'BAD COP'
The fact that the issue is prime TV fodder goes a long way to explaining how the Netherlands has become the bloc's "bad cop" opposing the kind of financial burden-sharing that its neighbours to the south say is needed to stave off an economic meltdown.
While the tough stance of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government has the backing of parliament at home, in Rome eurosceptic challenger Matteo Salvini denounced the bloc as failing to show enough solidarity.
"The European debate is embarrassing not to say sickening," said governor Luca Zaia, a member of Salvini's Northern League in the Veneto region, one of the hardest hit in Italy.
Joris Luyendijk, a Dutch author and political commentator, said Hoekstra's hard line tactics could cause long-term damage to the Netherlands' diplomatic relationships within the union.
"It's horrible PR and horrible politics; at a time of unprecedented crisis Wopke offers southern Europeans an ideal hate figure. We will pay for this down the line, as a country."
