Dutch King Tackles Slavery, Poverty Amid Controversies

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – Dutch King Willem-Alexander says the Netherlands must continue coming to grips with the country’s dark historical ties to slavery, even beyond this anniversary year. “So that after acknowledgment and apology, we can work together to foster healing, reconciliation, and recovery.”

He referred to the ongoing 150th anniversary year, recalling the effective end of slavery in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The king spoke from the throne on the annual Budget Day, also known as Prinsjesdag or ‘Prince’s Day,’ marking the official opening of the parliamentary year.

His speech contained the government’s key plans for the year ahead, including tackling mounting poverty in the Netherlands, long regarded among the world’s wealthiest nations.

The king mentioned the caretaker Cabinet’s two billion euro plan to address poverty with measures meant to improve purchasing power, though critics would argue much more is needed. “Housing benefits will be increased to maintain the purchasing power of families on the lowest incomes in 2024. The child budget will be increased to combat child poverty. In addition, the Emergency Energy Fund will be extended to provide a safety net for people who can no longer pay their energy bills,” he said.

“Next year, the employment tax credit will be increased to ensure that it pays more to work. And extra funds will be available to tackle poverty in the Caribbean Netherlands,” Willem-Alexander added.

The king expressed concerns about the plight of victims of the child benefit scandal in which thousands of parents were wrongly treated by tax authorities, often based on ethnic profiling.

He stressed that “there are areas where decisive action is required: poverty reduction and redress for the victims of failings in the childcare benefit system.”

EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE

Willem-Alexander also mentioned “the settlement of claims relating to the earthquake damage in [the province of] Groningen,” linked to decades of natural gas extraction impacting thousands of families.

The king, who has been on the throne for a decade, recalled moving moments ranging from his apology for slavery to tears over the attack on flight MH17 shot down by Russian-backed forces over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 283 passengers, most Dutch nationals, and 15 crew were killed.

He made clear the government, which wants Russia to extradite suspects, will continue to support the victims’ relatives in their fight for justice. He also condemned the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. And the king pledged to pray for God’s strength and blessings as the interim cabinet faces significant challenges ahead of the November 22 elections.

Yet not everyone was impressed with protesters blowing loud whistles, while others held some upside-down flags and posters along the route the Royals took from Noordeinde Palace to the Koninklijke Schouwburg in the Dutch city of The Hague. Separately, Mayor Jan van Zanen condemned the ongoing blockade of the A12 highway organized by the Extinction Rebellion group. It was the 11th straight day that the activists occupied an A12 section in The Hague against what they view as human-caused “climate change,” prompting police to use water canon to force them elsewhere.

Critics have also questioned the price tag for maintaining the monarchy, while supporters say the king and queen helped Dutch companies win hundreds of millions in lucrative contracts during trade missions.

The royal family will get a combined pay rise of 600,000 euros ($640,000) next year, “in line with civil service salaries and as compensation for inflation,” officials say.

The king’s package will rise by 55,000 euros ($59,000) to almost 1.1 million euros (nearly 1.2 $million), while Queen Maxima’s salary will go up to 431,000 euros ($459,000), according to official figures.

PAY PACKAGE

Crown Princess Amalia is also entitled to a lucrative pay package but said she won’t take any government cash until she graduates from university.

The taxpayer also picks up the bill for security, rebuilding palaces, and foreign tours, with costs of the royal family rising some 11 percent next year to 55 million euros (58.5 million), Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported.

Republicans claim the figure is about eight times higher due to tax benefits over up to 12 billion euros in private assets parked out of sight of the tax authorities through foundations. The wealth is said to have been earned, among other assets, with energy giant Shell and ABN Amro bank shares.

However, the royal house earlier claimed the king does not own shares in companies that are allowed to use the designation “royal.” It appeared that this referred to Royal Dutch Shell plc, but that company last year officially changed its name to Shell plc. ABN Amro doesn’t have a royal designation.

The Dutch monarchy is one of the most expensive in Europe. Only the British royal family is more expensive at about half a billion dollars, but those costs are spread over a much larger population of 66.5 million people against 17.2 million in the Netherlands, critics say.

Support for the royal family has been waning in recent years. An Ipsos research institute poll published on Tuesday found some 50 percent of the general population supports the monarchy, but 26 percent would like the Netherlands to become a republic.

Among the under 35s, almost four in 10 support the monarchy, but 34 percent consider themselves republicans.

Ten years ago, when Willem-Alexander was sworn in as king, 80 percent of the population backed the monarchy, researchers said.

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