While The Hague shudders after the fall of the cabinet, the Netherlands is going on holiday: ‘Keep following the news now’ | Interior

Visitors to the warm parking areas around Hazeldonk-West, a refueling and rest area along the highway and just below Breda, have one thing in common: they cross the border in just over 2 kilometers. The public does the necessary; people pray on rugs towards Mecca, dogs do their last pee on Dutch soil and Mariska and Remco from Leiden recharge for their next kilometres.

They stand in a strip of shade next to their old bus, a former ambulance of a German barracks. “It only goes 90, has no air conditioning and is very noisy, so we sometimes stop to avoid going crazy. But when you’re in it, you immediately have a smile on your face,” says Remco.

The couple does not have to go that far today; they go to a city campsite near Antwerp. “Then we go to Margate, England,” says Mariska. “We are going to celebrate our 50th anniversary with English friends. They are all in the music business; there will be a lot of good music.” And booze, Remco adds. “It’s going to be crazy.”

That was also the case last night, when Remco saw on Teletext that the cabinet had fallen and that Edwin van der Sar had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. ‘Heavy’, he calls the events. “Because my father was a political reporter for years, happened to be with the AD, following politics has been in my mind since childhood. I sometimes went to the editorial office and to the press center in The Hague. When I saw the news last night, I thought: yes, I saw that coming.”

It could well be that Rutte had hoped for this, Remco thinks. “And that he hopes to get the Forum voters involved in the next election. The parties have become somewhat populist. It’s a lot of egos in the room. At the same time, Dutch politicians are approachable. When we go to dinner in The Hague, we regularly see Rutte eating. And he is now with his own car to the king.”

Mariska shrugs. “I am not happy that the cabinet has fallen. I wonder what will happen next, I really don’t know. I hope to come back in a Netherlands with nice weather. In terms of politics, I do not expect any concrete plans yet.”

In the comfort of the air conditioning of their car, Michen (26) and Louise (23) from Leiden enjoy their McDonald’s meal. The pedigree campers, with a car full of camping gear and a cool box with cold beer, head for Luxembourg. “When I went camping with my parents as a child, we always stopped here at Hazeldonk. It’s a bit there,” says Michen.

“We met six years ago at a campsite in the Ardennes,” says Louise. “Now we do a bit of glamping, you know. We have a space tent and cupboards for our stuff.”

We are ‘not at the right place to talk about politics’, says Michen immediately. “I’m like, here we go again, another fallen cabinet. But there are themes that I think are important. I work in education, so enough attention needs to be paid to that.” Louise works as a broker and is therefore on the housing market theme. “There is so much turmoil in that. I especially hope that this will stop at some point.”

Once the couple crosses the border they won’t think much of it, they expect. “Then we are on holiday, we are very easy about that. But I do leave the news app on so that I can continue to see push messages. Or maybe not, now that I think about it.”

Under an increasingly warmer sun, Mark Boers from Rijswijk attaches a safety sign to the bicycles in the bicycle carrier, which are on the back of his rental camper. “That is not necessary in the Netherlands, but abroad,” he says, pointing to the red and white striped sign. They are heading towards northern Spain, where they hope to arrive in a few days.

The family saw last night that the cabinet had fallen via a news app. That surprised Mark. “I did not expect this. Migration has been going on for such a long time, I thought they would get out. Still, things are going wrong now. I notice that it makes me cynical; how many cabinets have already fallen under Rutte? He’s getting good at this. I think it is a strategic thing, that it suits him that we will have elections again soon.”

And then, will the Netherlands again fall en masse for the longest-serving prime minister, or will it rather become a popular newcomer, call Caroline van der Plas (BBB)? Mark looks doubtful. “I think people are tough.”

During their holiday, the couple will occasionally get a feel for the situation in The Hague, they expect. “Occasionally we will open a news website. I like to stay informed. There’s a lot going on. At the same time, you can’t take all the suffering in the world on your shoulders, we’re taking a nice break.”

Nice on the spec, says Patricia. “There are so many beautiful campsites, we use an app to always see what is nearby. We mainly look at campsites with a swimming pool.” That has to do with son Pieke (13). “As long as there is a swimming pool at the campsite, that is all that matters.”

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