Deadlock looms in budget talks as opposition drive hard bargain

Talks to secure support from opposition parties for next year’s budget are entering their final days with no sign of a breakthrough. Jesse Klaver, leader of the left-wing opposition group Pro (previously GroenLinks/PvdA) said the two sides had “not moved a step closer to each other” after emerging from negotiations on Monday. Michiel Hoogeveen, of the right-wing JA21, accused the coalition parties of “kicking the can down the road”, while the hardline Protestant party SGP said a deal was “a...