So be a man Aptroot and spill the beans then.

If the truth is that shocking, the people will be behind you and you'll get to keep your job eventually.

And if you've exaggerated the truth to get a Telegraaf front page exclusive then you ought to be penalised.

But you really should let the rest of us know what the minister said. After all, you are our representative.

By shirley | February 8, 2010 8:34 AM

taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes...if families would be better of why dont they advertise their plans instead of hiding them? The only thing they know is implementing taxes.How about generous salary increases? i believe NL start becoming a rather comministic country..it is people that work and the state taking at least half of that or more.

By kos | February 8, 2010 9:14 AM

It seems like the Dutch Government are becoming as "sneaky" as the U.K. government by keeping things quiet and bringing tax after tax through the back door.

By Karl H | February 8, 2010 10:56 AM

Aptroot "was also forced to hand in his notes after the briefing"

WOW! What kind of a country do we live in? And what are YOU doing to change this downward spiral.

If Aptroot was a true representative of the people, he would divulge what he learned. Suspended? Maybe. Hero? Of course. Time to stand up and be counted.

By bobsocks | February 8, 2010 11:24 AM

KM tax secrets? - This can only mean one thing, lack of confidence & fear of opposition...

Introducing a new, expensive & unnecessary transport tax system does not help us in a time of economic crisis.

By stevie | February 8, 2010 1:04 PM

mmm well this is a democratic country,
their not saying to people leave the country their just setting up very hard rules to live with so u leave the country on ur own smart right???

By tony | February 8, 2010 1:39 PM

forced? by whoom?
But then again, couple of more actions like these and people might just stop disagreeing....

By sumone | February 9, 2010 7:39 AM

How sad. Today on the 09-02-2010 at 13:48 the Netherlands was pronounced dead. Paramedics attempted resusitaion but all failed. Turns out they couldnt find a heart. Seems all the posturing and pandering done by the dutch politicians over the last few years just rotted away the Dutch heart. The only true shock to me about this is that people seem genuinely shocked by this. But this is the same government who were told by an enquiry that their backing of the Iraq war was illegal and what was Harry (Balkenende) Potters responce, that the legalities of the war were 'a difference of opinion'.
Brilliant. He could be the new Bush.
So it turns out that ignorance is actually a very important atribute to have when you wanna run a country. Who knew? Id really feel bad for the Netherland but this is whats happening everywhere. The western governments need to be reminded that without the mass population behind them, they are nothing.
On a slightly different point. This is the exact type of thing that in the 70s & 80s people would have been marching against. Nowadays after i am done writing this i will calm down and it wont seem like all that big a deal and very few people will be bothered to read this. So what im saying is I would like the duthnews.nl site to offer a podium for the people to get up and say what needs to be said. Imagine these comments being read out with the passion that i am sure they are written with. They would mean so much more then just text.
Im not that old and the internet was only starting when i was a teenager so for me the local pub was my message board/twitter/forums/social networking all roled into one. But the difference is that when we spoke of big issues people would get involved and then more and more would but with the internet everyone gets involved but not really. Cause its easy to have your say from the comfort of your own home but do you feel strongly enough to get off your asses and do something about it.
Viva Revolutionje!

By langer | February 9, 2010 2:02 PM

Hey Langer, great post! But didn't you get the email? Power to the people died a long time ago too.
Anyone who thinks any Western country is a democracy is delusional.
Remember how over a million people marched in London to tell Tony Blair we have NO interest in starting a war in Iraq? He just ignored them...
I have seen no sign that any of our so-called representatives have any interest in our opinions once they get into power.
And the last few years have convinced me that the elections are rigged also. So it's fun for us to spout off on blogs, since it's about the most we can do without getting arrested, but otherwise we're powerless unfortunately.
That said, bring on the revolution, I'm all for it - it's bound to be even more fun than blogging! ;-)

By Hilary | February 9, 2010 3:01 PM

Just wait until we're no longer able to buy with cash, then the fun begins: actually it's already started, "Goodbye privacy, hello pin."

Pin in the NL stands for:
PERSONAL IN-BUGGERING NUMBER...

By stevie | February 9, 2010 11:47 PM