An EU oil embargo on Syria is on the way – but de Volkskrant wonders if there’s any point. Geert Wilders is proposing a “mini-monarchy”, the papers explain, but there are suspicions about his motives. Most Dutch poor people escape the poverty trap, Trouw reports. The Hague is forcing people to take voluntary Dutch classes, but that’s no bad thing, says AD. And Geert Wilders® is literally a political brand name.

Syrian oil embargo – any point?
The EU has announced a Syrian oil embargo. Well, actually it hasn’t quite yet, but that’s what you would think from de Volkskrant’s headline. The other papers are more reticent about the news. But de Volkskrant takes Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal at his word, and he says EU oil sanctions are in the bag. Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has already promised to cooperate “loyally” – even though it has ignored pleas from parliament to dump Syria without official sanctions in place.

Is there actually any point in boycotting Syrian oil? De Volkskrant has its doubts. Countries always find a way to get round sanctions, the paper’s analysis concludes. Anyway, dictators don’t give two hoots. Like Saddam Hussein, they just carry on with business as usual and let the sanctions hit the poorest in the country. It was the political struggle in South Africa that brought down apartheid, the paper quotes international relations expert Bibi van Ginkel, not the fact that we stopped eating South African oranges.

Wilders wants “mini-monarchy”
Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party has put forward a bill that would strip the Queen of power and leave her in a purely ceremonial role, Trouw reports. But the plan doesn’t stand a chance, De Telegraaf is quick to point out. The Christian Democrats and the conservative VVD want to keep things just the way they are. The Labour Party would like to see the monarch out of the advisory Council of State, but still part of the government.

The other parties on the left, Green Left, D66 and the Socialist Party, are all in favour of clipping the monarch’s wings. So surely they’re thrilled with Mr Wilders’ bill? Well, they might doubt his motives, as de Volkskrant points out in its editorial. Geert Wilders has made it plain before that he wants to kick Queen Beatrix out of the government. But that was after she’d used her 2007 Christmas speech to make a thinly-veiled attack on his anti-Islam party.

The Freedom Party bill to create a “mini-monarchy” is a worthy exercise, de Volkskrant concludes, but purely symbolic. As yet, the future King Willem IV needn’t expect any changes to his job description.

Dutch cuts and the poverty trap
Cutbacks? You ain’t seen nothing yet, Prime Minister Mark Rutte tells De Telegraaf. The paper has a big interview with the PM at the weekend, but it can’t wait till then to reveal its doom-and-gloom scoop. Mr Rutte thinks his government’s 18 billion euros of cuts might not be enough, and they might need to slash a few billion more after 2012.

Meanwhile the Labour Party is still bitterly protesting at the effects of the cuts so far, Trouw reports. The same small group of disadvantaged people at the bottom of the pile is bearing the brunt, the party says.

But it’s not all bad news for the poor this morning, Trouw points out in its editorial. More than 90 percent of people born poor in the Netherlands manage to escape from poverty as adults, according to a report by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research . “Poverty isn’t hereditary,” the paper concludes. “Dutch society is more open than we thought.”

Citizenship course arm-twisting
“Outrage” in The Hague. The local council is forcing people from ethnic minorities to take language and citizenship courses by threatening to cut their benefits if they refuse, AD reports. Even if they have Dutch citizenship and have lived in the city for years. “It’s shameful,” says lawyer Famile Arslan. “The council is abusing its powers. It’s pure intimidation.”

Fatima (48) tells the paper how she was presented with a form headed “voluntary citizenship training” and told that if she wouldn’t sign it her social security benefit would be cut.

“It’s only good for them,” Labour Party councillor Marnix Norder tells AD. And in its editorial, the paper agrees. “The measure isn’t designed to bully foreigners,” it concludes. It’s mainly aimed at single women stuck at home, isolated from society. “Helping them out of that isolation isn’t anti-social,” AD concludes. “A little persuasion can help.”

Top Dutch brands: Wilders® and Joran™
Geert Wilders® and Joran van der Sloot™ have registered their names as trademarks, nrc.next reports. This makes Mr Wilders® the only living politician to be a brand name. It’s to stop teasing protestors from ripping off elements of the Freedom Party website, the party explains. Similarly, it was Joran™ van der Sloot’s mother who registered both the full name and first name of her infamous murder suspect son to block would-be exploiters.

The two certainly aren’t the only famous Dutch people to have had their names registered as trademarks, nrc.next goes on to point out. A horticultural company owns Queen Beatrix as the name of a rose. Meanwhile, another Dutch plant breeder is fond of US presidents. After scoring a hit with the Reagan®, they’re now considering launching a new chrysanthemum called Obama®.

Does this mean every time I mention Geert Wilders® or Joran van der Sloot™ I now have to add these trademark symbols? Luckily, as nrc.next explains, in the Netherlands it’s not compulsory.