Every third Tuesday of September is known as Prinsjesdag in the Netherlands. So what exactly is Prinsjesdag? Well, it is an enormously important day for Dutch politics. Many politic plans are revealed to the public and discussed. For example, every year the Troonrede is read by the king, King Willem-Alexander, to a room full of important people and is also broadcasted live on television. The Troonrede is an annual speech which contains 2 main subject: a reflection on what has happened the previous year and some announcements about the government and politics for the upcoming year.

This leads us to the role of the king on Prinsjesdag. As previously mentioned het reads the Troonrede to a room full of important people, but what else does he do? Well… not much really. He goes through a ceremony in which he sits in a, normally golden, but this year a glass carriage (the golden carriage has imagery of slavery on it so it has to be changed) with his family and waves to the public watching the ceremony. Later that day he waves at people from a balcony and that is it.

Also the Miljoenennota is revealed on Prinsjesdag. Every year the Miljoenennota is brought into the 2nd chamber at exactly 15:15 o’clock by the minister of finance in a briefcase that reads: Third Tuesday of September. Once in the 2nd chamber the Miljoenennota is revealed. In previous times it was a gigantic pile of paper, but nowadays it is on a cd. So what is in this o so special Miljoenennota? The miljoenennota contains, in a lot of detail, what the expected earnings and spendings are of the upcoming year.

So what does the cabinet have in sight for us this year? Well, because we have saved so much money in the last few years during the economic crisis, which we are now starting to climb out, we can start spending more. Also because the economic crisis is coming to an end, it will be easier to buy and sell houses, and renting something is going to become easier because of the higher housing allowance.

Also the government is planning on spending more on care. Which I personally think is a great idea. We have saved so much on care in the past few years that I think it is great they get a bit extra this year. Because if you looked at for instant retirement homes, you would have seen that they were starting to look worse and worse, simply because the government would not give the money to make them look a bit better. But now something is finally done about it. The government also wants to save even more money on education. Which is not a good idea if you ask me. Over the last few years the government has spent very little on education, and because of that many teachers lost their jobs. Even a few teachers at our very own school have been fired because of the cuts in the budget.

So this is Prinsjesdag! A whole day dedicated to spendings, earnings, cuts in budgets, politics, and so on. Let’s see what the government makes of it this year!

Renske Pouwels A4D