Dutch king says the welfare state is gone
By Associated Press on Sep 18, 2013, at 2:26 AM Updated on 9/18/13 at 5:08 AM
Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander (center left) and his wife, Queen Maxima (center right) arrive at the Hall of Knights in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday. PETER DEJONG / Associated Press
US & World
Emergency flights began arriving in Acapulco on Tuesday to evacuate some of the thousands of tourists stranded by flooding and landslides that shut down the highway to Mexico City and swamped the international airport.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a new trial for five former New Orleans police officers convicted of civil rights violations stemming from deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina, concluding the case had been tainted by "grotesque prosecutorial misconduct."
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.
In its place a "participation society" is emerging, in which people must take responsibility for their own future and create their own social and financial safety nets, 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."
Rutte may be hoping that the pomp and ceremony surrounding the king and his popular wife, Queen Maxima, will provide a diversion from the gloomy reality of a budget full of unpopular new spending cuts he revealed later in the day.
Original Print Headline: Dutch king: Say goodbye to welfare state
US & World
Emergency flights began arriving in Acapulco on Tuesday to evacuate some of the thousands of tourists stranded by flooding and landslides that shut down the highway to Mexico City and swamped the international airport.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a new trial for five former New Orleans police officers convicted of civil rights violations stemming from deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina, concluding the case had been tainted by "grotesque prosecutorial misconduct."
