The parliamentary leader of the ruling VVD Liberals said during Wednesday’s debate on the budget he could not imagine his party again forming an alliance with the anti-Islam PVV.

‘When the going gets tough, they are off,’ Halbe Zijlstra said, referring to the way Geert Wilders pulled his support for the minority coalition in 2012, forcing a general election.

However, while admitting working together with the PVV would be almost impossible, Zijlstra refused to rule it out completely. ‘You can always talk to them,’ he said.

Asked by Wilders if the VVD would again form a coalition with Labour, their current coalition partner,’ Zijlstra said he had many differences of opinion with the party, but ‘at least they don’t walk away.’

MPs were on Wednesday discussing the government’s 2017 budget, which was presented to parliament on Tuesday. However, commentators say, the debate is more of an opening round in the general election campaign.

The Netherlands will elect a new government next March. The VVD and PVV are currently neck and neck in the polls.