Opinion January 30, 2020
What a goth that the leader also has the sad courage to call his party Forum for Democracy
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When the newly appointed minister Johan Rudolf Thorbecke was asked in the Lower House about the program of his cabinet, he replied: “Wait for our actions”. The parliamentarians settled for this, because the words and writings of this minister clearly indicated the direction it was going. Thorbecke wanted to shape a constitutional monarchy in which the legislative, executive and judicial powers had their own independent position. He is the patriarch of the democratic system as we know it today. The way in which the Netherlands is governed is, in essence, its creation today. Nobody could expect anything else from the minister.
In the same way, the words, writings and performances of Thierry Baudet show which way it will go in the unlikely event that he comes to the lead. Then he puts an end to the separation of powers. He will also affect the rights and freedoms of citizens, as they were extensively enshrined in the constitution by Thorbecke and his associates. Nobody should be surprised about that. He says it himself. He writes it himself.
In the Netherlands, every citizen – alone or in association – may appeal to the courts if he or she believes that governments are acting in violation of the law. He makes a statement about this. In most cases there is also the opportunity to appeal. This is an essential protection of the citizen against administrative arbitrariness and for that reason a cornerstone of democracy. Thierry Baudet revolts against this principle, Wednesday evening in a debate with Rob Jetten. He calls this dika democracy, government by judges. On the contrary, the political leader of D66 rightly told him. In these types of proceedings, the judge only explains what correct action is according to the law. If you have trouble with that, you need to change the law.
Baudet’s point of departure is different: you are nothing, the state is everything. The government determines how the law should be interpreted.
These days, the largest intellectual in the Netherlands wondered by tweet whether the Postcode lottery should not lose its license. This postcode lottery is a private company that supports all kinds of charities with its huge profits. They usually have something to do with the environment, development issues, emancipation and citizenship formation, all of which Baudet is killing a brother. So he thinks about running this private company, this private company: after all, it supports goals he does not like.
Two examples in one week. They make clear what acts a Prime Minister Baudet will perform. He will put an end to the rule of law, as Thorbecke has arranged it. Instead, there will be a state of power of reactionary cut, because other statements and articles show that he is a aversion against the lighting.
These views have yielded Baudet at least 42,000 paying members and eighteen virtual Chamber seats. His generation meetings draw crowded halls throughout the country. A substantial number of Dutch people have turned their back on freedom and democracy. They are waiting confidently for the actions of Baudet.
That is why the rest of the Netherlands cannot be informed often and clearly enough about the type of meat we have with this movement. What a gotspe that the leader also has the sad courage his party Forum for Democracy to name. What a cynicism.
Postscript for the enthusiast: The thinking of Thierry Baudet with his rejection of the French Revolution and his romantic desire for Christianity, which he has shown in the last year, has points of contact with the thinking of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled Portugal dictatorially from 1932 to 1968. An important pillar under that regime was to be proud of the glorious history of the homeland, as well as the idea that Portugal was a very special country with its own mission.
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