The Original Flat-Pack Construction Kit Edition - Week 37 - 2026

Budget Day promises to be full of drama this year as rising inflation and living costs put further pressure on the coalition parties. Freight traffic on inland waterways dropped to its lowest level during the summer drought, raising the stakes on climate change. Education experts sound the alarm over plunging standards of literacy among Dutch teenagers. American commentators breathe a sigh of relief as Botic van de Zandschulp's heroic run in the US Open ends. And can flying cars that cost €100,000 per wheel really take off in the Netherlands?

Rob Jetten’s hopes of doing a budget deal with the opposition are dashed when the three coalition parties can't agree who to bring on board. Villagers in Gelderland are caught in the crossfire of a deadly gang war when 30 armed men open fire at dawn. The RIVM warns that Dutch mosquitos are spreading West Nile virus after nine people fall ill. As the university year begins, students are still being charged illegal rents. And Nijmegen jumps at the chance to honour one of its most famous musical exports.

After seven years of gridlock, stalled negotiations, upturned flags and tractor protests, the government believes it has a solution to the nitrogen emissions problem. The coalition parties try frantically to garner opposition support for their autumn budget before the summer break. The deadly heatwave in June may have cost around 500 lives and scientists warn it will only get worse. Ronald Koeman exits stage left after Oranje depressingly predictable World Cup exit on penalties to Morocco. And in “is nothing sacred” news, the cabinet unveils plans for new, smaller ballot papers.

Children's rights were neglected and their well-being suffered during the coronavirus lockdowns, the inquiry into the pandemic is told this week. The Netherlands' first ever code red warning for weather is issued as day and night temperatures soar. Rob Jetten delivers a long awaited apology for treatment of Moluccan war veterans who fled post-colonial Indonesia. International students are at high risk of falling prey to fraudulent landlords. And in sport, Oranje breeze past Sweden to line up a potential needle match against Morocco at the men's football World Cup.

The Japanese emperor visits the national war memorial to commemorate the victims of his country's occupation of Indonesia. Over at the World Cup, Oranje do their bit for diplomatic relations by conceding a late equaliser to Japan in their opening game. Police believe a blast that destroyed a gym in Amsterdam was caused by cashpoint robbers making their own bombs. Explosives are also found at the site of a planned refugee centre that has been repeatedly targeted by extremists. And Limburg is struggling to keep out an influx of small furry invaders.

New European rules on asylum come into force, but the Dutch immigration service warns it will take a year to clear the backlog. An extradition treaty aimed at busting drug gangs is signed, while the net tightens around the latest "Mr Big". International students numbers fall for the first time in 20 years, but Dutch students are disappearing even faster. The Mauritshuis is allowed to keep a batch of 17th century paintings in a dispute that hinges on a sentence in a French will. And in sport, several key players are missing from Ronald Koeman's World Cup squad but a keyboard player is hoping to be called up to join them.

In the wake of the recent asylum riots, we unpick the Dutch far-right landscape with the help of Leiden university professor Sarah de Lange. Voters' confidence in Rob Jetten's cabinet has plunged in the first 100 days as it struggles to make progress on key policy areas such as asylum, welfare and housing. Palestinian students with visas for the Netherlands will get more help leaving Gaza. The NS cut-price summer train ticket arrives a week early. And in sport, Jesper de Jong feels the love in Paris as he bows out of the French Open on his 26th birthday.

Social affairs minister Hans Vijlbrief cans the cabinet’s plans to extend the retirement age in the hope of avoiding a summer of strikes. Accusations fly in parliament in a bad-tempered debate on asylum, as the reception centre in Ter Apel continues to strain at the seams. The sale of DigiD is blocked at the last minute to the dismay of Donald Trump's man in The Hague. Schiermonnikoog wants to use heat-seeking drones to round up its stray cats. And a Dutchman is king of the hill in the ancient English sport of cheese rolling.

As the atmosphere outside asylum centres grows heated and the debate becomes increasingly poisonous, Rob Jetten sends in a crack team of civil servants to lend moral support. A changing of the guard at Schiphol leads to long queues at the airport, while unions warn of more disruption over the summer. The crew of the MV Hondius look forward to six weeks in a dockside cabin in Rotterdam. Art detective Arthur Brand traces a painting looted by the Nazis to a flat in Utrecht. And in sport, Dick Advocaat's latest comeback leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

An outbreak of a rat-borne virus on a cruise ship triggers mass anxiety as phrases like "self-isolation" and "test and trace" re-enter the lexicon. Local mayors are growing increasingly frustrated with The Hague's reluctance to condemn violent protests outside refugee centres. Environmental campaigners are distraught as the man who led a string of successful court cases against major polluters takes Tata Steel's shilling. And in sport, the passportgate saga is resolved while crisis club Vitesse Arnhem are thrown yet another lifeline in their battle to survive.