The English Page’s round-up of what’s been making headlines in the Netherlands begins with a study conducted by Rotterdam’s Erasmus University and released by the World Economic Forum, in which the Netherlands – ranked 9th – is once again back in the top 10 of the world’s most competitive countries.
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The report says the government budget is under control, investment in education is up, and the basic infrastructure strong. The US economy fell from first to sixth place. Switzerland ranked first.
The Dutch Parliament held a two-day debate about next year’s budget. The NRC newspaper’s headline: ‘Opposition clashes fiercely with ruling VVD party and Christian Democrats’. The debate focused on the State Pensions Act and healthcare. Opposition Labor leader, Wouter Bos, accused the Christian Democrats of succumbing “to neo-liberalism”. The Christian Democratic parliamentary leader disagreed, saying that four years ago the Netherlands was “a cynical country whose economy was lagging behind”, but now it’s not. Meanwhile, the Green Party leader brought an abacus to the debate for calculating the Christian Democrats’ health care plans, but the parliamentary chairman forbids her from using it. Campaigning for the upcoming Dutch general election, scheduled for 22 November, began this week.
Plans to build the Netherlands’ first Muslim hospital in Rotterdam, which will segregate male and female patients and serve only halal food, has sparked controversy. A populist Rotterdam politician said his party would “do everything to bar this return to the Middle Ages”. An Algemeen Dagblad article quoted a Muslim patient as supporting a Muslim hospital, so he could be sure only female doctors would examine his wife. A non-Muslim patient however complained of a Muslim sharing her ward with her: “A few days ago I got the fright of my life at six o’clock in the morning. A man was lying under my bedside table singing to Allah. A separate hospital for Muslims is therefore a good idea.”
Last weekend in Vlaardingen a man was beaten unconscious by youths after withdrawing money from an ATM. And when an ambulance arrived, bystanders attacked the paramedics. Meanwhile, the NRC, normally regarded as a serious newspaper, was heavily criticized for making an advertisement its front-page news. ‘Sell it like Beckham’ was the headline of a ‘news’ report next to a photo of David and Victoria Beckham – the couple are launching a new perfume line . with an accompanying article quoting Victoria Beckham as saying, “There are so many things that interest us. Fashion, make-up.”
Princess Maxima, wife of prince Willem-Alexander, is pregnant again. After having had two girls, speculation is that the baby will be a boy, as statistically a woman who has had two girls has a greater chance of having a boy. October is ‘Breast Cancer Month’: one in every nine women in the Netherlands gets breast cancer and it’s the leading cause of death among 35-50 year olds. And finally, the Dutch Advertising Code Commission ruled that Transavia airlines mislead consumers with its ‘One Euro Flight’ ads. The total is much higher when taxes and surcharges are added. In 2005, the average tax per ticket was 70 euro. A Transavia spokesperson said: “Just because ‘one euro’ is the price in the ad, naturally that doesn’t mean that you pay one euro!” (DM)
The English Page’s round-up of what’s been making headlines in the Netherlands begins with a study conducted by Rotterdam’s Erasmus University and released by the World Economic Forum, in which the Netherlands – ranked 9th – is once again back in the top 10 of the world’s most competitive countries. The report says the government budget is under control, investment in education is up, and the basic infrastructure strong. The US economy fell from first to sixth place. Switzerland ranked first.
The Dutch Parliament held a two-day debate about next year’s budget. The NRC newspaper’s headline: ‘Opposition clashes fiercely with ruling VVD party and Christian Democrats’. The debate focused on the State Pensions Act and healthcare. Opposition Labor leader, Wouter Bos, accused the Christian Democrats of succumbing “to neo-liberalism”. The Christian Democratic parliamentary leader disagreed, saying that four years ago the Netherlands was “a cynical country whose economy was lagging behind”, but now it’s not. Meanwhile, the Green Party leader brought an abacus to the debate for calculating the Christian Democrats’ health care plans, but the parliamentary chairman forbids her from using it. Campaigning for the upcoming Dutch general election, scheduled for 22 November, began this week.
Plans to build the Netherlands’ first Muslim hospital in Rotterdam, which will segregate male and female patients and serve only halal food, has sparked controversy. A populist Rotterdam politician said his party would “do everything to bar this return to the Middle Ages”. An Algemeen Dagblad article quoted a Muslim patient as supporting a Muslim hospital, so he could be sure only female doctors would examine his wife. A non-Muslim patient however complained of a Muslim sharing her ward with her: “A few days ago I got the fright of my life at six o’clock in the morning. A man was lying under my bedside table singing to Allah. A separate hospital for Muslims is therefore a good idea.”
Last weekend in Vlaardingen a man was beaten unconscious by youths after withdrawing money from an ATM. And when an ambulance arrived, bystanders attacked the paramedics. Meanwhile, the NRC, normally regarded as a serious newspaper, was heavily criticized for making an advertisement its front-page news. ‘Sell it like Beckham’ was the headline of a ‘news’ report next to a photo of David and Victoria Beckham – the couple are launching a new perfume line . with an accompanying article quoting Victoria Beckham as saying, “There are so many things that interest us. Fashion, make-up.”
Princess Maxima, wife of prince Willem-Alexander, is pregnant again. After having had two girls, speculation is that the baby will be a boy, as statistically a woman who has had two girls has a greater chance of having a boy. October is ‘Breast Cancer Month’: one in every nine women in the Netherlands gets breast cancer and it’s the leading cause of death among 35-50 year olds. And finally, the Dutch Advertising Code Commission ruled that Transavia airlines mislead consumers with its ‘One Euro Flight’ ads. The total is much higher when taxes and surcharges are added. In 2005, the average tax per ticket was 70 euro. A Transavia spokesperson said: “Just because ‘one euro’ is the price in the ad, naturally that doesn’t mean that you pay one euro!” (DM)
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