The Netherlands elections- PM Rutte wins for the 4th time: Party leaders react to Dutch election results; Left wing let down

Party leaders from across the political spectrum gave their reactions to the exit poll results after voting in the 2021 parliamentary elections wrapped up. Seventeen parties were projected to take at least one of the 150 seats in the Tweed e Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. Below follows a round up of reactions from party leaders.

Not included are speeches covered in a separate article, like those from Mark Rutte, the leader of the apparent winner VVD, Sigrid Kaag, who led D66 to a second place finish, and Geert Wilders, whose PVV finished in third. Also missing is Thierry Baudet, leader of the FvD, who gave no reaction three hours after the polls closed despite an apparently strong election result based on exit poll data.

It was a "painful" defeat for the Greens, said GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver of his party's projected six-seat loss. "This result also means that colleagues will not come back, and that hurts."

Read more at: Party leaders react to Dutch election results; Left wing let down | NL Times

Netherlands election: Mark Rutte set to win big – but what next?

The outgoing prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, appears headed for a comprehensive victory and fourth successive term in office as the Dutch go to the polls in national elections on Monday, with voting spread over three days due to coronavirus restrictions.

Polls predict Rutte, who has headed three coalition governments of different political complexions since 2010, and his centre-right People’s party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) will win twice as many parliamentary seats as his nearest rival

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/15/netherlands-election-mark-rutte-set-to-win-big-but-what-next

EU -Vaccines - Oxford/AstraZeneca: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

France, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus announced they will stop administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine pending an assessment by the EU’s medicine regulator. Spain said it will stop using the AZ vaccine for at least two weeks.

The benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid outweigh the risks of side effects, the European Medicines Agency said in a statement. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no proven link to blood clots and that people should not panic.

Read more at: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – as it happened | World news | The Guardian

The Netherlands: Covid-19: Dutch police break up anti-lockdown protest

Police in the Netherlands have used water cannon to clear anti-government demonstrators from a park in The Hague.

Some 2,000 demonstrators rallied in the centre of the city to protest against Covid-19 restrictions and other government policies. <

Read more at: Covid-19: Dutch police break up anti-lockdown protest - BBC News

German- Turkish Relations: Young Turkish people seek fresh start in Germany amid repression at home

Turkey is once again experiencing a brain drain, as more and more young graduates and other highly qualified workers are leaving the country to start a new life abroad.

Critics blame President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government for failing to offer qualified Turks enough prospects and even stigmatizing them. The criticism has intensified since protests broke out at Istanbul's renowned Bogazici University in January after Erdogan appointed an unpopular rector loyal to his ruling AKP party. The police cracked down heavily on the demonstrations, and politicians have described the student protesters as "terrorists" or even "perverts."

Read More at Young Turkish people seek fresh start in Germany amid repression at home | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 13.03.2021

The Netherlands - racial Reckoning: Caribbean racial reckoning: Sint Maarten confronts Netherlands over coronavirus aid - by Anthony Faiola and Ana Vanessa Herrero

Inside the prime minister’s office in the Caribbean nation of Sint Maarten, the walls of paradise were closing in.

In the former Dutch colony renowned for fish stews and rum cocktails on Great Bay Beach, the coronavirus pandemic had ground tourism to a halt, sparking a financial crisis akin to the aftermath of a hurricane. By December, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said, public coffers were so low that she didn’t know how she could continue to cover the government payroll.

She needed a financial lifeline. Four thousand miles away, Mother Holland was prepared to throw one — but with strings attached. What followed would be a racial reckoning in the Caribbean: a bitter dispute between Sint Maarten’s Dutch overseers in Europe and local politicians representing an island populated predominantly by Afro-Caribbeans and other people of color.

Reas more at: Caribbean racial reckoning: Sint Maarten confronts Netherlands over coronavirus aid - The Washington Post

EU-US Relations: New transatlantic partnership for global change in motion

In a letter sent to Manfred Weber – the chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political organization in the EU Parliament, Council, and Commission – Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban officially announced that his political party, Fidesz, would resign from the center-right group.

Orban’s decision to pull Fidesz out of the faction came after the EPP, which has dominated EU politics for over 20 years, moved to enact a new rule change that would have paved the way for Fidesz to be suspended from its ranks.

Reas more at: New transatlantic partnership for global change in motion | New Europe