Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has cancelled his trip to an EU leaders' summit in Dublin as the political crisis inside his own coalition intensifies over a tax deal struck with left-wing opposition parties.
Jetten will instead stay in The Hague for an emergency parliamentary debate on Thursday that could determine whether his three-party minority government survives. The Dutch government information service confirmed to broadcaster NOS that the prime minister would not attend the EU talks in Dublin because of the political situation at home.
The crisis erupted after Jetten's D66 party and the Christian-democratic CDA reached an agreement with left-wing opposition parties PRO and Volt on a pared-down millionaires' tax, shifting about 1 billion euros from capital to labor to help fund tax relief for workers. The compromise sets a new top rate of 38.5% on more than 60,000 euros a year in income from savings and investments, while lowering the base rate to 35.5%.
The deal prompted the VVD, the third coalition partner, to openly question whether it can remain in the government. D66 and CDA are refusing to back down, and the VVD has not publicly signaled whether it will accept the compromise, leaving the coalition without a guaranteed majority for the tax plan.
Jetten had already pulled out of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, to focus on securing parliamentary support for the tax package. The lower house, the Tweede Kamer, is scheduled to vote on the plan on Thursday, and Jetten's presence was demanded at the debate.
The stakes are high for the minority cabinet, which holds only 66 of the 150 seats in the lower house and depends on opposition support to pass legislation. If the Tweede Kamer rejects the tax plan, the cabinet could face a rapid political crisis and urgent renegotiation before a Senate vote expected in mid-December, with the possible resignation of the government openly discussed in The Hague.
Jetten's absence means the Netherlands will have no prime ministerial representation at the Dublin summit, where around 50 European leaders gather on Thursday for the European Political Community meeting and an informal EU leaders' summit on Friday.
