Tag Archives: politics
The Dutch Eerste Maandag van de Maand Posted by Sten on Aug 5, 2015
It is Monday, 11:59 am, the first Monday of the month. It is about to be noon. Every month again, these last 60 seconds are a countdown. Then, exactly at noon, it happens. Many are shocked for a moment, wondering what to do. Is this real? Or just another test? In the end, this happens…
How to Politely (or Not) Tell Someone to Back Off Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 5, 2014
When you learn a new language, you don’t only learn about the language. The language itself is a door into a new cultuur, which comes with its own set of gewoonten, tradities, ideologïen and karaktertrekken. When you learn a new language and interact with the people who speak that language, you open a door to…
An important day in the Netherlands – time to go vote! Posted by Sten on Mar 19, 2014
Today, March 19, the gemeenteraadsverkiezingen (municipal, or local elections) are held in the Netherlands. They are more important than ever this year, because the gemeenten(municipalities) have more competencies than ever. For example, now they also take on the gezondheidszorg (health care), which is a big issue for the Dutch. However, the kiezersopkomst (voter turn-out) is likely to…
The Big Advantage Of Dutch Students – Only Dutch? Posted by Sten on Feb 26, 2014
Last year in June, the European Commission sued the Netherlands for its policy on the OV Chipkaart. If you wondered, OV stands for Openbaar Vervoer (Public Transportation). The Netherlands have agreed to the Verdrag van Maastricht (The Maastricht Treaty, or Treaty on the European Union (TEU)) of 1992. In this Treaty, which is binding, the Netherlands is obliged to remove barriers…
Dutch Politics and Government: What is het poldermodel? Posted by noortje on Apr 19, 2010
Let’s discuss it. Let’s discuss it some more. And some more. And now let’s discuss the results. Maybe I exaggerate a little, but this is what we call ‘het poldermodel’, the economic political way of ruling based on discussion. After World War Two The Netherlands were taking in by the consultation system, in which the…
Political and Government Terms in Dutch Posted by sarah on Apr 1, 2010
In the last two posts we’ve talked about the basic structure of the government, and the different political parties (Part One, Part Two). In this post I’m going to give you some terminology that should be helpful if you want to pick up a Dutch newspaper, watch the news in Dutch, or read Dutch news…
Dutch Political Parties Part One Posted by sarah on Mar 24, 2010
We all know politics can be a dangerous topic, therefore, I am simply going to give you all an overview of some of the major national political parties in the Netherlands, and I’ll try to keep my own political opinions mostly out of it. But! I thoroughly encourage you all to have a lively debate…