48, acts as the head of the state while the principal executive official of the country is the prime minister. He is appointed by the monarch and heads a cabinet that is responsible to the States-General (legislature). The Dutch parliament, called the Stat

. Gross domestic product (GDP) has expanded strongly in the last two years - by 2.7 percent in 1996 and 3.4 per cent in 1997- and analysts expect GDP Growth to be even higher in 1998" (Mottershaw 9). With all of the economic growth that happening in the Netherlands, one would assume that the elections of 1998 would keep the same coalition together. "However, in a multiparty system such as the Netherlands, things are never that simple. Governing parties may be collaborating partners in coalition, but, in the run-up to the election they increasingly become opponents competing for votes" (Van der Brug 180). This competition for votes is exactly what took place in the 1998 elections. The popularity of the prime minister Wim Kok and his party, PvdA, won the party more seats which were taken from the D66. D66 also gave up some seats to other small parties such as the Socialist Party and the Green Left. The results of this recent election have caused a major stir in the country and !

Democrats and other right-wing parties disagree vehemently with the proposals and promise "aggressive" criticism when the proposals are debated later this year (Spanjer 660; Sheldon 467). The other major issue in Dutch politics is the drug policy. Since the late 1970's, it has been legal to smoke marijuana and use other soft drugs. While this may seem like an absurd idea to other countries, the Dutch drug policy seems to be working quite well. For example, the use of cannabis in the Netherlands is lower than in the United States (Barnard 68). The trouble starts when other countries, namely France, try to impose their ideas on drug enforcement on the Netherlands. While trying to control the flow of drugs within their own countries, European nations are blaming the Netherlands' loose policy on drugs for all of the problems. However, the policy on cannabis has not led to an increase in the number of hard-drug users, and therefore, the steppingstone hypothesis cannot be confirmed !

r is Texaco which only has 2,984 gas stations which are mostly in Britain. In addition to the large companies, entertainment is starting to play vital role in the economy. As of late, there has been a big stir among television companies over the anticipated arrival of the new Fox channel. Fox television hit America and practically took over. They show a wide variety of family shows, shows that are geared more towards women, and, to satisfy the men, numerous sporting events. "Commercial channels in Holland, already strapped with meager profits and splintered audiences, are bracing for a new round of competition with the relaunch of niche channel TV10 as a new Fox Group outlet. . ." (Edmunds 52). Previously, TV10 had been showing Fox Kids shows during the day and getting rave reviews. However, their night time line-up has not been doing so well. Showing shows like "The A-Team" and "Kung Fu" has been attracting audiences in the 50-and-over range, which advertisers hate. The new F!

s shown signs of wanting to stick around. His stay will all depend on whether or not the old coalition can put itself back together again. If it does not, then Kok will probably remain in office to take care of matters until the next general election. "Either way, it is a safe bet that little will change in the way the prosperous Dutch are ruled" (So what? 50). In addition to the political stir caused by the 1998 election, there are also a couple pieces of legislation that are cause some trouble of their own. The first is the euthanasia law in the Netherlands. As it is everywhere else, assisted suicide is illegal in the Netherlands. However, on August 10th, the Dutch ministers of justice and health proposed a bill that would allow for children as young as 12 to be assisted in committing suicide, even if their parents disagree (Spanjer 660). The bill will also set up a set of strict criteria that, if followed, will protect doctors from prosecution. "This will end a 15 year anom!

anies are interested

Some common words found in the essay are:
Green Left, Netherlands Embassy, Fox Entertainment, Bob Keijzer, Netherlands Dutch, Netherlands August, Inspection Monitoring, Wim Kok, EU Commission, United Barnard, dutch economy, middle east, middle east economic, east economic, sheldon 467, economic digest, location key, edmunds 52, soft drugs, east economic digest, drug policy, christian democrats, location key 12, domestic product gdp, economic digest 4221,
Approximate Word count = 3579
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)