The opposition Christian Democrats have pulled out of negotiations with finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem which are designed to win a majority for the government in the senate.

CDA leader Sybrand Buma said the CDA saw no reason to continue given Dijsselbloem’s refusal to agree to sufficient tax cuts. The CDA pull-out is a blow to the cabinet because the party’s support would have been enough to give the government a majority in the upper house.

50Plus also dropped out of the negotiations on Thursday, saying the concerns of elderly voters are not being addressed. The anti-immigration PVV and Socialist Party said earlier they would not join efforts to ease legislation through parliament.

Further talks

Talks with D66, GroenLinks, ChristenUnie and SGP will continue, possibly on Friday.

Sources told Nos television the government may be prepared to bring forward plans to reform redundancy law by six months. This is a key demand of D66.

However, unions and employers are adamant that redundancy law reform, set to begin in 2015, should not be brought forward.