Trump and Musk, what now?

The world is in turmoil. From Washington, daily statements are thrown into the world that leave us all in amazement. That certainly applies to Trump's political opponents. Let's count Mrs. Von der Leyen among them. Between the two, how is that supposed to work? Europe cannot formulate any common position under her direction and yet she thinks she is an interlocutor for Trump. So no. Europe is totally isolated. Ukraine rules Trump and Putin, no matter how pitiful Zelensky looks. And Europe is footing the bill for reconstruction and military deployments to keep the parties apart. And who is now the winner of those million dead?

Green Deal Timmermans under pressure
The new administration's climate approach in Washington differs greatly from its predecessors. Trump is withdrawing from international treaties. That affects Europe when it comes to the implementation of internationally agreed climate targets, but also in the application of the CSRD, an EU directive requiring large companies to include a sustainability paragraph in their annual report. KPMG is pushing for a delay, while 40 leading large companies in the Netherlands are pleading with Brussels to implement the legislation in full with a statement. Von der Leyen had already come up with an Omnibus initiative before Trump's election. In it, she wanted to follow up on the Draghi report which showed that regulations are far too complex. The arrival of Trump will certainly affect this process and Timmermans' Green Deal is under pressure.

Could that be the reason that in the Netherlands Frans Timmermans suddenly appears at every talking table? Apparently he has to take care of strengthening the left-wing sound of his friends at NPO. They are still heavily opposed to the cuts and seem to be succeeding quite well. I do think that's a form of weak knees, considering the election promises. Under Rutte, the NPO budget has grown from 600 million to more than a billion. And that money is mainly spent on programs that are very much like left-wing propaganda. It is important for a well-functioning democracy that the media are balanced. Sounds from all corners of society must be audible.

The Intellectuals
The other day it was all about Macron's summit, not about the sorrow in which road users in the Netherlands had spent all morning as a result of the closure of the A2 near Den Bosch. I had an appointment in Utrecht and returned 40 kilometers before the line, unable to find anything. You could fill a program with the texts I threw over the steering wheel. That's not news, because the kind of people who have to endure this kind of suffering don't whine!

The media should also ask themselves what harm they are doing to the U.S.-Netherlands relationship. A smear campaign against Musk must translate into getting rid of your Tesla. That is the latest revival of intellectuals. Musk does not care, but neither does he forget. A pointless action and, moreover, inconsistent. Because will you then trade your Tesla for a Chinese EV? Who are you supporting then? It strikes me that the intellectuals are not cracking down on the importation of Chinese trash because of the huge footprint. See there all the packages being driven back and forth to mostly the intellectuals, who then send more than half of them back. Of course they won't abolish that; it's too lucrative for their electorate. But any principled stand after that is unacceptable to me.

We Limburgers are once again at an advantage. We are going to build drones at VDL Nedcar and we will soon have Carnival. That Limburg is gearing up for it is visible in every street in the province. Trump, Musk, Von der Leyen, they will see their effigies in many a parade, but the carnivalist will not let it take away a second of his pleasure. Alaaf.