Dutch News

This week, we look at two instances of climate activism in the Netherlands and ask why the superglue does not seem to work. Asylum minister Eric van der Burg's troubles continue as local councils give him yet another ultimatum about sorting out the mess of where refugees should sleep. House prices are falling and interest rates are up so no hope of much helpful happening on the housing market. Dutch cricketers at the World Cup in Australia have not yet managed a win in the Super12 but are urging the big test nations to spend more time warming up in the Netherlands. The NS public book price is first delayed and then cancelled after voter fraud and animal welfare groups have accused rangers at the Hoge Veluwe national park of taming a wolf to show they are a threat to humans after all.

Wopke Hoekstra says Netherlands needs a 'constructive' relationship with gas-rich Qatar as he rejects parliament's calls to boycott the upcoming World Cup. Let's hope the relationship is constructed more carefully than the stadiums for the tournament, which cost the lives of thousands of migrant workers. Asylum minister Erik van der Burg is caught between a rock and a hard place after a court orders him to improve conditions for refugees, but his own VVD party and local councils won't give ground. After a two-day nationwide search, police find the bodies of a disabled 10-year-old girl and her care worker who went missing. And we report on the conclusion of a long-running court case involving a load of hot air, some ruffled feathers and a ballooning compensation bill.

Inflation will stay high until next year, house prices are cooling and there's a wave of bankruptcies on the way. 2023 looks like a good year to hide under the bedsheets, which might have inspired one prisoner this week to execute a traditional-style escape. The Groningen gas inquiry continues, but not even the collective force of a thousand earthquakes can jog Mark Rutte's active memory. And Amsterdam orders the closure of another 'dark store' that prides itself in delivering to your door faster than Napoli can score against Ajax.

Johan Remkes, the government's polder tsar, works his magic again as Dutch farmers cautiously welcome his plan to buy out up to 600 of the biggest nitrogen polluters - essentially the same plan that sparked two years of furious protest. There seems little hope of reconciliation between Khadija Arib and her successor as chair of parliament, Vera Bergkamp, after Arib quits as an MP and accuses Bergkamp and her PvdA colleagues of stabbing her in the back. The coronavirus season begins with the traditional 'don't panic' message from the health ministry as hospital beds fill up. Inflation rises to record levels, led by the bill for the government's energy price cap, which hits €23.5 billion. Nine men go on trial in Lelystad accused of being involved in a fatal attack on another Dutchman in Mallorca. And the remains of two medieval lions are dug up in The Hague, just as Ajax suffer their worst mauling in the history of the Champions League. * Henk Krol tweet: https://twitter.com/HenkKrol/status/1577963576437997569

A bleak autumn looms as inflation surges to a new high, hospital beds start filling up with coronavirus patients and a battle royale breaks out between the Tweede Kamer's past and present chairwomen. Wages are also rising, though not as fast as inflation, and healthcare workers suffering from Long Covid could be in line for a €15,000 payout. But it's not all doom and gloom: some of Rembrandt's finest works are going on display in the Mauritshuis and Oranje have qualified for the finals of the glittering Nations League. And there's good news about the murder rate, which has come down by half in the last 20 years.

The inverted flags weren't the only sign of distress as the king opened Parliament for what looks set to be a gruelling year. The speech was rewritten at the last minute to include the goverment's hastily agreed energy price cap, one of several measures designed to bring down the soaring inflation rate. The cabinet walked out of parliament in protest at Thierry Baudet's latest conspiracy theory about Sigrid Kaag, who also came under fire for wanting to splash out on a more sustainable budget briefcase. Louis van Gaal is caught out embroidering his playing career as the Netherlands make progress in the Nations League. And there's animal news galore with happy lions, thriving wolves and a feisty seagull. Hofvijverpan video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtI8yoBUeA&feature=youtu.be

As a winter of bankruptcies and financial lockdown draws nearer, the government dips into its pockets to help households struggling with their energy bills. The train drivers' strike is settled with a 9.25% pay rise, but Schiphol's boss, Dick Benschop, pays the price for a summer of airport chaos. Another big earner, Sywert van Lienden, anxiously awaits to see if the report into his €100 million face mask deal will salvage his reputation. And Heerenveen's mascot scores a win over his own club after a court ruled it strayed offside by suspending him in a dispute about last winter's lockdown rules.

The entire podcast team abandoned Paul by fleeing abroad, so no hour long episode as usual but only a brief overview of this week’s headlines. Agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer resigned after concluding he wasn’t the man for the job, Dutch leaders offered their condolences to the British Royal Family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the NS plans to cancel all train services as rail workers continue to strike for better pay and conditions, the Netherlands hit the EU target of filling gas reserves by 80% and Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort the second time in a row.

Exactly 350 years after the disaster year of 1672, the government faces an energy crisis, a refugee accommodation crisis and a nitrogen pollution crisis all at once. Wopke Hoekstra experiences an identity crisis as he oscillates between supporting the government's nitrogen policy as a cabinet minister and attacking it as leader of the Christian Democrat party. The earthquake crisis in Groningen triggers seismic levels of blame-shifting at the parliamentary inquiry. And we look back at a sporting summer in which Sarina Wiegman became the most powerful Dutch person in England since William III and Spain ruled the southern provinces again as the Vuelta a España rolled through Brabant. - NRC Vandaag podcast episode on Ter Apel (in Dutch): https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/08/31/waarom-de-langverwachte-opvangcrisis-in-ter-apel-niet-voorkomen-werd-a4140324

Farmers this week stepped up their protests against the government's nitrogen policy by blocking deliveries of food to supermarkets. That was especially bad news for the government's new team of tax inspectors who have the Herculean task of classifying fruit and vegetables. While the farmers came under fire for ploughing up a nature reserve, police are facing questions after shooting at a tractor driven by a 16-year-old boy. Photos are released of the jewel thieves in cloth caps who raided an art fair in Maastricht before fleeing on electric scooters, in a straight-to-TikTok remake of Peaky Blinders. And the orange season is over at Wimbledon as both Dutch players lose in the men's fourth round. Amsterdam arrest: https://twitter.com/AmericanFietser/status/1544458680917180422

Farmers stepped up their protests this week, bringing two cows to The Hague to illustrate the effect of the government's nitrogen reduction plans. One cow would go to the slaughterhouse today, the other would go back to the farm to be slaughtered later. Police described the hardliners' approach as a threat to democracy as CDA MP Derk Boswijk was forced to stay home after his family was visited by a fleet of tractors. Hard-hitting tactics were also favoured by jewel thieves who raided the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht using a sledgehammer. It's not just farmers who have an axe to grind: family doctors held a demonstration on the Malieveld to protest against long hours and bureaucracy. Mark Rutte breaks his silence on the farmers but says it's the wrong time to… TEFAF robbery video: https://twitter.com/HWHofs/status/1541730594211725312

After a two-year ceasefire during the pandemic, farmers warn their tractors are not for turning as a new wave of protests begins against the government's plans to cut nitrogen emissions. Coronavirus infections are rising but health minister Ernst Kuipers sees no cause for alarm, as long as everyone follows his lead and washes their hands. Mark Rutte makes a U-turn on Ukraine, Rob Jetten does an about-face on coal-fired power stations and beleaguered Lelystad Airport is given another stay of execution. And archaeologists in Gelderland make a unique discovery: a building project that wasn't cancelled for want of an environmental permit.

It was the week the Dutch government discovered the truth of what a famous Scotsman once said about the best laid plans of mice and men. Schiphol airport announced thousands of flights will be cancelled this summer because it can't recruit enough staff. Agriculture minister Christianne van der Wal was doorstepped by angry farmers and censured by her party after admitting the current plans to curb nitrogen pollution weren't adequate. And health minister Ernst Kuipers came under fire for not doing enough to prepare for the next wave of coronavirus infections. The AIVD unmasked a Russian spy who used a fake Brazilian identity to infiltrate the ICC, while an unsung Dutch tennis player dispatched another Russian in Rosmalen to earn a ticket to Wimbledon.

The Netherlands needs to ramp up its efforts to cut nitrogen production, including measures to reduce the agriculture sector, nature minister Christianne van der Wal warned this week. Also in line for a shake-up is the police force, where racist officers will face stronger sanctions and senior officers take on the macho culture. Rotterdam city council expands the boundaries of 'big tent' politics as polar opposites Leefbaar and Denk go into coalition together. And as a New Year fireworks ban fizzles out in the Tweede Kamer, Feyenoord fans are hit with another fine and a stadium ban for mixing football and firecrackers. Nitrogen explainer: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2022/06/whats-all-the-fuss-about-nitrogen-in-the-netherlands/

In a week dominated by queues and logjams, Schiphol airport struck a deal with ground staff to try to avoid a summer of misery for air passengers. Dutch motorists began queueing for petrol in Germany as Russia put the squeeze on fuel prices. A housing bottleneck left people sleeping on chairs at Ter Apel refugee centre, while Westland's greenhouse industry wastes no time in exploiting Ukrainian workers. The waiting list for compensation for earthquake damage in Groningen could grow longer too if the government bows to pressure to raise production again. And economists warn the labour shortage is a long-term problem with no easy fix, even if the Dutch agree to work longer than 32 hours a week.

It turns out Mark Rutte doesn't have the most unreliable memory in the Netherlands: that accolade goes to his trusty old Nokia 301. We digest the fall-out from Nokiagate and ask what happened to Rutte's promises of a more open style of government. Collective paralysis also seems to have afflicted the coronavirus response, with health experts warning of an autumn lockdown as minister Ernst Kuipers tells businesses to make their own pandemic control plans. The CBS warns of economic stagnation as the war in Ukraine and a chronic shortage of staff take their toll. And a homing pigeon proves that not all memories are prone to real-time archiving as it completes a 15-year round trip.

The shiny new administrative culture was put back in its box this week as Mark Rutte and Sigrid Kaag roamed the parliamentary corridors drumming up support for their spring budget package. In the debating chamber, parents who were targeted in the childcare benefits scandal walked out as a coalition MP refused to take questions during his maiden speech. Eleven gangsters were jailed in a gruesome case in which a sea container was fitted out as a makeshift torture chamber. Erik ten Hag rounded off his Ajax career in triumphant style, while singer S10 successfully sneaked a Dutch-language song into the Eurovision final.

The women take over this week as we remember the dead of World War II and celebrate freedom, while three peregrine falcon chicks escape their eggs on a ledge high above the Rijksmuseum. We ask can Hugo de Jonge solve the housing crisis, as he did coronavirus, or would he perhaps be better off trying to sort out the mess at Schiphol airport? The Netherlands has tumbled in the annual press freedom index but is there a link to the way government press officers avoid answering questions? And as cafe life gets back to normal in the Netherlands, we wonder why everyone seems to be drinking more beer at home. - Brenda from Bristol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6-IQAdFU3w - Rijksmuseum Peregrine Falcon: https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/beleefdelente/slechtvalk

More evidence this week that the Netherlands is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic as people try to offload the jigsaw puzzles and DVDs they bought during lockdown on the King's Day street markets. The government has a clear-out of its munitions depots to support Ukraine's war effort, as Ukrainian refugees boost net migration in the first quarter of 2022. King Willem-Alexander finally makes it to Maastricht, while Amsterdam keeps up its Koningsdag tradition of imposing an alcohol limit that everyone ignores. And health minister Ernst Kuipers is urged to step up the long-term coronavirus plan to avoid a surge in infections, lockdowns and overcrowded attics next winter.

This week the PvdA had to find a new leader after Lilianne Ploumen decided she was unsuited to the job and quit as an MP. But the real crisis was at D66, where Sigrid Kaag was undermined by the party's woefully misjudged handling of a sexual harassment inquiry. Germany angered the islanders of Schiermonnikoog by announcing plans to drill for gas in the Waddenzee. Feyenoord tore up their plans for a new stadium on the Maas and Erik ten Hag ended weeks of speculation by confirming his move to Manchester United.