The rescue of financial services group Fortis by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments is the hot topic in the editorial columns on Tuesday.

The Telegraaf says Dutch finance minister Wouter Bos had no choice but to come up with the cash, because if Fortis had collapsed, the shockwaves would have been enormous.
However, the paper says Fortis got into trouble cause of bad entrepreneurship. That such behaviour is being ‘rewarded’ with government (taxpayers’) cash is a question of ‘bitter necessity’.
The Volkskrant says it is far from clear if the rescue will actually work. But the fact that all the parties involved in the weekend talks managed to reach a deal at all deserves a compliment, the paper says.
The partial nationalisation gives a clear signal that a bank such as Fortis is ‘too big to be allowed to go bankrupt’.
The NRC argues that last year’s takeover of ABN Amro by Fortis and its partners was a ‘bridge too far’. Selling ABN Amro Nederland is now the right thing to do. ‘Fortis’ expansion turned out to be a dangerous experiment and should be undone,’ the paper concludes.