After 2 muted years, orange-clad folk mark Dutch King's Day

27.04.2022 - 15:49 / abcnews.go.com

AMSTERDAM -- After two years of celebrations muted by coronavirus lockdowns, the Netherlands marked King Willem-Alexander's 55th birthday Wednesday with street parties, music festivals and a national poll showing trust in the monarch ebbing away.The king, who was photographed drinking a beer with Vladimir Putin at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, voiced criticism of the Russian president as he expressed gratitude for being able to celebrate his birthday in “peace and freedom.”The poll conducted by Ipsos for national broadcaster NOS showed the king’s approval rating had slipped to 6.7 on a 10-point scale, compared to 7.7 in 2020. Willem-Alexander told the broadcaster he did not pay much attention to polls.“What I do think is very good is constructive criticism,” he said.

“In other words, if you don’t have that, you can end up like a Putin, and nobody wants that.”Willem-Alexander said he was grateful for the birthday festivities after two years of coronavirus restrictions, but he alluded to Russia's two-month-old war in Ukraine.“You see not far from here in Ukraine what it means if you don’t have peace and freedom,” the king said. "So we should be extra grateful as the Netherlands that we can celebrate this together without forgetting that it can be very different.