Netherlands: right-wing government presents programme
The new Dutch government, which for the first time includes ministers from the far-right PVV, presented its government programme on Friday. Two points in particular have sparked debate: the asylum law is to be partially suspended via an emergency regulation which allows more people seeking asylum protection to be turned away. And VAT on cultural and sporting events, as well as books and newspapers, is to rise from 9 to 21 percent.
A low mood is not a natural disaster
NRC warns against abuse of emergency law:
“This path is legally dubious and undemocratic. Emergency laws can be declared in times of war or natural disasters, for example, but they should not be taken lightly. Prime Minister Schoof defended his course with the argument that people are 'experiencing' an asylum crisis. That is a poor basis. If the experiences and opinions of an indeterminate group of voters are taken as the yardstick for policies, then the government may as well hand over the running of the country to the pollsters. Now the vigilance of parliament and the wisdom of the government are required.”
Contempt for culture and education
De Volkskrant is fiercely opposed to the planned VAT hikes:
“A government that takes such drastic measures without further explanation thus treats a group of its citizens with a rarely witnessed degree of contempt. ... This measure is primarily directed against citizens who like to inform and educate themselves with art and culture. ... With this VAT hike, the government is definitively abandoning the ideal of popular education, even declaring it undesirable and something that must be combated.”