The Netherlands is a kingdom, but not everyone in the country is royalist. Republicans are calling for people to wear white as much as possible and wave white handkerchiefs on the day of the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander. They want to counterbalance what they call “the Orange craze”. The actions are fun.
Society
The New Republican Society (NRG) invited Dutch people not to wear orange but to wear white on the day of the enthronement. The white clothing had to counterbalance all the orange that predominated on that day.
The republicans believe that things could be a little less with the orange and the monarchy in the Netherlands.
Question marks
According to the association of republicans, there are enough Dutch people who question the inauguration of the king. They think kingship is outdated and too expensive. They prefer to spend their energy on democracy.
White
With the Netherlands Wears White campaign and the associated website, the republicans want to make it clear that too much value is attached to the monarchy and the associated orange color. They get, figuratively speaking, a rash from the color of the House of Orange and what they call the orange hype or orange madness . They also found it difficult to digest all the orange-colored news about the change of throne at the time of the inauguration. That is why they suggested wearing less orange and more white on April 30, 2013. The white clothing could consist of a white shirt or a white accent, for example in the form of a scarf. The NRG gave a number of suggestions:
- White scarf;
- white cap,
- White shirt;
- white streamer;
- leaving a white sheet hanging from the window;
- white balloons;
- white handkerchief.
Memorable
The call was not intended to delay the day of the throne and certainly not to cause riots. The Republicans wanted to make April 30, 2013 a memorable day with a focus on democracy in the Netherlands. The actions were used in a playful manner.
Discussion
The website www.nederlanddragertwit.nl is an initiative of the NRG, an association that has been fighting for more than 15 years in 2013 for a democratically elected head of state of the Netherlands. The NRG invited everyone in the Netherlands to discuss this on April 30, 2013.
Remarkable
People wearing white on April 30, 2013 stood out, were able to speak to each other and meet and talk to people wearing orange. Precisely because the colors stand out so much, it is easy to get into conversation with each other. Wearing orange or white invites you to do so, so to speak.
Activities
The NRG organized a number of activities in the run-up to the inauguration of the king, such as:
- Launch of website nederlanddragertwit.nl;
- NRG Amsterdam membership meeting;
- meeting on the Zorreguita issue;
- conference of European republicans;
- cultural activity
- citizens’ initiative.
Citizens’ initiative
The NRG also organized a citizens’ initiative to instruct the House of Representatives to discuss the monarchy and its costs. To enable the discussion in the House of Representatives, the NRG needs 40,000 signatures from Dutch people. NRG is still busy collecting them.
read more
- King and Queen take an introductory tour
- The very first King’s Games and its sequel
- King – National Committee Inauguration and coronation celebration
- Queen Beatrix – the enthronement