{"id":8,"date":"2025-10-16T19:50:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ambivalent.buzz\/?p=8"},"modified":"2026-08-04T20:02:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T20:02:05","slug":"the-vacuum-of-the-ego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ambivalent.buzz\/index.php\/nl\/2025\/10\/16\/the-vacuum-of-the-ego\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vacuum of the Ego…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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about dutch politics<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Yet Another Example of the Failure of Dutch Politics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Minister Sophie Hermans intends to introduce four tariff periods to even out energy consumption throughout the day. I can scarcely believe my ears. Really? Where does it end? Where does the foolishness stop? The na\u00efvet\u00e9 of this country\u2019s leadership has become incomprehensible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress in the Netherlands is being held hostage by the vacuum created by the egos in Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I believe the cause is twofold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ego of Minister \u2018Narcissus\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Where Parliament once focused primarily on governing the nation, today it seems more concerned with self-promotion and building CVs in the hope of landing a corporate role at the Gustav Mahlerplein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s be honest: in today\u2019s House of Representatives, does it even matter whether one is right, as long as one gets<\/em> one\u2019s way? Who cares? Meanwhile, the country grinds to a halt. We are being paralysed by the egos of the political class and the weakness caused by fragmentation \u2013 far too many small parties incapable of uniting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mere fact that one-person factions are even allowed is absurd. In my view, remaining in one\u2019s seat after leaving a party is simply a way of avoiding the job market. Resigning should mean either joining another party or returning one\u2019s seat and applying for a new job \u2013 just as ordinary citizens must do when they disagree with their employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audit Offices Have Been Asleep for Years<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One need not be Einstein, Da Vinci, or Newton to predict the country\u2019s energy needs fifteen years ahead and provide sound advice accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let us not even begin on the blunders surrounding gas reserves, the neglected maintenance of our bridges and tunnels, or the ageing population. Not to mention the privatisation of essential services such as energy and transport \u2013 which has achieved absolutely nothing except frustration: frustration over energy bills, frustration with yet another careless delivery driver speeding through residential areas at 90 km\/h.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lazy, Na\u00efve Addicts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Like lazy, na\u00efve addicts, we have placed our fate in the hands of men such as Putin (for energy) and Trump (for defence). After the First World War, we thought: That will never happen again\u2026<\/em> And yet, after the Second World War, we thought exactly the same. We relied on our \u201cBig Brother\u201d across the Atlantic, assumed the Russians would always sell us gas, and sold our own Groningen gas to finance that very dependency. Brilliant logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well then, audit offices of the Low Countries: time to relearn extrapolation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it seems that our advisory bodies have become just as complacent \u2013 \u201cExtrapolate all you want for a penny!\u201d<\/em> they might say. I can extrapolate too, and every time the conclusion is the same: Wilders, Baudet, and their ilk are holding the country hostage. And while Minister Narcissus is busy admiring his own reflection, no one is listening. So perhaps I\u2019d better focus on preparing for the next Friday-afternoon-bitterball debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Decisive Leadership<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I advocate a six-party system. Ministers should earn no more than twice the average salary, with bonuses only when they complete projects that are sustainable and in the national interest. Parliamentary terms should last six years \u2013 four is too short. And those who collapse a coalition prematurely should face consequences: no ministerial or leadership roles for the next six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I being unreasonable? Or is it fair, as a citizen of a country with Europe\u2019s highest tax burden, to expect Parliament to stop behaving like an attention-seeking patient in a media-obsessed clinic called the House of Representatives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have completely lost faith in Dutch politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as figures such as Baudet are granted speaking time, Wilders continues to insult entire groups with impunity, and one-person factions play at governance, we are heading at full speed towards the collapse of everything that once made our small nation great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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