Dutch dam against Greek bailout deal?
Criticism of the Dutch government for agreeing on a rescue package for Greece is expected to culminate next week as the parliament of the Netherlands is expected to challenge the deal hammered out in the Brussels eurozone summit last month, reports said on Friday.
The Dutch coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), has come under fire for playing down the implications of the bailout for the Dutch taxpayer, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Rutte is accused of overestimating the degree of private-sector involvement in the wake of the deal.
?There?s a huge pile of irritation, especially among the opposition parties that have supported it, over the way the government has presented things,? Wouter Koolmees of the left-liberal opposition D66 party told the newspaper.
However, he added, there should still be a majority for the package.
A parliamentary vote on the Greek bailout deal has been scheduled for September. Dutch voters, like their German neighbors, are increasingly reluctant to dig deep into their pockets for more bailouts.
