, Samson's PvdA, Rutte's previous coalition ally the Christian Democratic party (CDA) and the social-liberal party D66.

If Mr. Roemers is smart and wants to be part of a center-left coalition he should urge his supporters to give their vote to Samson's PVDA,  Tomorrow's election results will show if Roemers has had the savvy to do so or wants to remain in the opposition for the coming 4-8 years together with Geert Wilders PVV.

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: Dutch Labour leader Samson seen as new PM and "would be every mothers favorite son in law"

Diederik Samson

Dutch Labour leader Diederik Samson handed out roses and promised a new Europe as he campaigned Saturday to achieve what seemed impossible just weeks ago: become the Netherlands' next prime minister.

"The Netherlands needs a party that understands that it's only with a properly functioning Europe that the Netherlands can function, only with a Europe that grows can the Netherlands have growth," Samson told voters on the canal-lined streets of Utrecht ahead of Wednesday's election.

Red-clad activists from Samson's centre-left Labour (PvdA) party and shoppers applauded the call to redefine the European Union's role.

Samson, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the polls that has surprised voters and analysts in the eurozone's fifth largest economy.

With his broad grin and shaved head and wearing a shirt without a tie, Samson tells his followers to believe in "the strength of the Netherlands".

"We have to build the future, we have to build a more social Netherlands, it's still possible!" said the politician dubbed the "comeback-kid" of Dutch politics.

While the Dutch economy grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the first, the country's Central Statistics Bureau warned that "the Netherlands still finds itself in a period of poor economic conditions."

Samson, 41, only took over the Labour party in March, a month before the ruling coalition led by the Liberal VVD collapsed.

He has risen steadily in the polls over the last two weeks and is now seriously being seen as a contender for the prime minister's post.

He has positioned his leftist party towards the centre to battle the sovereign debt crisis shaking the eurozone, arguing for targetted stimulus measures to kick-start growth. "Just making savings will not solve the crisis and investing without thinking will only make it worse," Samson said in Utrecht.

Instead, he offered a middle-of-the road alternative to austerity-driven VDD leader and current Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the one hand, and the hard-left Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer on the other.
Latest opinion polls suggest Samson's PvdA will win 32 seats in the 150-seat lower house, and the VDD 33.

Whichever party wins most votes gets the prime minister's job and the right to form a ruling coalition. On Saturday night, Dutch public broadcaster NOS, on its website, put both parties at 35 seats in their "political barometer". When voters were asked "who do you want to be prime minister if you can choose between right winger Mark Rutte and Diederik Samson?" 42 percent of respondents chose Rutte, while 47 percent chose Samson.

The party that wins Wednesday's elections will be in charge of forming a new coalition government in the 150-seat lower house, and a new prime minister is chosen from its ranks -- usually the party leader.

The intelligent and personable Diederik Samson who has served in parliament since 2003, and his ability to perform well on television should not have come as a surprise, as he has been a serial victor on celebrity television quiz programs. In 2005 and 2006 he won "The National News Quiz," in 2008 he won "The National IQ Test" and the same year he won "The Big History Quiz." His wife reportedly told him he had proved his point and should stop competing.

Samson may also be benefiting from what voters don't know about him. He studied Nuclear Physics at the prestigious Dutch Delft University. Is married and has two children. Before entering politics, he worked for Greenpeace, where he was arrested several times, though he does not have a criminal record. An elderly lady who watched him on TV said about Samson, "he would be every mothers favorite son in law".

EU-Digest

Netherlands: Great debating skills of PVDA leader Diederik Samson improves party standing and image

PVDA Leader Diederik Samson

In a poll released Tuesday by TNS NIPO, Labor would win about 26 seats in the 150-member parliament, continuing its steady rise of the past four weeks, which also is seen in other polls.

The Socialist Party, which had been leading the polls for nearly two months, continued to lose territory and now would secure only 28 seats, according to TNS NIPO. One month earlier, the Socialists were set to win 37 seats and had a 20-seat lead over Labor.

The polls are closely watched as the Netherlands is an important contributor to the rescue packages for struggling southern European countries. The outgoing center-right government has been an important ally of Germany in propagating austerity as the cure for the debt crisis in the currency bloc.

Socialist leader Roemer, whose down-to-earth manner was considered part of his appeal, so far has come across as a political lightweight in the debates.

"Everyone was expecting Rutte and Roemer to clash, but it was Samsom who stood out," said Philip van Praag, a political analyst at the University of Amsterdam.

It was Samsom who ticked off the prime minister, saying: "Mr Rutte, if you want to campaign, you have to tell the truth about your own program, not lies about other parties' programs".

In a country with such a crowded political field, another coalition is certain after the election. At least 12 parties are running, including those representing devout Christians, people over the age of 50 and the interests of animals.

However, only leaders of the biggest parties contested the debates, and Samsom took a different line when the discussion turned to the bailout for Greece, which is unpopular with Dutch voters.

The other leaders swore they would not pay another euro to support the Greeks. But Samsom took a softer line on a Greek government request that it be allowed more time to meet budget targets set by its international lenders.

"If we want to give Greece a chance, then it may be ... that they'll ask if they can have another half year, and if it leads to a stronger Europe, I'll say yes," Samson said in the debate. "We have to make Europe more than a market and a currency."

Labour leader Diederik Samsom was judged the winner of the second television debate of the election campaign by both viewers and experts on Thursday night.

Samsom took 40% of the viewers’ vote, followed by Mark Rutte, prime minister and leader of the right-wing VVD, with 23%.   Samsom was also declared the winner of the first debate last weekend.

A mother of 4 who was watching the debate said about Samson: "he would be the best Son in Law any mother could ask for." 

EU-Digest