Dutch Premier Regrets King’s Greece Holiday Amid COVID-19 Outcry
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he was wrong in allowing the royal family to vacation in Greece while discouraging “unnecessary travel” for others due to the coronavirus pandemic.
King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Máxima headed off on a government aircraft Friday but flew back a day later, amid a public outcry.
“We will abort our vacation. We see people’s reactions to media reports, and they are intense, and they affect us,” the king and queen said in a statement over the weekend.
“We do not want to leave any doubts about it: to get the COVID-19 virus under control, it is necessary that the guidelines are followed. The debate over our holiday does not contribute to that.”
The trip to their multi-million-dollar beach home in Greece came while millions of Dutch entrepreneurs struggle to survive due to coronavirus measures.
RUTTE AWARE
Rutte said he had been aware of the holiday plans and that he “made the wrong assessment” by not halting the tax-payers-funded trip.
In a letter to Parliament, Rutte said he “realized too late” that the holiday “could no longer be reconciled with the increasing infections and the stricter measures.”
He added: “This should have prompted me to reconsider the intended holiday. I bear full ministerial responsibility.”
The Ministry of General Affairs, headed by the prime minister, is responsible for what the monarchy says and does.
Officially the Dutch monarchy has no formal role in the day-to-day running of the Netherlands, though the king is often heading business delegations abroad.
RAISING QUESTIONS
The latest trip has raised questions among critics whether the royals are out of touch with ordinary citizens, besides appearing with them for obligatory photo ops.
It came after several scandals, including in August when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima apologized for breaking social distancing rules on another holiday in Greece.
The photo shows the royal couple standing close to a restaurant owner on the island of Milos, who has a plastic bag containing wine and other goodies in his hand.
Their August celebration came while back at home, social distancing rules and tourism restrictions contributed to the bankruptcy of several bars, restaurants, and other businesses.
The latest controversy was expected to put additional pressure on Rutte to review the royal family’s annual budget amid growing pressure from opposition lawmakers.
MORE PROTESTS
And with royals and even government ministers admitting to breaking coronavirus restriction rules, more protests were expected against the partial lockdown.
Last week, bars, restaurants, and cannabis “coffee shops” were ordered to close for four weeks, and there were warnings of a possible full lockdown if people don’t follow the rules.
A growing number of experts have expressed concern that lockdowns and other strict measures will lead to more suffering and deaths than the pandemic itself.
Roughly 6,600 people have so far died of COVID-19 in the Netherlands on a population of 17.3 million people, according to health authorities.
Most of them were the elderly with underlying health conditions.
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