VVD

VVD party leader Klaas Dijkhoff is facing furious reactions on the way he responded to a 9-year-old boy telling him how afraid he was to be deported to Iraq. When the child told him that he thinks death waits in Iraq, the Liberal parliamentarian said: "Yes, well", RTL Nieuws reports.

Former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok has died at the age of 80 years old after fighting a lengthy illness. He became the country's leader following the election in 1994, when he led Labour (PvdA) into a coalition with the conservative VVD and centrist D66 parties.

"Wim Kok was a man worth looking up to," said current Prime Minister Mark Rutte. "Completely reliable, perfectly honest and always focused on a solution," Rutte said of Kok. "He was a man with a great sense of responsibility who placed high demands on himself and on those people who worked with him."

The new plans of the Rutte III government now that dividend tax will not be abolished, can not count on the support of the opposition parties, was revealed during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday evening. The opposition parties were all clearly irritated, NU.nl reports.

Alexander Pechtold is resigning as leader of the parliamentary faction of the D66, he announced at the party congress in Den Bosch on Saturday. The party will choose a successor on Tuesday. It is "time for a new generation", Pechtold said n his farewell speech, NU.nl reports.

VVD Senator Anne-Wil Duthler voted on a bill that her own company gave advice on, according to research platform Follow the Money. With that, Duthler acted unethically, experts said, NOS reports.

In 2013 the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports asked Duthler's consultancy firm to advise on the text of the Social Support Act, which transferred the responsibility of a number of healthcare tasks to the municipalities. According to Follow the Money, a number of the consultancy firm's recommendations were included in the final bill.

The VVD posted a video on Twitter on Tuesday showcasing the outfits and hats to be worn by prominent party members on Budget Day. It was largely met with criticism. "Do you really have nothing better to do?" one Twitter user wanted to know.

The video features, among others, Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs, State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs and parliamentarian Ockje Tellengen. "Budget Day... plans, figures, millions... But above all: the political catwalk!" the party wrote with the video.

Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs survived a motion of no confidence in a parliamentary debate on Wednesday about statements he made on multicultural societies. Many opposition parties voted against him, but he still has the support of the coalition, NU.nl reports.

Two years ago Amsterdam adopted a proposal which made sexual harassment on the street a punishable offense, but since then the municipality has done little to address the problem.

The government parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie reached an agreement on the budget for 2019 and agreements were made about how dividend tax will be abolished, the parties said after a final meeting on Thursday evening. The parties would give no details about their agreements. That will be presented on Budget Day, the third Thursday in September, NOS reports.

The Dutch government will re-examine whether it is possible to allow daycare centers to refuse children who haven't been vaccinated. A parliamentary majority, led by the three largest government parties, supports this, RTL Nieuws reports.

"Childcare must be a safe place. I understand the concerns about decreasing vaccination, that also affects childcare", State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs said on Twitter. "That is why I want to investigate possibilities for organizations to refuse childcare for non-vaccinated children."

The government of Curacao released a statement distancing itself from statements Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs made about multicultural societies. The island's government "deeply regrets" the statements, because as foreign minister Blok also speaks on behalf of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The Surinamese government would like Blok to apologize for his statements.