House prices and problems at Schiphol continued to hit the headlines in September and October, but a new issue – that of soaring inflation and energy prices – were the best read stories of the period.

Schiphol again asked airlines to cancel flights because of the problems caused by staff shortages, and chief executive Dick Benschop stood down, saying ‘I am leaving of my own volition to give Schiphol space to make a new start.’

The government published its 2023 spending plans in September and, according to commentators, they were ‘unprecedented’ in several ways.

The Telegraaf for example, highlighted the demonstrators standing along the route of the royal procession carrying upside down flags and booing as the coach carrying the king, queen and princess passed by. The protests, the paper said, were extraordinary.

The Financieele Dagblad described the budget as ‘last minute and chaotic’, following the late inclusion of an energy price cap – without the billions to fund it.

In October the consumers’ association Consumentenbond warned shoppers to check their receipts after researchers found supermarkets often fail to charge customers the right price for discounted products.

Sea water

AH was also lambasted in September for selling desalinated sea water. Litter collector Dirk Groot, aka the ‘Zwerfinator’, took to social media to denounce the packaging of SEA Water, which he said was not returnable and is difficult to recycle.

He also questioned the product itself, saying ‘packaged water is never sustainable’ and if people want to drink water they can use the tap in their kitchens.

On the business front, Philips announced plans to shed 4,000 jobs and Eurostat research showed that foreign workers in the Netherlands are more likely to think they face discrimination.