February 20, 2016 at 5:53 am by Marengo
The Dutch Golden Coach is under restoration, which will take three years. The king is paying thee restoration from his own budget, with no additional costs for the tax payer. A good deal one would think. In parlament the usual suspects still found a reason to complain, as royal issues can usually count on media exposure for MP’s. Already in December parlament asked Prime Minister Marc Rutte about more openness of the restoration costs. They wanted to know the exact costs of the restoration, why it is taking three years and what exactly will be done.
The prime minister refused to answer the question about the costs. He pointed out that the costs would be completely covered by the budget of the king. With his answer the prime minsiter wants to prevent parlament for asking more openness about other parts of the royal budget. There is no need for the Dutch public to knowhow many minutes Máxima uses her phone or how much money the palace spends on candles.
The Prime minister did answer questions about the restoration intself. It is a complex and specialised process. During the resotration of the Glass Coach -a few years ago- they learned that it is impossible for two people to work on the coach at the same time.
Tagged Carriages, Costs, Finances, King Willem-Alexander.
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