DutchNews Podcast DutchNews

After months of slow progress, the formation of the next government hits warp speed as the new asylum minister resigns before he can be appointed. An early setback for the cabinet's immigration policy as the European Court of Justice says two Iraqi refugees who adopt Dutch values have the right to stay. Six men involved in the murder of the journalist Peter R de Vries are jailed for up to 28 years. The Princess Maxima cancer hospital fields brickbats from the scientific community after sponsoring a paper that links vaccines to Covid deaths. And striker Joshua Zirkzee runs away from Disney World to join Ronald Koeman's footballing circus at Euro 2024.

The European election campaign didn't quite catch fire, but things warmed up in the final days with the PVV and GroenLinks-PvdA running neck-and-neck in the polls. We ask what the outcome means for the new coalition, the pro-European opposition parties and the trivial business of the future of the EU. The coalition talks go from gridlock to quagmire as the parties reportedly row over the distribution of cabinet posts. A Dutch tourist with a marker pen earns himself a heavy fine and the wrath of the Italian nation by scrawling on a historic ruin. Campsites are evacuated as river levels surge following the floods in Germany. Lieke Martens calls time on her illustrious international career and the Dutch men's cricketers start their T20 World Cup campaign with a win.

The six-month quest for a new prime minister ended this week when former spy chief Dick Schoof accepted his own Mission Impossible: keeping the new right-wing cabinet afloat. Good news for his predecessor, Mark Rutte, who can now concentrate on collecting the last stamps he needs to become boss of Nato. We look ahead to next week's European elections, which have been beset by allegations of Russian influence and Danish disenfranchisement. Women have become more independent in the last 50 years, but teenagers are still feeling the after-effects of the pandemic. And a Dutch Lego superfan is told to take his custom-made train sets apart or pay the price.

Polish podcaster Patryk Kulpok joins us this week to chew over the progress of the incoming government and the coalition deal. Which opposition leader did Geert Wilders reprimand for sniping from the sidelines? Why did Pieter Omtzigt end up arguing with Rob Jetten about the price of Ilse de Lange concert tickets? And will we have a new prime minister before our neighbours across the North Sea? In other news, the VVD face being homeless after the European elections after getting into bed with the PVV. Dutch women are celebrating in judo and football, while Ajax's men get a new Italian boss. And universities will be able to turn away foreign students and lecturers under a plan masterminded by distinguished Princeton academic turned education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf.

It was a week when a small European country finally got tough on foreigners who stir up trouble and harass its citizens. But most of the Netherlands was horrified by the expulsion of Joost Klein from the Eurovision Song Contest and rang out church bells in solidarity. Meanwhile in The Hague, a coalition of right-wing parties finally produced a programme for government, promising stringent new rules on asylum, fewer international students and a return to 130 km/h speed limits. Climate experts urge the country to prepare for droughts and flooding, just as the government abandons its green energy commitments. Pro-Palestinian protesters continue to occupy university buildings across the Netherlands. And Ajax appoint a 35-year-old Italian to lead them back to the promised land of the Champions League.

As the coalition talks stall, Geert Wilders delivers on his promise to put the Dutch first by slinking off to Budapest to give a speech in English about African migrants. Security is stepped up for the Remembrance Day ceremony, with numbers limited for the first time, amid fears it could be disrupted by protesters. Mark Rutte books a cheap flight to Turkey to collect one of the last stamps he needs to become secretary-general of Nato. Dutch consumers are cooling on the idea of installing solar panels and heat pumps, while sustainable investment funds turn out to be fuelled by dirty energy. Oranje's all-time top goalscorer Robin van Persie warms up for his first coaching job at Heerenveen. And Joost Klein heads for Sweden with 20 suitcases of Eurovision kit, 10 of them for his shoulder pads.