Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer A week totally devoid of plot twists includes another farmers’ protest, a pre-nuptial agreement between GroenLinks and PvdA, and a warning from the AIVD that Russia and China might be spying on us. There’s a double dose of ophef as sports minister Conny Helder leaves parliament early to fly to Qatar, then says ‘never mind’ to the... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer Inflation is a growing problem, and not just for the Oranje fan who was kicked out of a Qatari stadium this week for accessorising his rainbow armband with a pair of false breasts. Brussels tells finance minister Sigrid Kaag to redo her budget arithmetic as fears of a recession deepen. The Dutch government makes farmers an offer... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer Eight years after the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, three men are given life sentences for the murder of the 298 passengers and crew. The reality of the ongoing war was brought home for Wopke Hoekstra, who had to take shelter from Russian missiles on a visit to Kyiv. The war is also set to... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer Mark Rutte took a flight out of Egypt this week to fend off a mutiny in his party on asylum. It’s not just the wolves that are feasting in Gelderland as a restaurant in Nijmegen is named the best place in the world for plant-based cuisine. The government still can’t decide on a new pension scheme, and... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer Early November is traditionally a fruitful time for conspiracy theorists, as Guy Fawkes, David Icke and Rian van Rijbroek will testify. The RIVM admits it mixed up its numbers on nitrogen pollution just as the Council of State tells the government to redo its homework on building permits. Dutch railway operator NS cuts services and raises ticket... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer The inverted flags weren’t the only distress signal 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 government’s hastily agreed energy price cap, one of several measures designed to bring down the soaring inflation rate. The cabinet walked out of parliament... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer 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... More >

Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of drop, gin and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer It was the week the Dutch government discovered the truth of what a famous Scotsman once said about the best laid schemes 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... More >

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 stretches the boundaries of ‘big tent’ politics as polar opposites Leefbaar and Denk go into coalition together. And as a New Year fireworks ban... More >

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... More >

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... More >