The King of the Netherlands has informed his country that their welfare state is finished.

King Willem-Alexander, alongside his wife, Queen Maxima, told the Dutch people that they must create their own social and financial safety nets, and that looking to the state for help was a thing of the 20th century.

The speech was part of the monarch’s annual address on the day the government presents its budget.

It was not immediately clear if the 100 million euros spent by the government on maintaining the Royal House, with its castles and parades, would be included in the austerity cuts.

Recent polls show confidence in the government at a record low and that most Dutch people believe the cabinet’s austerity policies are at least partially to blame.

The Dutch economy is expected to have shrunk by more than one percent in 2013, and is worsening while recoveries are underway in Britain, Germany and France.