On the social medium X, the minister posted a statement on Monday evening after fifteen to twenty thousand demonstrators demonstrated against his plans on the Malieveld in The Hague and the opposition announced all kinds of plans to block the education budget in the Senate.
'I'm not going to beat around the bush: I'm not going to promise extra euros or reverse the cuts', he says. 'We want to keep government finances healthy. We ensure that people have more money in their wallets and invest extra in defence.'
Heart
Not bombs, but books? He ignores such slogans. He talks, as before, about difficult and painful choices. 'I myself have a heart for research and education, and I want to make those choices as wisely as possible.'
He does not cut back on everything, he adds. There are still funds for higher education and research. 'I want to emphasize that a lot is still possible.'
And the long-term student fine? He will come back to that in early 2025, he says. 'I've heard a lot of stories from students who are in a difficult situation that makes them study longer. I want to be aware of these difficult situations.'
Tonight, the House of Representatives will debate the budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for the year 2025. The long-term student fine is not actually reflected in this yet: it will only take effect a year later. But it is one of the cuts that the opposition wants to reverse.
Senate
How the government parties will react remains to be seen. They have 30 of the 75 seats in the Senate, which also has to approve the budget. The fact that the right-wing opposition party JA21 also opposes the plans makes it more difficult to find a majority there.
FvD and SGP each have two Senate seats, 50Plus and the local parties (OPNL) have one. Even if they support the government, there are still two votes short of a majority of 38 seats.
