The City of The Hague in the Netherlands could, in all seriousness, be the poster child for the New World Order.
It’s the seat of the Dutch government, yes. But also the home of the International Court of Justice, the Dutch Royal Family, myriad museums and cultural treasures, and oozes the quintessential Dutch way of doing things – through slow, methodical collaboration.
It’s a chill-zone – no screaming and yelling appreciated.
There’s really no better illustration than the process the Dutch go through after they’ve held an election. It can take forever to form a government once the votes are counted. Former Dutch Prime Minister and the current Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, who famously – and hilariously – called President Trump ‘Daddy,’ holds the current record for length of time from election to coalition, set in 2022.
Gefeliciteerd! The Netherlands finally has a government. It only took 225 days to get there.
The Dutch are no strangers to marathon waits for government coalitions to take shape. On average, it takes the Dutch 90 days to form a government after an election. The longest wait was previously 208 days in 1977, under prime minister Dries van Agt. This year’s coalition talks, which began as soon as Dutch election results were announced in March, put that record well behind it.
The last Dutch elections were held at the end of October. Right-wing firebrand Geert Wilders’ party suffered a stinging defeat, and the victorious Rob Jetten, head of D66, has announced he has formed a coalition ninety days later.
…A coalition of three political parties — led by a 38-year-old centrist, Rob Jetten — presented its governing agreement on Friday in The Hague. It outlines bold proposals for some of the Netherlands’ biggest issues, like reducing the influx of asylum seekers, spending more on national security and building affordable housing.
“We have big ambitions,” said Mr. Jetten, who is poised to become the youngest prime minister in Dutch history. He ran on a campaign of optimism, decrying what he called the “negativism” of Mr. Wilders, a populist known for his anti-Islam and anti-immigration views.
Mr. Jetten’s party, D66, which is socially progressive with a centrist economic policy, formed the governing coalition with the centrist Christian Democratic Appeal party and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. Together, the parties have 66 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives — 10 short of a majority.
“As far as I’m concerned,” Mr. Jetten said, “this will be a collaborative cabinet.”
But just because everyone’s smiling for the cameras doesn’t mean any governing will actually happen. That’s the cool thing about the Dutch way of working stuff out.
...Perhaps the most important thing to know is that all of the above should be taken with a massive grain of salt.
Over the past weeks, the three coalition parties have made a show of presenting a united front. But internal cohesion is by no means a guarantee of success.
In Dutch parliament, the three parties combined only have 66 out of 150 seats. In the Netherlands’ upper chamber they hold 22 out of 75 seats.
That means that the coalition will need to seek external support for every separate issue. Considering that the two largest opposition parties — the leftist GreenLeft-Labor alliance (GL-PvdA) and far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) — hold diametrically opposed views, that is a recipe for political acrobatics.
They can just as easily blow it all up and start over again, as they have before.
But it’s all very civilized and ‘collaborative.’
Which brings me to this interesting item I got in an email today, and that the city of The Hague itself is just so proud of they are fit to bust a button.
To me, as an American, it’s just one more intrusive, creepy example of the European tendency to want to control every facet of the lives of their citizens.
Of course, they all start out as ‘suggestions,’ gentle scoldings about ‘too much of this or that,’ behavior modification nudges, and a snappy techno-term accompanied by agencies set up by the government, local or otherwise, to show the populace how to follow these lifestyle hints properly.
And the next thing you know, you’re counting toilet paper squares and flushes.
Inevitably, that’s how these things go.
This sounds nosy, but harmless, right?
The City of The Hague is investing €100,000 in the European project AccessHubs, an initiative designed to make borrowing and renting everyday items more accessible. The project encourages residents to share and rent products rather than own them, helping to reduce waste and support a more circular economy.
The investment aligns with the city’s broader circular economy goals, which focus on extending the lifespan of products, preventing waste, and reducing the need for new raw materials. Funding for the project comes from the municipality’s Co-financing Fund, which helps attract additional European funding for innovative initiatives. In total, The Hague will receive more than €270,000 in EU support to strengthen local sharing and rental systems. By joining this international collaboration, The Hague aims to reduce material waste while offering affordable alternatives for residents, including those with limited financial resources.
“We throw away 200 million kilos of stuff every year, and that’s a waste. With AccessHubs, we’re taking a concrete step towards a city where sharing and reuse become a given. That’s good for the environment and for our residents’ wallets. Thanks to European collaboration, we can work faster and smarter towards a circular future for The Hague.” Arjen Kapteijns, alderman for energy transition, mobility and raw materials.
WORKING TO SUPPORT ‘CIRCULARITY’
I mean, OMG. As I read that in my head, I see some Bud-Lite executive chick doing the air-quote thing with her fingers. Don’t you?
‘CIRCULARITY‘
Totally.
Sharing and reuse – okay, I get it. Encouraging that sort of behavior is a worthy endeavor, as long as one realizes that sharing also needs responsible adults to be successful.
That which is shared is returned, first and foremost, and in the condition it was left in, preferably.
If this is a city-wide effort, whatever the city is spending money making available ‘to share,’ I thought would have to be pretty sturdy.
And I honestly was wracking my brain trying to think what they would stock these ‘Access Desks’ with that could be signed out and dropped back off.
I found the answer, and holy smokes if it isn’t the goofiest thing I’ve ever heard of.
The city wants you to go to an Access Desk to sign out stuff you use everyday like phone chargers.
WHUT
…The municipality expects the first lending desks to be developed in neighbourhoods where access to everyday items can make the greatest difference. These include areas such as Laak, Transvaal, Segbroek and Loosduinen, subject to consultation with local partners. The focus will be on lending practical items with high social value, particularly electronics and household appliances such as phone chargers, hairdryers and kitchen equipment.
Hairdryers and kitchen equipment? Like, what – blenders, InstaPots, hand mixers?
PRACTICAL ITEMS WITH ‘HIGH SOCIAL VALUE‘
[INSERT: air quotes]
What if I need a shower and all the hairdryers are gone?
Am I overthinking this?
…The lending desks will be physically embedded in places residents already visit and trust, including local shops, DHL collection points, telecom stores, neighbourhood supermarkets and community spaces such as community centres, churches and mosques. While a digital application will be developed to request items, the physical presence of the hubs is essential to reach residents facing financial hardship, limited digital access or literacy challenges, and to lower feelings of shame. By combining accessible locations with personal contact, The Hague aims to make sharing a normal, dignified and inclusive part of daily life.
Air quotes in my head again.
“ACCESS Hubs is about making access-based consumption fit seamlessly into daily life — for citizens, for cities, and for local businesses. By making access services more visible and easier to use, we can reduce unnecessary purchases, cut waste, and make circular choices easier and more affordable.”
Now, if you’re signing out a sewing machine or a drill, okay. I can see it. That’s helpful and practical.
But phone chargers and hairdryers?
Why wouldn’t you already have those and need them every day?
The page for the Access Desks themselves is an exercise in group dynamic think and way beyond me, argle-bargle-wise.
It seems like it’s all one massive, continuous socialist experiment in owning nothing, with virtue-signaling language and circular logic.
[INSERT: air quotes]
No thanks.
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