Cabinet collapse, pricy & trendy Amsterdam, stormy weather among most read NL Times stories

Politics, the weather, and how costly it is to live in the still trendy Amsterdam had Netherlands residents’ full attention this year, at least among the NL Times audience. Articles about these topics were among the most read in 2023.

Politics

It was a tumultuous year for politics. Two major political scandals came to a head. The parliamentary inquiry on gas extraction in Groningen concluded that the government systematically ignored locals’ interests in favor of its own wallet. A parliamentary inquiry also started on the benefits scandal in which the government faced severe criticism.

The Rutte IV Cabinet collapsed on July 7th this year due to irreconcilable differences about how to handle asylum reception in the Netherlands. Though it happened on the same day that the parliamentary committee of inquiry announced it would start its public hearings on the benefits scandal. The Rutte III Cabinet, which consisted of the same four parties as the Rutte IV Cabinet, collapsed due to the benefits scandal in January 2021.

Dutch asylum shelters are overfull as refugees can’t move out due to the housing shortage, and more and more people fleeing war and climate crises are applying for asylum in the Netherlands. The VVD and CDA wanted to limit family reunification, but the D66 and ChristenUnie would not agree to keep families apart. Mark Rutte announced he would not return as Prime Minister or VVD leader.

The Cabinet collapse, ongoing crises like the housing shortage, high cost of living, and nitrogen crisis, on top of the big political scandals, led to a new low for Dutch people’s expectations for the future of the country. And that showed in the results of the parliamentary elections. The Rutte IV coalition lost about half their seats. The far-right PVV gained 20 seats in parliament in a surprise election win, skyrocketing to the largest party with 37 seats. The VVD dropped ten seats to 24. GroenLinks-PvdA got 25, and the brand new party NSC gained 20 seats in its first election.

Amsterdam

This year, the Dutch capital dropped out of the top 10 for the most liveable cities in the world. It did climb in another ranking, but not a good one - Amsterdam is now the 36th most expensive city in the world to live in, up from 53rd last year.

Despite that, the Dutch capital is still the most popular city to live in by far in the Netherlands. And it’s not hard to see why. Amsterdam's Michelin-starred restaurant Bougainville was named the best restaurant in the world by Tripadvisor, and pizzeria nNea Pizza got 48th place in the 50 Top Pizza World Ranking. Amsterdam West was ranked the ninth coolest neighborhood in the world by TimeOut. And trendy locations in the city attracted massive queues of people after a viral TikTok video.

Weather

Talking about the weather is a favorite pastime in the Netherlands, and this year, there was a lot to discuss. 2023 is likely to become the wettest year on record in the country. Storm Poly became the first-ever severe summer storm to hit the country, with gusts up to 146 kilometers per hour. Poly triggered a code red weather warning from the KNMI and prompted NS to halt all train traffic in the Northern Netherlands. The Netherlands also had two other named storms make landfall this year - Ciarán and Elin.

Predictions of the first snowfall late in November and winter hitting the Netherlands in full force, with minimums dropping to -7 degrees Celsius, also got a lot of attention from NL Times readers.

Housing shortage

The continuing housing shortage in the Netherlands was also on everyone’s minds this year. About a fifth of Netherlands residents live in a home that doesn’t match their income or lifestyle simply because no suitable homes are available in their price range. The Dutch government tried to remedy this with new tax rules for investors to keep them buying up affordable homes and plans to regulate mid-market rentals.

That prompted many investors to withdraw from the market - the Swedish real estate group Heimstaden announced it planned to sell up to 13,500 of its rental homes in the Netherlands. Many private landlords are doing the same. Several experts are concerned about the future of the already small private rental sector in the country - a vital sector for people earning too much for social housing but not enough to buy a home.

English language courses at Dutch universities

With the housing shortage also affecting student housing and increasingly full lecture halls, the Dutch universities have been under pressure to stop actively recruiting international students. The Dutch government has gone so far as to limit the number of courses taught in English at universities, and student unions have spoken out against the “internationalization” of higher education.

That has had some effect. The influx of international students at Dutch higher education institutions did not increase for the first time in years this year.

The other side of that coin is that the Netherlands would like to maintain its knowledge economy and international cooperation. The country is also facing major staff shortages in key sectors, and international students tend to stay and work in the Netherlands if they find a suitable job.

Minimum wage

From next year, the Netherlands will have an hourly minimum wage instead of its current monthly minimum wage. That means that people working more hours will also earn more. The minimum wage will also increase by 3.75 percent on 1 January 2024.

The minimum wage in 2024 will be 13.27 euros per hour. So a full-time worker working 36 hours per week will get 2,070 euros per month. Minimum wage earners working 40 hours per week will get 2,300 euros. This year, when minimum wage was set on a monthly basis, minimum wage earners working 36 hours and those working 40 hours per week both got 1,995 euros per month.

Other law changes that could impact your wallet can be found here.