After months of tight-lipped talks, the Netherlands’ new minority government unveiled a blueprint for the country’s future on Friday, promising to move beyond political squabbling and return to the long-standing Dutch tradition of consensus politics.

The 67-page coalition agreement laid out a series of ambitious goals to be spearheaded by Rob Jetten and his liberal D66 party alongside his coalition partners — the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

“Today we’re embarking on a new course,” Jetten, told journalists in The Hague on Friday, promising “real breakthroughs.” Jetten, at age 38, is set to become the youngest Dutch prime minister.

Those hoping for a dramatic shift after years of right-wing politics, however, could be disappointed.

“Ultimately, we see relatively little of D66’s progressive agenda reflected in the agreement,” said Sarah de Lange, a professor of Dutch politics at Leiden University, pointing to the program’s emphasis on higher defense budgets and deregulation at the expense of social spending. 

Here are five things you need to know about what Jetten’s government has in store:

1. It wants us to believe in politics again

The new government is keen to signal it is making a clean break from years of political paralysis, rolling out its new Cabinet slogan: “Let’s get to work!”

The not-so-subtle message here is that the three coalition members want to show they are serious about delivering on tackling the country’s main challenges, ushering in the end of an era of polarization and political clashes and returning full-force to the Netherlands’ long-standing tradition of compromise politics.

After the conflict-ridden and gloomy-toned Schoof government, expect a “yes-we-can” vibe from The Hague. 

2. It’s splurging on …

— Defense, allocating an extra €19 billion to meet the new NATO spending target of 5 percent of gross domestic product — 3.5 percent on core military expenditure and 1.5 percent on defense-related areas — and to facilitate the country’s transition from being a “peace dividend to combat power.”

“The Netherlands is at the forefront of building a European pillar within NATO,” the coalition document reads. 

— Solving the Netherlands’ housing crisis and phasing out nitrogen emissions through buyouts will also require large investments. Planned cuts to education and international aid will be put in the freezer — a win for the D66, for whose electorate those are core concerns.

… at the expense of … 

— Social spending will take a big hit, with Dutch citizens expected to shoulder more of the burden for health costs. 

“We’re preventing a huge explosion of the health care budget, which creates room to invest in defense and national security,” Jetten explained on Friday.  

— The coalition document also stipulates a “freedom contribution,” a tax of about €184 per citizen per year which is meant to raise some €3.4 billion toward defense. 

3. It will stay firm on migration

The previous government fell over migration, which remained a major campaign issue in the run-up to the election. Jetten positioned himself as the antithesis to far-right firebrand Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom has long claimed the topic.

In the coalition text, the new government walks the tightrope of promising a strict immigration policy while trying not to echo Wilders too closely and alienate more progressive voters.

The plan singles out the EU’s migration reforms, including its plans to bolster deportations, as a “first big step toward gaining more control over who comes to the Netherlands.” The Dutch government will take a leading role in pushing for changes to international refugee law, including by hosting an asylum summit, according to the program. 

But the text also states that the Netherlands will take a stance in EU talks about return and transit hubs to make sure that migrants are never sent to countries where they risk persecution, and put on hold a controversial deal with Uganda to use the African country as a transit point for rejected asylum seekers.

4. It’s returning to Brussels’ embrace 

After a Euroskeptic tilt under the last Dutch government, Jetten is bringing the Netherlands back on a Brussels course, arguing for closer cooperation.

That applies to defense, with the agreement setting a goal of 40 percent of procurement to be carried out “jointly with European partners,” as well as to migration. 

Still, the new government remains loyal to the Netherlands’ reputation as one of the frugals, rejecting eurobonds. “Member states are primarily responsible for their own budgets,” the document reads. 

The country will also continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially and push to use Russian frozen assets, according to the agreement. 

When it comes to the United States, the program struck a stricter tone, pledging to “speak out when their actions undermine our values and interests, always with an eye to maintaining the relationship and preserving critical security interests.” 

5. None of this is even remotely a done deal

Perhaps the most important thing to know is that all of the above should be taken with a massive grain of salt.

Over the past weeks, the three coalition parties have made a show of presenting a united front. But internal cohesion is by no means a guarantee of success. 

In Dutch parliament, the three parties combined only have 66 out of 150 seats. In the Netherlands’ upper chamber they hold 22 out of 75 seats. 

That means that the coalition will need to seek external support for every separate issue. Considering that the two largest opposition parties — the leftist GreenLeft-Labor alliance (GL-PvdA) and far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) — hold diametrically opposed views, that is a recipe for political acrobatics.

In Jetten’s words: “This will be a cooperation government.” 

In practice, Leiden University’s de Lange said, the framework laid out in the coalition agreement already hints the government will have to swerve even further to the right.

“When you look at the plans that are on the table right now as a whole, it looks more likely that the decisive support will come from the far right,” de Lange said. “GL-PvdA has said from the beginning that they would not agree with funding defense by cutting social spending.”

What’s next? 

The Dutch parliament is expected to discuss the coalition agreement on Tuesday. That will be a first bellwether of the mood within various opposition parties and their willingness to help Jetten make good on his promise of getting things done.

The divvying up of ministries and Cabinet posts is the next big step. If all goes well, the final team will line up on the steps of the Dutch king’s palace for the traditional photo by late February. 

And then the work can begin.