Netherlands: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Beatrix will have 646,000 euros more to spend this coming year than last year. The royal family has “no influence” on the increase in its allowance, King Willem-Alexander said to the Dutch press. He would not comment on the indignation surrounding the increase.
The 2023 Budget presented in September states that the government budgeted 50.2 million euros for the royal family. Part of this is salary, and part is expense allowance. The government information service RVD explained that part of the increase is because the constitutional benefit for members of the royal family is a “trend follower,” which means that the royal family’s income increases in line with that of civil servants.
https://nltimes.nl/2022/10/14/royal-family-get-extra-eu464000-spending-money-king-refused-comment
Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU), Germany’s finance minister for eight years under Chancellor Merkel is calling on Germans to put in more effort and complain less.
Regarding the energy shortage that is crippling German industry and threatening Germans with cold homes this winter, he said, “Then you just put on a sweater, or maybe a second sweater. One should not moan about it, but one must recognize: Many things are not self-evident.” In addition, citizens should prepare for power outages with candles, matches, and flashlights.
Regarding inflation and high energy prices, Schäuble said that the state could only support those who are in serious need.
“To the others, one must also say: In times of need, you cannot take a vacation trip. The danger I see is that we believe the state is something that merely has to supply more and more to its citizens,”
he told Bild newspaper. He added that the state is not a supermarket and the citizens are not bargain hunters.