Jean Paternot, leader of the D66 faction, said in an initial response that the king was making a “humble” speech from the throne. But, he says, this comes “at a time when politics must be immodest.” Addressing the climate, education and economic crises cannot wait, Paternot says.
Geert Wilders (PVV) says he missed the “sense of urgency” in the throne speech, while according to him, there is a very strong sense of urgency in people’s homes regarding social security. Therefore, he believes that the $2 billion allocated to poverty alleviation in the budget is “very small.”Other politicians also focused on poverty reduction and social security plans, topics that appear to be of central importance in the upcoming elections.
Volt’s Laurence Dassin says the throne speech contains “very few solutions for the future.” Jesse Claver (GroenLinks) states that “o.”Despite all the government’s promises, more people will live in poverty next year. SP faction leader Liliane Marinissen described the government’s failure to reduce poverty in the Netherlands as a “huge scandal.”
BBB leader Caroline van der Plas believes the €2 billion the outgoing government wants to allocate to poverty reduction is a start. But according to the MP, more money is needed, for example in health care.
MP Peter Omtsigt finds it sad that the throne speech lacks an analysis of why the problems with the benefits scandal arose. This also applies to the situation in Groningen, where gas extraction took priority over the interests of the people of Groningen, he said in an initial response to the Throne Speech.
New DNC leader Stefan van Baarle says it is a “huge shame” for a rich country like the Netherlands that 800,000 people still live in poverty. He therefore wants to allocate much more money to the fight against poverty than the €2 billion the government is now offering, he told NOS.
Socialist Party leader Liliane Marinissen believes the outgoing government’s failure to ensure a reduction in poverty in the Netherlands is a “huge scandal”. The $2 billion released will be used to prevent poverty from rising further. In a conversation with NOS after the Throne Speech, she mentioned all sorts of “concrete measures”, such as increasing the minimum wage, eliminating the VAT on food and public transport, maximizing energy prices and eliminating the rebate.
“The Cabinet is trying to auction off the worst edges through temporary measures,” says Party for the Animals leader Esther Uehand in response to the Throne Speech and the budget presented by the government on Tuesday. She describes it as “unbelievable” that major polluters barely have to pay taxes, “while people on low incomes can’t even pay their bills and are forced to pay high energy taxes.”
