Guys I'm serious, WTF IS GOING ON?! pic.twitter.com/yiIVdoz9cA
— Shako The XRP Doggo (@ShakoDoggo) January 14, 2021
It's official now.. We're litteraly in the storm.. pic.twitter.com/q646CF3ry2
— Shako The XRP Doggo (@ShakoDoggo) January 15, 2021
Dutch government resigns over child benefits scandal
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government would continue to lead the country’s COVID-19 response team until elections already scheduled for March.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government stepped down on Friday after it emerged that officials had wrongly pursued thousands of people over welfare fraud.
Rutte called a Cabinet meeting in The Hague where ministers had to make up their minds on quitting just two months before a planned general election. Following the meeting, Rutte informed King Willem-Alexander of the government’s resignation.
What is the scandal about?
The Dutch tax office had accused thousands of families of fraudulently claiming child welfare payments between 2013 and 2019. It demanded repayments of tens of thousands of euros, driving many families into financial ruin and, in some cases, divorce.
A parliamentary report called it an “unprecedented injustice” to claw back tens of thousands of euros without giving the accused a chance to prove their innocence.
Rutte, who has been prime minister since 2010, described the episode as “shameful.”
www.dw.com/en/dutch-government-resigns-over-child-benefits-scandal/a-56233081
As Merkel Prepares to Step Down, the Future of German Conservatism Is Open
This weekend’s vote for a new chair of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is a curtain raiser for what will be a busy German election year ahead. Before votes are cast for six state governments and for a new federal government in Berlin, 1,001 CDU delegates will meet online this weekend to choose one out of three contenders to take the reins of their party as Chancellor Angela Merkel closes out her final year in office. The result will not be a major game-changer for the general election because the CDU, as the last real catch-all party in the political system, looks to be in good position to win. But the vote still matters for the future of conservatism in the country.
foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/13/cdu-chair-merkel-conservatism-germany/
Italy Government on Verge of Collapse as Renzi Party Quits
h/t JanJan