‘The welfare state of the 20th century is over’, says new Dutch king in his inaugural address



King Willem-Alexander said it was time for a new 'participation society' in which people save money for their own safety nets

The 46-year-old was speaking to the nation for the first time since his mother Queen Beatrix abdicated in April

Holland's budget deficit is expected to widen next year despite a series of cuts meant to reduce it



Holland’s new king Willem-Alexander today declared the end of the welfare state in a nationally-televised annual address.

The king, who is at 46 the youngest monarch in Europe, said a new 'participation society' would take its place, in which people must save and invest to create their own social safety net with less help from the national government.

'The shift to a "participation society" is especially visible in social security and long-term care,' the king said in a speech to MPs written for him by Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government.

King Willem-Alexander, seen with his wife Queen Maxima and daughters Princess Catharina Amalia, Princess Ariane and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, declared the welfare state dead today

'The classic welfare state of the second half of the 20th century in these areas in particular brought forth arrangements that are unsustainable in their current form.'

He said that nowadays, people expect and 'want to make their own choices, to arrange their own lives, and take care of each other.'

Rutte may provide details on what the shift to a 'participation society' will entail, but it appears to be part of a long-term effort to rein in costs.

Benefits such as unemployment compensation and subsidies on healthcare have been regularly pruned for the past decade.

The king travelled past waving fans in an ornate horse-drawn carriage to the 13th-century Hall of Knights in The Hague for the monarch’s traditional annual address on the day the government presents its budget for the coming year.

It was Willem-Alexander’s first appearance on the national stage since former Queen Beatrix abdicated in April and he ascended to the throne.

Rutte may be hoping that the pomp and ceremony surrounding the king will provide a diversion from the gloomy reality of new cuts.

The Dutch king was reading a speech written for him by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's (pictured) government

Though specifics are not yet available, a review of the government’s plans by the country’s independent analysis agency Monday showed that the budget deficit will widen in 2014 to 3.3 percent of GDP despite new spending cuts intended to reduce it.

Eurozone rules specify that countries must keep their deficit below 3 percent, and Rutte has been among the most prominent of European leaders, along with Germany’s Angela Merkel, in insisting that Southern European countries attempt to meet that target.

After several consecutive years of government spending cuts, the Dutch economy is expected to have shrunk by more than 1 percent in 2013, and the agency is forecasting growth of less than 0.5 percent next year.

'The necessary reforms take time and demand perseverance,' the king said. But they will 'lay the basis for creating jobs and restoring confidence.'

A series of recent polls have shown that confidence in Rutte’s government is at record low levels, and that most Dutch people - along with trade unions, employers’ associations and many economists - believe the Cabinet’s austerity policies are at least partially to blame as the Dutch economy has worsened even as recoveries are underway in neighbouring Germany, France and Britain.

Dutch media are also expecting new defence spending cuts, following a 2011 decision to cut 12,000 jobs - one out of every six workers in the military - between 2012 and 2015.

However, the government is expected to say it has decided once and for all not to abandon the U.S.-led 'Joint Strike Fighter' program to develop new military aircraft.

The program has suffered cost overruns and created divisions within Rutte’s governing coalition.