He told BBC News that ice-coring "doesn't really work as a viable technique to do long-term, clean access and exploration of sub-glacial lake environments - because of the issues with cleanliness and sterility".

BBC: 'New frontier' of Antarctic lake exploration

In the run-up to the vote on May 6th, in which the Liberals, Labour, and Greens increased their strength at the expense of the Christian Democrats, the Netherlands deployed a technique that did not prevent politicians from promising the moon, but at least forced them to come clean about the cost.

ECONOMIST: Dutch courage