Dutch coalition could crumble over budget feud

May 12, 1982

The Dutch coalition cabinet met in emergency session Tuesday to try to solve deep internal divisions over economic policy that ministers said seriously threatened the future of the coalition.

Eduard van Thijn, internal affairs minister, said he believed there was only a 10 percent chance of the cabinet surviving the present quarrel within the three-party, center-left coalition, over spending cuts to reduce a government deficit.