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Dutch king: say goodbye to welfare state
King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government Tuesday in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone
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ing Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government Tuesday in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone.
In its place will be a 'participation society' in which people must save and invest to create their own social safety net with less help from the national government.
The king traveled past waving fans in an ornate horse-drawn carriage to the 13th-century Hall of Knights in The Hague for the monarch's traditional annual address on the day the government presents its budget for the coming year. It was Willem-Alexander's first appearance on the national stage since former Queen Beatrix abdicated in April and he ascended to the throne.
'The shift to a 'participation society' is especially visible in social security and long-term care,' the king said, reading out to lawmakers a speech written for him by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government.
'The classic welfare state of the second half of the 20th century in these areas in particular brought forth arrangements that are unsustainable in their current form.' He said that nowadays, people expect and 'want to make their own choices, to arrange their own lives, and take care of each other.'
