How does Italy see the Netherlands?
In recent months, Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Hoekstra did not exactly make themselves popular with the Italians, partly due to a viral video in which Rutte laughingly says to a garbage man that he will not give money to Spain and Italy. Prof. Mauro Bonazzi (Philosophy and Religious Studies) was interviewed by and , the newspaper's weekly magazine, about the tensions between and the relationship of the Netherlands and Italy.
Contradictions
The dossier on the Netherlands in Sette explains, among other things, the contradictory image Italy has of the Netherlands. The Netherlands has always been valued in Italy for its tolerance. On the one hand, it is seen as a frugal country, as shown by the statements of Rutte and Hoekstra, but on the other hand, the country is also considered a tax haven, attracting many Italian companies for that reason.
Values and interests
Finance is also the cause of the current tensions between Italy and the Netherlands. In the Corriere della sera Bonazzi explains why tensions arose between the Netherlands and Italy during the negotiations on financial aid following the corona crisis. According to him, the Netherlands is trying to defend its interests and seems less involved, while the Italian debate is sometimes taken over by rhetoric about values instead of concrete interests. "But politics is also about interests, isn't it? And this should be discussed when agreements are made, trying to keep different interests (Italians, Dutch...) together without forgetting values, of course".
Polder model
Thankfully, it's not only conflict: in the dossier for Sette Bonazzi talks about the Italian admiration of the Dutch university system. Bonazzi explains the strengths of this system: "Investments are being made in the master programs, the real gateway to the labour market. The lessons are in English, the environment is dynamic and based on the circulation of ideas, you experiment". According to Bonazzi, the secret of this system is that it is based on the Polder model, "like polder: the land that has been taken out of the sea and made cultivable thanks to the cooperation between people".