‘The Netherlands: A lot of work to do’: Dutch government formation talks drag on for record 226 days

Government formation talks in the Netherlands have become the longest on record, 226 days after the 17 March elections delivered a fractured political landscape that made parties more reluctant than ever to compromise.

Dutch government coalitions often take months to form, but this year’s post-election talks have been especially drawn out. For months, parties failed to even move beyond the question of who would be allowed at the negotiation table.

Meanwhile, pressing matters such as climate change, health care and the strained housing market have been left untouched.

“It’s remarkable,” said political historian and cabinet formation expert Carla van Baalen. “We have never seen a situation in which no real talks were held for months following the elections.”

Read more at: ‘A lot of work to do’: Dutch government formation talks drag on for record 226 days | Netherlands | The Guardian

The Netherlands: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots'

In the face of demonstrations across much of Europe protesting tough COVID-19 measures over the past days, authorities on Monday pleaded for patience, calm and a willingness to get a vaccine shot in the arm as infections spike upward again.

And for those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte just called them “idiots.”

Protest marches from Zagreb to Rome and from Vienna to Brussels and Rotterdam, bringing tens of thousands out, all had one message from a coronavirus-weary crowd — we’ve had enough!

“Not able to work where you want work, to be where you want to be. That’s not what we stand for, that’s not freedom,” said Eveline Denayer, who was at Sunday’s march in Brussels, which drew a crowd of over 35,000.

“We live in Western Europe and we just want to be free, how we were before,” she said.

Read more at: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots' | AP News

The Netherlands:Rotterdam police open fire as Covid protest turns into ‘orgy of violence’

In what the Dutch city’s mayor described as an “orgy of violence”, crowds of several hundred rioters orched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannon.

Police said on Twitter on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested, about half of whom were under 18.

“Three rioters were wounded when they were hit by bullets, they remain in hospital,” police added, in an update after earlier reporting two wounded.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/19/the-netherlands-rotterdam-police-open-fire-as-covid-protest-turns-violent?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

The Netherlands aims to keep its schools open, even as cases soar among young people - by Claire Moses-

The coronavirus’s rapid spread through schools in the Netherlands has prompted some experts to call for extending this winter’s Christmas break. In an article on Thursday, one immunologist, Ger Rijkers, told the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, “Children are little virus factories and infect each other as well as adults.”

Read more at: The Netherlands aims to keep its schools open, even as cases soar among young people. - The New York Times

The Netherlands: In the Netherlands, a foray into cocktail history - by Liza Weisstuch

The ferry ride from Rotterdam to Dordrecht is only an hour long, but it seems to take you centuries away. Boat seems the most appropriate way to travel to the oldest city in Holland, which thrived for centuries thanks to its location at the intersection of three rivers. Wood, grains and genever — a traditional Dutch spirit flavored with juniper — were among the goods local merchants shipped out to the rest of the world. In the 1870s, some of the genever was made by Simon Rutte, whose distillery still stands, seven generations later, in a square about a 15-minute walk from the harbor along winding cobblestone streets.

From the outside of this modest three-story building, you’d never imagine the extent of what goes on in what you might call the flavor factory inside. In the tasting room, adorned with vintage family photos, there are about two dozen dark-glass spritz bottles, each labeled hazelnoot, Kaffir lime, oranje-bloesem and an assortment of other fruits, nuts, herbs, flowers and spices. They’re the aromas of the individual distillates that are blended to craft various genevers, such as Old Simon, the founder’s recipe involving roasted hazelnuts and almonds, cinnamon, mace and celery.

“It’s the broadest category in the world,” said Myriam Hendrickx, master distiller and former food scientist, of genever. “You have all elements from gin in terms of having flavors from so many botanicals, and all the variables in whiskey, grain-wise and aging-wise. Plus you can age it or not.”

Read more at: In the Netherlands, a foray into cocktail history - The Washington Post

Greece-Netherlands Relations: Threatened Dutch journalist flees Greece after confrontation with Prime Minister

Shocking, is what editor-in-chief of De Groene Amsterdammer, Xandra Schutte, called what happened to the opinion weekly's correspondent Ingeborg Beugel in Greece. Beugel was in the news over the past days after the Greek prime minister reacted furiously when she asked him about alleged pushbacks, sending boats full of migrants back, during a press conference. Schutte confirms a report by NU.nl on Wednesday that Beugel is being threatened to such an extent that she will return to the Netherlands.

Read more at: Threatened Dutch journalist flees Greece after confrontation with Prime Minister | NL Times

EU-US Relations: Is Europe politically drifting away from America? an Op-ed by Ramzy Baroud

Suddenly, the idea put forth by French President, Emmanuel Macron, late last year does not seem so far-fetched or untenable after all. Following the US-Nato hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan, European countries are now forced to consider the once unthinkable: a gradual drifting away from US dominance.

When, on Sep. 29, 2020, Macron uttered these words: “We, some countries more than others, gave up on our strategic independence by depending too much on American weapons systems”, the context of this statement had little to do with Afghanistan. Instead, Europe was angry at the bullying tactics used by former US President Donald Trump and sought alternatives to US leadership.

The latter has treated Nato — actually, all of Europe — with such disdain, that it has forced America’s closest allies to rethink their foreign policy outlook and global military strategy altogether.

Even the advent of US President Joe Biden and his assurances to Europe that “America is back” did little to reassure European countries, which fear, justifiably, that US political instability may exist long after Biden’s term in office expires.

Read more at: Is Europe politically drifting away from America? | Op-eds – Gulf News