Meanwhile, somewhere out in the Empire...
Oddly, in spite of all the efforts to the contrary, it seems that the Netherlands, like the rest of Western Europe has not become like the idealized propaganda version ofthe United States it was hoping to create. Rather, it looks more like the old German Democratic Republic, but without the numerous benefits showered on East German workers. Thanks to modern technology, Dutch intelligence agencies and the police now enjoy even more power that the old GDR Stasi. Detailed information on each and every citizen is only a mouse click away for those with access to government-controlled databases. True criticism of the government is not tolerated and has moved to the internet, which functions like an electronic samizdat. In fact, the similarities are so numerous and so obvious as to be disturbing.
Meanwhile, like a resurrected Erich Honecker, Balkenende has become the subject of an official personality cult, being systematically lionized in the media and now also honored with a wax figure of himself at Madame Tussaud's at Amsterdam. However, the protective screen around the Dutch Honecker is not so tight as to prevent persistent rumors about Harry Potter's would-be look-alike being an obsessive bottom-pincher.
