Budget deal reached after days of infighting, but Dutch minority coalition’s biggest battle is still ahead

After days of deadlock, late-night negotiations and growing concerns in The Hague, the leaders of D66, VVD and CDA finally reached an agreement on next year’s budget. But while the coalition can now claim a breakthrough, the far more difficult political battle may still lie ahead: finding a parliamentary majority for the plans. What was meant to prove that a minority coalition could govern differently has instead exposed deep divisions at the heart of the new government. Sources in The Hague describe the agreement as having been struck at the very last moment, after negotiations that were anything but smooth.