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The right-wing populist Geert Wilders has been given a key role after the shock election in the Netherlands.
ELECTION WINNER: Geert Wilders won the Dutch election. Photo: Robin Utrecht/Shutterstock Show more
Editor: This is an editorial from Dagbladet, and expresses the newspaper’s view. Dagbladet’s political editor is responsible for the editorial.
Published Saturday 25 November 2023 – 13:08
Last updated Saturday 25 November 2023 – 13:36
What is it like moving in Europe when the former digression Geert Wilders wins the election in the Netherlands? His Islam-critical right-wing populist PPV party is now the country’s largest, with 23.5 percent of the vote and 37 out of 150 representatives in the National Assembly. He has never been closer to the post of Prime Minister than now. He is the favorite to get the position.
Wilders is first and foremost a provocateur. A convicted provocateur. The so-called freedom party, in which he almost has private ownership, is for banning the Koran, against Islamic schools and of course against immigration.
The result did not come completely out of the blue. First, Wilders is a very experienced parliamentarian, who has been a prominent figure in Dutch national politics since the 1990s. Secondly, opposition to immigration is growing and thirdly, voters are dissatisfied with what has been.
VICTORY: Geert Wilders pictured after the election victory. Photo: Yves Herman / Reuters / NTB Show more
When the government of Mark Rutte collapsed on the integration policy this summer, dissatisfaction with the policy was at a record high level among voters. Rutte had been in office for 13 years, which in itself creates government fatigue both among voters and in the cabinet.
The observers think Wilders has moderated himself somewhat in the election campaign. Among other things, he has limited his disparaging and hateful mention of other ethnic groups. In particular, Moroccans have previously felt Wilders’ anger in recent years. Moderation can make government negotiations easier, and there are several other immigration-critical parties than PPV, but it will not be easy.
It is anyway startling that the liberal Netherlands, with its colorful community, takes such a clear step to the right. Wilders is already both embraced and congratulated by like-minded people in other EU countries, including former presidential candidate in France, Marine le Pen. Hungary’s “illiberal democrat”, President Victor Orban, has also expressed joy at the outcome.
Such greetings are clear underlines that the Netherlands is going in an undesirable direction. Geert Wilders in a central position in a central EU country is bad news, not just for the other EU countries. It is bad news for all liberal legal states that try to pursue a humane immigration policy at a time when tens of thousands of people are driven to flee by wars and disasters. And it is a warning that precisely such a world situation unfortunately contributes to such forces winning out.
2023-11-25 12:13:32
#Unwanted #Wildt
