Where oh Where Wednesday: The Hague

In just 10 days we will be in The Hague again for our annual gathering of Dutch-speaking churches. The Hague is also called “Den Haag” or, to make things even more challenging, “’s Granevnhage”. That last one is the official version which was first used I the 15th century and means “the count’s grove (or hedge)”. 

The Hague is the administrative center and seat of government for the Netherlands. So although Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, parliament meets in The Hague. It is here that you will find the “little tower” where the prime minister meets, here that parliament meets and makes laws, here that the highest courts of the land make judgements. 

The Hague is part of the province of South Holland (whereas Amsterdam is part of North Holland). It is the 3rd largest city in the Netherlands with a population around half a million. With its greater urban area the population comes closer to 800,000 and joins the other major areas which make up the “Randstad” - including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht - where roughly half the population of the Netherlands lives. 

The city itself is set along the sea and has a lively variation of activities. You can find Madurodam - a mini park where most of Europe is  shown in miniature, the beach and area of Scheveningen (which also houses a high security prison for international criminals), the International Court of Justice, Europol and a judicial arm of the United Nations. There is a world famous theater, a panoramic museum on the pier of Scheveningen and plenty of modern architecture. It is in the parks of The Hague that activists gather to make their voices heard. 

And this is where, in the 1970’s the church grew due to its international character. The international businesses of Shell, Dow and more meant that the congregation had a varied membership. When Shirley and I arrived in 1981 on a campaign, it was the members of the church here that touched our hearts and called us to return. We spent days delivering flyers I the city. And it was on the steps of the building in The Hague that we had our first kiss (on May 31 1981). 

On June 9 we will enjoy meeting with the various churches from around Belgium and the Netherlands in the building in The Hague. This time we will also spend the afternoon in a park nearby, enjoying fellowship and the beauty of the city. 

Whensday: Ides of March, taxes, and more

The middle of March could mean various things to various people. It is the ‘ides’ of March on March 15 and some will have heard the expression: ‘Beware the ides of March’. The ‘ides’ just means the middle of the month and was part a way of counting the days in a month. 

There are ides in other months as well. The ides of April will bring the tax man in the US. So many might say “Beware the ides of April.” Today in 2023 in The Netherlands a national election is being held which will lead to the choosing of the upper House of Parliament. 

It was Julius Caesar who made the ides of March so important. Marcus Brutus, along with others, assassinated Caesar on March 15, 44BC, effectively ending the Roman republic and eventually leading to the Roman Empire under Augustus. 

Skakespeare is the one who penned the infamous lines in his tragedy ‘Julius Caesar’. In the play a character warns Caesar ‘beware the ides of March’ since - as the soothsayer in the play knows - this is the day Caesar will be stabbed. In the play we also get the words: ‘Et tu, Brute?” “You too, Brutus?” 

At the time Caesar was dying and Augustus was building an empire, Maastricht was rising as a garrison and later as a city. Further south, in what is now Belgium, Tongeren was taking shape as a Roman city along an important road. These days both cities have remained important provincial capitals and important tourist locations, even in the middle of March. 

For us the day took on a larger significance in 2018 when our son, Sean, married Jill in Ternat, Belgium. For them, and for us, this is not a day of which to beware, but a day to look forward to.  

Where oh Where Wednesday: Capital cities

You would think that talking about a capital city would be easy. After all, every country has their capital (their head city) and their capitol (the building housing the government) somewhere. Sometimes they move it or build whole new cities to be a capital. But every country has one somewhere. 

In the Netherlands, it is not so difficult as simply a bit unclear. What type of capital does one mean?  Many people when thinking of the Netherlands would say that Amsterdam is the capital. But this is as with many US states, the most well-known or populous city is not necessarily the capital city, where the capitol is found. As a matter of fact, in the States, the capital is seldom the most populous city. 

The government of the Netherlands, parliament, meets in The Hague (and has done since 1588). This is where the prime minister has his office - a little place called ‘the tower’ (the little pointy tower in the photo). When the King gives his yearly speech at the opening of parliament on the 3rd Tuesday of September, it is in the Knights’ Hall. The Supreme Court is also in The Hague. We might say that the capitol is in The Hague.

And yet, Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. This is even established in the constitution. Even in a 1983 revision of the constitution, Amsterdam is noted as the capital city of the country. And yet, Amsterdam has only once in its history housed the government (and this for only 2 years between 1808-1010). The king’s palace (one of them) is here in Amsterdam. 

For Belgium it might seem that things are simpler,. Not so fast. Nothing in the political arena is easy in Belgium. The capital of Belgium is indeed Brussels. The region around Brussels even has its own government and the area is called ‘the capital region of Brussels’. One could also argue that Brussels is the capital of Europe, since the European Parliament meets here. But even that is not easy - and is a story for a different time. 

Although Brussels is the capital of Belgium, Belgium itself is a confederation. It is made up of three almost separate areas working together: Flanders, Wallonia and Capital city (Brussels). And then there is the federal government over all of those layers. There is then a capital of Flanders and a capital of Wallonia. 

So you have choices when you come to visit Belgium and the Netherlands. You could visit up to 5 different cities to have visited the capital of these two countries. Come on over and we will help you figure out what to do. You can also visit the church in 4 of the 5 cities as well. 

Whensday: When Belgium went without a government

Do we need government? For plenty of people this is a real question. When people have to deal with red tape or bureaucracy, the real frustration can cause us all to wonder if government is good for anything. 

Politics in Belgium is quite complicated. There are 3 different levels (federal, provincial, city) but there are then also three different areas: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. All of these levels make for more than enough bureaucrats and an amazing amount of red tape to swim in. There are elections at various times for the various levels of government, and each level vies for the most attention and money and power. 

In 2010 federal elections had to come up with a new federal government. Belgium is a multi-party system and there is never a clear majority. This means that parties have to work together. And that is in each level of government. The immediate results didn’t give a clear combination of parties. Neither the left side of the spectrum nor the right had enough seats, even when working with others within their side of the spectrum. 

This stalemate of sorts was not strange. It had happened before in Belgium and The Netherlands as well. In The Netherlands, they had had a “purple” government. The left is typically red, the economically liberal right is considered blue -  together they were purple. So waiting for the parties to figure out how they would work together was not a strange thing. 

But it did become a sort of a competition, with the world as spectators. It took more than 500 days (589) before a government was finally formed and installed. So what had the country been doing in the almost two years of no government? Just about everything as usual. The previous government’s decisions were continued, no new decisions could be made and all of the bureaucrats would be staying anyway. 

It was an interesting lesson. I remember some Dutch friends worried that Belgium would descend into civil war. But I knew that most Belgians simply want a good coffee or beer, enough French fries (they are not French, but Belgian) and some peace and quiet. This was exactly what people were able to enjoy during that time. 

In 2018 Belgium started on the path to breaking its own record, this time lasting 653 days without a government and ending up with a “Vivaldi” coalition in October 2020. Vivaldi is the composer of the Four Seasons because there were now 4 groups in the coalition (Greens, Socialists, Liberals and Christian Democrats). Maybe the next elections will last even longer.