MPs clashing over whether the Golden Carriage should be used again

The various factions in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, are seriously clashing about whether the Golden Carriage should be used again or retired to a museum. The right-wing parties say keeping the Carriage in use is protecting Dutch tradition and heritage. The left-wing thinks the Royals shouldn't be riding around with images of slavery on their vehicle, AD reports.

After a restoration process that took five years, the Golden Carriage is currently on display in the Amsterdam Museum. Traditionally, the vehicle is used by the Royals on their ride through The Hague on Budget Day. During the restoration, the Royals used the Glass Coach instead.

The imagery on the Golden Carriage has been causing controversy for years. Especially the panel called Tribute to the Colonies, which shows half-naked slaves offering their riches to the royal family, is considered insensitive by some and downright racist by others.

The left-wing parties and the centrist D66 believe it is time for the carriage to retire and be displayed in a museum where it belongs. "We must finally be done with the parading of colonial images as a form of display of power," Sylvana Simons of BIJ1 said to the newspaper.

The far right-wing parties want the tradition of the Royals using the Golden Carriage on Budget Day to continue. "We should not be emotionally blackmailed by a small group of pushy extremists who see racism under every stone," FvD parliamentarian Gideon van Meijeren said to the newspaper.

The right wing coalition parties on the current Cabinet, the VVD and CDA, are still undecided on the matter.