Brussels
Belgium’s foreign minister had to apologize this week for insulting the Dutch. Annoyed that the Netherlands had rejected the E.U. constitution, Karel de Gucht said Dutch voters were shallow and fickle. “First they supported an extravagant, militant homosexual with a deviating opinion and chauffeur-driven Bentley,” he told Brussels’ Het Laatste Nieuws, speaking of the late gay right-winger Pim Fortuyn. “Then, those same masses elect Jan Peter Balkenende, a mixture of Harry Potter and inoffensive small-mindedness, a man in whom I detect no trace of charisma.” De Gucht assured Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, that he meant no insult.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Lilo & Stitch: is Disney's latest live-action remake a 'ghastly misfire'?Talking Point The studio's retelling of the 2002 original flattens its fuzzy blue protagonist – but could still be a box office smash
-
A manga predicting a natural disaster is affecting tourism to JapanUnder the Radar The 1999 book originally warned of a disaster that would befall Japan in 2011 — a prophecy that came true
-
Crossword: May 22, 2025The Week's daily crossword
