This week’s budget financial debates were dominated by ‘Greece’ and not a great deal else. The Netherlands has pledged nearly €100bn to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). What the papers say.

Momentous
Although most media report a lack of real fireworks during the debates, NOS political correspondent Ferry Mingelen warned that ‘This decision taken on a drab autumn afternoon could turn out to be the most momentous a government has ever made. The Netherlands has committed to almost twice the original amount, including a bail out for banks, something the government had always rejected. Today’s accord could have far-reaching consequences.’
Mingelen went on to question the mp’s: ‘This is a very complicated business. Do you actually know what you voted for?’ Most mp’s did appear to know, however, and sent him away with a flee in his ear.
Sense
De Pers also credits mps with more sense, at least compared to the members of the cabinet. ‘More cutbacks, that is the only contingency plan the government parties have come up with in the face of another twist in the euro crisis. The Belgian-French bank Dexia has just been saved and other European banks that have lent huge amounts of money to insolvent countries are under pressure. If one bank falls, the rest could follow.’
‘The PvdA, D66 and GroenLinks showed a more acute sense of reality and foreboding by insisting that the cabinet which has dexterously avoided any structural changes, should go ahead with a number of reforms, for instance to mortgage tax relief’, the paper writes
Bonus ban
In the end, most proposals, including changes to the mortgage tax relief system, did not get past finance minister Jan Kees de Jager. PvdA mp Ronald Plasterk’s extra €100m for vocational education and a financial transaction tax were shot down, as was a 52 percent tax bracket for high earners. The SP proposal to ban bonuses for banks that have profited from state support was accepted.
SGP
The Volkskrant comments on the fact that the fundamentalist Christian SGP has inched a little bit closer to becoming the cabinet’s second ‘silent partner’. A motion to look into the tax system found favour with the government parties. Earlier this week the cabinet granted ten other SGP wishes, one of which is to exempt people on benefits with children younger than five from the obligation of applying for jobs, ‘This concession will assure the cabinet of the party’s support in getting the new social security law past the upper chamber’, the paper writes.