A new Dutch government with a taste for Europe

ORDINARILY, WHENEUEUEUEUDEU the favours a flood of collective spending, the Dutch put their collective finger in the dyke. In 2020 the Netherlands rallied a group of small, rich countries (the “frugal four”) to oppose the ’s covid recovery fund. They eventually gave in, but not before Wopke Hoekstra, the then finance minister, insulted southern Europeans for lacking budget discipline. This week a new Dutch government took office. It comprises the same parties as the previous one, yet its stance on the is far more relaxed.Mark Rutte, the Liberal prime minister, is back for a fourth term, but has turned boosterish on Europe. Just as important is the new finance minister, Sigrid Kaag of the centre-left, pro- 66 party. Finance is the most powerful ministry, and has largely run the Netherlands’ policy since the euro crisis of 2010-12. Mr Hoekstra, a Christian Democrat, has been shunted to foreign minister. This may seem an odd fit, but Mr Hoekstra incarnates an old adage about the country’s diplomacy: “I am Dutch, so I may be blunt.”