On the last EU summit between the Heads of Governments. The Netherlands were represented by Prime-Minister Rutte. During an interview with the nation public news broadcasting, NOS, he said that he is ‘negotiating with a loaded gun in his pocket’.
The last few days I have gotten a little bit annoyed
by some things in the news. I would like to discuss these with you, to see if I
am overreacting or maybe you can help me understand the issues.
First, I want to talk about the last EU summit between
the Heads of Governments. The Netherlands were represented by Prime-Minister
Rutte. During an interview with the nation public news broadcasting, NOS, he
said that he is ‘negotiating with a loaded gun in his pocket’. With this he
meant that he will not threaten with a veto beforehand, but it is always on his
mind. He will be tough and not give in to pressure. He ended the interview by
saying the gun was metaphorically and he was not carrying a real gun.
What
is wrong with my Prime-Minister? As there are few guns in this country, no one
expects the Prime-Minister to carry one, especially to an EU summit. Also, it
seems he thinks the viewers are stupid, having to explain his analogy!
Moreover, trying to look tough doesn’t work for a person who made a mistake of
€50 billion bailout for Greece, and says in national Parliament not to go for a
‘European bank union’ and coming back with a plan for that union! Yes, voters
have a short memory but he will get reminded of such mistakes, or lies, by his
political opponents. So my question to you is: does our Prime-Minister have a
masterplan or does he think the voter is stupid?
Second, in a regional newspaper I saw an article which
interested me. Its content talked about that certain insurance companies having
to raise their premiums on house insurances. This is because excessive rainfall
has damaged more houses. This excessive rain is climate change, according to
the journalist.
This
is a too simplistic way of looking at things. According to the US Environmental
Protection Agency, climate change refers to any significant change in the
measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. Excessive rain is a
predicted consequence of climate change, which indeed will happen in the
Netherlands. However, the author is making the assumption that excessive rain
will happen everywhere because of climate change. No, the effects of climate
change will be different around the world. Therefore, this article is too
simplistic, trying to explain why premiums rise. I can think about other
reasons why premiums rise. One, higher profits. Two, avoid bankrupcy. Three,
because they find a reason to excuse themselves. So, as you have more
experience with journalism, is this an attempt to explain impacts of climate
change in simple terms or bad research?
Three, Turkey has requested NATO to help defend its
border with Syria, because of several incidents. Syrian mortars and grenades
have fallen into Turkish towns along the border and have killed and injured
people, next to damaging property. This is a legitimate request with the NATO
framework, and yes, I do think that NATO members should help its ally Turkey.
Especially now many western states are not supporting President Assad anymore
and we see so many horrible videos about civilian casualties caused by his
regime. Any help from our side to help this cause should be given without any
doubt. Hence, the Dutch government is now
investigating if it can help Turkey by sending its Patriot air defense systems.
Nevertheless, there is
something strange with the request. When I look at what the Patriot missiles
are meant for, I don’t see how they can protect Turkey. According to the Dutch
army, the missiles are capable of shooting down rockets, helicopters,
jetfighters and high-altitude bombers, not grenades and mortars. During the
Gulf wars, the Netherlands had sent these missiles to Turkey to protect Turkey
and Israel against Iraq’s Scud rockets. So if the Patriot air defense systems
cannot protect Turkish citizens in this case, why should the army sent its
troops and equipment? Or are we missing something? Does Syria project a bigger
threat with bigger weapons they we know about? Or are there other issues I don’t connect with
the Patriot missiles, like Arab spring or maybe Iran?
By the way,
talking about Syria, did you notice that the Syrian civil war was not covered by
media during the Gaza strip conflict, though a hospital was bombed, killing
many children?
Fourth and
final, the Dutch national statistical bureau CBS issues quarterly records,
showing the growth compared to previous year and compared to previous quarter.
These are important figures, though I have one major problem with it. A
lot of attention is given since some time to the consumer confidence indicator.
This is a figure providing information about how the public thinks about the
economy and how likely they are to spend money. So, every time this figure
drops, media is reporting about the lack of growth and that the consumer will
not get the Netherlands out of economic troubles. However, consumer spending
has never been the key factor to get the Netherlands working again, like it is
in the USA. No, the Dutch economy thrives on export, hence economic growth
depends on our partner countries and how successful Dutch exporters are. Why
are we focusing on this figure?
Video Prime-minister Rutte:
http://nos.nl/video/443420-rutte-willen-moderne-en-sobere-eubegroting.html
Dutch soldiers to Turkey:
http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3353895/2012/11/26/Militaire-verkenners-naar-Turkije-vertrokken.dhtml
http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3353895/2012/11/26/Militaire-verkenners-naar-Turkije-vertrokken.dhtml
Information on Patriot missiles:
http://www.defensie.nl/landmacht/materieel/bewapening/luchtverdedigingswapens/patriot
http://www.defensie.nl/landmacht/materieel/bewapening/luchtverdedigingswapens/patriot
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