The Curse of Henk Krol Edition - Week 40 - 2022

Johan Remkes, the government's polder tsar, works his magic again as Dutch farmers cautiously welcome his plan to buy out up to 600 of the biggest nitrogen polluters - essentially the same plan that sparked two years of furious protest. There seems little hope of reconciliation between Khadija Arib and her successor as chair of parliament, Vera Bergkamp, after Arib quits as an MP and accuses Bergkamp and her PvdA colleagues of stabbing her in the back. The coronavirus season begins with the traditional 'don't panic' message from the health ministry as hospital beds fill up. Inflation rises to record levels, led by the bill for the government's energy price cap, which hits €23.5 billion. Nine men go on trial in Lelystad accused of being involved in a fatal attack on another Dutchman in Mallorca. And the remains of two medieval lions are dug up in The Hague, just as Ajax suffer their worst mauling in the history of the Champions League. * Henk Krol tweet: https://twitter.com/HenkKrol/status/1577963576437997569 * Five Live scene: https://twitter.com/AlexMazereeuw/status/1576844319306022912 * Nitrogen crisis explainer: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2022/06/whats-all-the-fuss-about-nitrogen-in-the-netherlands/