Finance minister juggling demands as spring budget talks begin

Finance minister Eelco Heinen says he has drawn up the outlines of his spring budget statement as negotiations begin in which all four coalition parties are expected to lobby for more spending. Heinen said in his budget in September that he wanted to return to “financial discipline” and tight spending limits to stop the national debt and budget deficit rising. But party leaders have been vocal in their demands for more investment in their own areas, as progress has stalled...