Rise of Geert Wilders in Netherlands, and the growing far right in Europe: Analysis

The recent electoral success of Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom in the Netherlands signals a broader trend of right-wing populism in Europe, challenging traditional politics and raising concerns about the future of liberal democracy on the continent.



Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, known as PVV, speaks during an event (Credits: AP)


Geeta Mohan
New Delhi,

INDIA TODAY

UPDATED: Nov 28, 2023
Edited By: Vani Mehrotra


The recent success of Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands marks a pivotal moment. Wilders, a divisive figure in Dutch politics, has led the PVV to a significant victory in the latest elections, winning approximately 37 of the 150 parliamentary seats, a substantial increase from their previous count. This outcome signals a potential shift in Dutch politics, moving away from the centrist governance that has dominated under Mark Rutte's leadership.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has become a central figure in the changing political climate of the Netherlands. Born on September 6, 1963, Wilders has been at the forefront of Dutch politics since founding the PVV in 2006. His political journey started much earlier with his election to the Netherlands' national parliament in 1998. Initially, a member of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Wilders left in 2004 due to disagreements over the EU accession of Turkey, forming his own party, the PVV. Known for his criticism of Islam and the European Union, Wilders' views have made him a polarising figure both domestically and internationally.

Geert Wilders: A Polarising Figure

Wilders, who has been at the helm of the PVV since its establishment in 2006, is known for his strident criticism of Islam and the European Union. His political journey began within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), but he defected in 2004 due to disagreements over the party's stance on EU policies, particularly due to disagreements over the EU accession of Turkey, forming his own party, the PVV. Wilders’ views have shaped the PVV's political platform, which advocates for strict immigration controls, particularly from Muslim countries, and opposes the construction of new mosques. His rhetoric has not only made him a prominent figure in Dutch politics but also a contentious one on the international stage.

PVV's Ideological Stance and Electoral Strategy


The PVV's platform reflects a broader European trend of populist right-wing parties gaining ground. The party's stance on issues such as immigration control, tax reductions, and stricter policies on drugs and infrastructure investment mirrors the populist approach of the late Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn. Wilders’ willingness to compromise on some of his more extreme views, particularly his anti-Muslim rhetoric, for the sake of forming a government, indicates a strategic shift aimed at transforming electoral success into tangible political power.

The Growing Far-Right Trend in Europe

Hungary: Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party has significantly altered Hungary's political environment, emphasising national conservatism and anti-immigration policies. The party's approach has raised concerns about the erosion of democratic norms and press freedom, highlighting the challenges that such shifts pose to the European Union's liberal democratic values.

Poland: The Law and Justice Party (PiS) in Poland has taken a similar route to Hungary's Fidesz, focusing on traditional family values, national sovereignty, and challenging EU norms, particularly concerning the judiciary and media freedoms. The PiS represents the growing influence of nationalist and conservative ideologies within the region.


Italy: The rise of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini's League has reshaped Italy's political landscape. Both parties champion nationalist and anti-immigrant policies, reflecting broader European concerns about sovereignty and cultural integrity.


Sweden: The Sweden Democrats, initially rooted in neo-Nazi ideology, have gained significant electoral support, capitalising on societal concerns about immigration and cultural integration. Their rise indicates a shift in Swedish politics towards more nationalistic and conservative views.

France: Marine Le Pen's National Rally, a key player in French politics, focuses on nationalism, anti-immigration policies, and Euroscepticism. The party's influence has been significant in shaping the national discourse around these issues.

Spain: In Spain, Vox has emerged as a significant force, advocating for national unity against regional separatism, stringent immigration control, and traditional values. The party's rise is in part a response to issues surrounding Catalan independence and reflects a broader European trend of right-wing populism.

Germany: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) began as a Eurosceptic party but later adopted far-right positions, focusing on anti-immigration and anti-Islam policies. The AfD's rise is indicative of the broader challenges that Germany faces in terms of integrating immigrants and managing cultural change.

These far-right parties across Europe share a common thread in their appeal to public concerns over national identity, sovereignty, and the cultural impact of immigration and European integration. Their ascent reflects the complex interplay of economic uncertainties, cultural fears, and a perception among voters of being left behind by globalization and traditional political elites.

Implications and Future Outlook

The rise of Geert Wilders and the PVV in the Netherlands, along with similar trends in other European countries, signals a transformation in the political discourse of the continent. These shifts towards the far right challenge the liberal democratic order and the values of pluralism and tolerance. They underscore the need for traditional political forces to address the underlying causes of voter discontent, such as economic inequality, cultural integration challenges, and effective governance while upholding democratic norms and institutions.

The trajectory of these nations' politics will have significant implications for Europe's future, both in terms of internal cohesion and its global standing. As traditional political landscapes continue to evolve, the responses to these changes will be crucial in shaping the direction of European democracies.

In the Netherlands, the challenge for Wilders and the PVV will be to navigate the complex coalition dynamics inherent in Dutch politics. Despite their significant electoral gains, forming a government may prove difficult due to the reluctance of other parties to align with the PVV's controversial positions. This scenario is reflective of the broader European context, where far-right parties often struggle to translate electoral success into governing power due to their polarizing stances.

The Role of Mainstream Politics in the Rise of the Far Right

The growth of far-right parties can also be attributed to the perceived failures of mainstream political parties in addressing key public concerns. Issues such as economic insecurity, cultural changes due to globalisation, and the challenges of immigration and integration have not been adequately addressed by traditional political entities, leading to voter disillusionment. This disillusionment provides fertile ground for far-right parties, which often present simplified solutions to complex problems.

European Union's Response to the Far Right

The European Union faces a delicate balancing act in responding to the rise of the far right. On one hand, it must uphold its foundational values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. On the other hand, it needs to engage constructively with member states where far-right parties are part of the government or hold significant influence. This engagement is crucial to maintain the unity and integrity of the EU.

Future of Liberal Democracy in Europe

The rise of the far right poses a significant challenge to the future of liberal democracy in Europe. While these parties have capitalised on genuine grievances, their solutions often undermine the very principles of liberal democracy, such as minority rights, judicial independence, and media freedom. The response to this challenge must be multifaceted, involving not only political and institutional responses but also broader societal engagement to reaffirm the values of pluralism, tolerance, and inclusive democracy.

Published By:
Vani Mehrotra

A reaction to the Dutch elections


NETHERLANDS / EPC FLASH ANALYSIS
Elizabeth Kuiper
Date: 24/11/2023

If the far-right party that won the Dutch elections on Thursday has its way, the possibility of a Nexit is no longer merely hypothetical. The EU should now get ready for more political unrest in 2024 and beyond if the elections in the Netherlands are any indication of what will happen in other member states. With populists in power in Hungary, Slovakia and Italy and support for these parties surging in Germany and France, the Netherlands is the latest country where yesterday’s elections saw an increase in support for the Dutch anti-immigration populists.

Immigration has been a big issue in the election campaign, especially since Rutte’s government fell over a bill to reduce asylum seekers. The Dutch liberal party (VVD) seems to have underestimated the fact that after 13 years of VVD Prime Minister Rutte, right-leaning voters were not looking for a party that would compromise with other mainstream parties on issues like migration and the green agenda, as they did in previous coalitions. Even though Wilders’s tone has been described as ‘milder’ his rhetoric and priorities on migration and leaving the EU remain unchanged.

Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) was founded in 2006, with anti-Islam policies at the heart of his party from the start. The party has never been in government but provided key support in 2010 to the ruling coalition led by Mark Rutte’s Dutch liberals (VVD). Two years after the start of that government, Wilders withdrew his support for the minority coalition. Future coalition partners are advised to remind themselves of that experience, and the VVD made a strategic mistake by opening the door for Wilders this time.

In terms of the seats needed to form a majority government, a coalition of Wilders party together with the liberal VVD party and the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) led by Pieter Omtzigt seems the most obvious option at the moment. Omtzigt, a former Christian-Democrat MP, has led a strong campaign focusing on the cost-of-living crisis and shares the VVD position on migration. However, forming a government will not be easy as both VVD and NSC have flagged concerns in the past about Wilders’ stance on the rule of law and the EU.

Despite the complete lack of focus on the EU in the Dutch election campaign, the congratulations for Wilders coming in last night on social media from the likes of Le Pen and Orban are telling examples of the potential implications of these elections for the EU, eight months before the June 2024 European Parliament elections.

All of this is part of a worrying trend of more fragmentation and polarisation in EU Member States. The outcome of the Polish elections in October this year brought some initial hope that this trend was reversing. Still, the Netherlands is the latest example of the perils of relying on opinion polls all over again.

We don’t know yet how long the coalition negotiations are going to last in the Netherlands, but what is clear is that the outcome will impact the Commission’s 2024-2029 mandate. A right-wing government would not only be detrimental to the position of the Netherlands in the EU, but also unwelcome news for the EU institutions in light of the June 2024 elections.

Over the years -especially after Brexit where the Dutch lost an important ally around the Council table- the Netherlands has taken a more assertive stance in the EU. How a new government will position itself on EU files, such as the EU’s support to Ukraine, climate policy and economic governance, depends very much on whether Wilders will manage to form a government.

Clearly the mobilisation of voters expressing political discontent needs to be addressed at the EU level in the years to come. The EU would need to show its ability to solve social problems and implement a fair and just climate transition. Populist parties will argue that social policies and healthcare systems need to be designed at national level and that there is no role for the EU in these areas. Their argument is cynical enough, as the cost of EU non-intervention in these areas is high, as there will be no common standards and ready-made solutions at the national level for the problems of our time, such as an ageing population, migration and climate change.

The outcome of the Dutch elections sends a signal to the EU that it cannot afford to overlook. If the EU fails to come up with preventative and strategic policymaking during its 2024-2029 mandate, divergences between member states will grow to the detriment of EU cohesion.


Elizabeth Kuiper is an Associate Director and Head of the Social Europe and Well-being programme at the European Policy Centre.

The Netherlands’ longtime ruling party says it won’t join a new government following far-right’s win



Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, left, and Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract party, right, talk prior to the start of a meeting with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after far-right PVV party leader Geert Wilders won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023. 

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right party PVV, or Party for Freedom, gestures during a meeting of leaders of the political parties with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after Wilders’ won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right party PVV, or Party for Freedom, seated, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, leader ofthe People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, right, and Frans Timmermans, of the center-left two party bloc of Labor Party and Green Left, rear left, arrive for a meeting with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after Wilders won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023. 

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right party PVV, or Party for Freedom, left, and Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract party, wait for the start of a meeting with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after Wilders won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right party PVV, or Party for Freedom, center, and Frans Timmermans, of the center-left two party bloc of Labor Party and Green Left, right, wait for the start of a meeting with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after Wilders won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023. 

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right party PVV, or Party for Freedom, center, rubs his face, as Frans Timmermans, of the center-left two party bloc of Labor Party and Green Left, right, wait for the start of a meeting with speaker of the House Vera Bergkamp, two days after Wilders won the most votes in a general election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday Nov. 24, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

BY MIKE CORDER
November 24, 2023

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The process of forming a new Dutch government in the aftermath of far-right firebrand Geert Wilders’ stunning election victory got underway Friday as leaders of political parties met with the chair of parliament’s lower house to appoint a “scout” to investigate possible coalitions.

Wilders’ anti-Islam Party for Freedom, known by its Dutch acronym PVV, won 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house, indicating a seismic shift to the right for the Netherlands. The party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte won 24, 10 fewer than in the previous election, according to a near complete count of Wednesday’s votes.

The new leader of Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, said ahead of Friday’s meeting that the party known as VVD would not formally join a new coalition but might support one in parliament.

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius told Dutch broadcaster NOS said that after 13 years of Rutte as prime minister and VVD’s loss of lawmaker seats in the election, “another role is appropriate” for the party.

But she added that her party would make “a center-right coalition possible,” meaning VVD would “support constructive proposals.”

The election result paves the way for Wilders to take the lead in forming a new coalition and potentially to succeed Rutte as prime minister. However, he will likely have to convince potential coalition partners that he would tone down some of his anti-Islam policies.

His party’s election platform states that the Netherlands “is not an Islamic country. No Islamic schools, Qurans and mosques.”

One potential coalition partner for Wilders is the recently formed New Social Contract party, or NSC, which won 20 seats. The party’s centrist leader, Pieter Omtzigt, said he could not accept “unconstitutional” policies.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Netherlands outlaws discrimination “on grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or on any other grounds.”

In an election-night victory speech, Wilders pledged not to push any policies that would breach Dutch law or the constitution.

TOOK LONG ENOUGH

Dutch anti-Islam party says it's brokered a provisional coalition deal for a hard-right government

CAN'T CLAIM TO MAKE THE TRAINS RUN ON TIME

RAF CASERT
Updated Wed, May 15, 2024 


Chairman of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders speaks at the third Hungarian edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, April 26, 2024. The two-day event is hosted from April 25 to 26 by the Center for Fundamental Rights of Hungary for the third consecutive year. 

(Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP)


BRUSSELS (AP) — Anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders and three other Dutch party leaders said Wednesday they have brokered a provisional coalition deal in a move that brings closer a government driven by the hard right in yet another European Union nation.

The party leaders said that they will put the text to their party backbenchers before a full government deal can be announced. The parties still have to agree on a prime minister, who is expected to be a technocrat from outside the party structures.

With hard right and populist parties now part of or leading a half dozen governments in the 27-nation bloc, they appear positioned to make gains in the June 6-9 election for the European Parliament.

“We have a deal among negotiators and we will return to the position of prime minister at a later moment,” said Wilders. He has reluctantly acknowledged he will not succeed Mark Rutte and instead has pushed for an outsider.

The name of a prime minister was still elusive, and even though Wilders won the election, he was considered by many too risky to be the national leader.

Speculation has centered on Ronald Plasterk, from the Labor Party, who shot back to prominence this year when he became the first “scout” to hold talks with political leaders about possible coalitions.

Wilders has called Plasterk a “creative spirit” with political experience but who is also distanced enough from the current political scene.

"If you want a government to succeed, you need a prime minister that unites,” said Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the centrist New Social Contract party. Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte's center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the populist Farmer Citizen Movement are also in the coalition deal.

Wilders’ Party for Freedom won 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament, and the four parties combined hold a comfortable majority of 88 seats.

After two decades in the opposition, Wilders seemed to have a shot at leading a nation that long prided itself on its tolerant society, but he has stepped aside in the interests of pushing through most of his agenda.

From Finland to Croatia, hard-line right parties are part of European governing coalitions, and hard right or populist prime ministers are leading Hungary, Slovakia and Italy.

Dutch parties reach deal to form government

Richard CARTER
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Wilders called it a historic day (Sem van der Wal)

Six months after Geert Wilders won a stunning election victory, squabbling politicians finally clinched an agreement Wednesday on a coalition government, said the Dutch far-right leader, who will not be prime minister.

"We have a negotiators' agreement," said Wilders, who had reluctantly agreed to give up his dream of running the European Union's fifth-largest economy amid widespread unease over his anti-Islam, anti-European views.

It was not immediately clear who would be prime minister to lead the right-wing coalition government and replace Mark Rutte, who is almost certain to be tapped as the new NATO secretary general.

"Discussions over the prime minister will be held at a later time," Wilders told reporters.

However, the main contender looks to be former education and interior minister Ronald Plasterk, who also played a key role in overseeing the initial talks.

Later on Wednesday, MPs for the four parties all gave their approval to the deal, the details of which were not immediately available.

In March, the four parties agreed to aim for a partially technocratic government made up of 50 percent politicians and 50 percent from outside politics.

The last time the Netherlands had such an "expert" government was in 1918 and it is not clear how it will work more than 100 years later.

After marathon talks on Tuesday, Wilders said it would be a "historic day" if his far-right PVV Freedom Party took part in a Dutch government for the first time.

The far-right has gained in elections across Europe but has struggled to translate votes into power as other parties refuse to work with them.

"It's a worrisome day. We now have a radical right-wing party under Wilders that finds itself at the centre of power in the Netherlands," said opposition leader Frans Timmermans from the Greens-Left alliance.

- 'A bit longer' -

Wilders, sometimes nicknamed the "Dutch Trump", has softened some of his policy positions but his election manifesto still called for a ban on the Koran and mosques.

After winning the largest share of the vote in the elections, Wilders was primed to be the country's first far-right PM but at least one of his coalition partners threatened to torpedo a deal in that case.

"Do not forget: I will become prime minister of the Netherlands one day. With the support of even more Dutch," Wilders said after reluctantly stepping aside.

"If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Because the voices of millions of Dutch will be heard."

The coalition talks -- between Wilders' PVV, farmers party BBB, the liberal VVD and new anti-corruption party NSC -- have been fractious, not helped by social media sniping from all sides.

In February, NSC head Pieter Omtzigt abruptly stormed out of the talks, ostensibly over disagreements over public finances but he was also known to have major concerns about Wilders' more extreme policies.

Asked why it had taken nearly six months to form a government, Omtzigt smiled and said: "Well, it's a bit the story of the forming of this government."

"Every phase took just a bit longer than we thought, but that's normal."

It has become something of a tradition for Dutch governments to take a long time forming.

The last Rutte government took 271 days to take shape.

jhe-ric/gv


Explainer-How will Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders form a government?

Reuters
Wed, May 15, 2024

Dutch politicians meet after election to start coalition talks

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands was set to have its most right-wing government in recent history after anti-immigration populist Geert Wilders said he was close to working out a deal with coalition partners.

WHAT WILL THE NEW PROPOSED GOVERNMENT LOOK LIKE?

Wilders' nationalist PVV party, the clear winner of the Nov. 22 election, will form a coalition with outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centre-right VVD, the new centrist NSC and the farmers protest upstart BBB.

The Netherlands is usually governed by coalitions that nail down their plans in detailed government pacts, but this time parties said they would aim for a broad agreement and a government of technocrats with looser ties to parliament.

This would involve a cabinet of political veterans and outside experts, who would have to seek majorities for their policy proposals. Those positions need to be agreed upon by all parties, which could prove difficult.

WHO WILL LEAD IT?

Talks have been strained from the start as the VVD and NSC remained reluctant to work with Wilders, who called for shutting down mosques and banning the Koran in the Netherlands.

In an effort to overcome this reluctance, Wilders toned down parts of his anti-EU and anti-Islam rhetoric and said he was ready to forego the role of prime minister, traditionally filled by the leader of the largest party.

Wilders could announce his candidate for the top job on Wednesday.

Even without a direct government position, however, the always outspoken leader is still set to have a large influence over policies.

Wilders regularly uses his X account with 1.4 million followers to lash out against political opponents, migrants and mainstream media and has said he won't change his style once in government.

CAN WE EXPECT MAJOR POLICY SHIFTS?

Not many details of the government pact have leaked, but it is clear the coalition will aim to severely limit immigration.

A draft page of the pact photographed and published by Dutch media last week showed the parties aimed for the "strictest-ever rules for admitting asylum seekers".

Wilders also made promises of lavish spending on healthcare and a lowering of the retirement age, but budget constraints make it unlikely the other parties will all support these plans.

Economic experts, including the Dutch central bank, have warned the new coalition would have to find around 17 billion euros ($18.4 billion) in structural spending cuts to keep government finances in check.

Wilders has dropped his resistance to all weapon deliveries to Ukraine, and is also no longer calling for a Dutch exit from the EU.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The four prospective government parties planned to finalise their deal on Wednesday, after which they will report to parliament.

The candidate prime minister will then likely be tasked with filling the rest of the government positions, with candidates supplied by the four parties, in a process which is likely to take weeks, NSC-leader Pieter Omtzigt said.

($1 = 0.9235 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Anthony Deutsch: Editing by Nick Macfie)

Geert Wilders’ election victory: The left must concern itself with being a real opposition

Perspectives
Alex de Jong
01 Dec, 2023

Victory of Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party shows how mainstream Islamophobia & anti-migrant views are in The Netherlands. Left wing parties must now focus on building real opposition, not conceding on policies for power, argues Alex de Jong.

Far-right political leader Geert Wilders was convicted of inciting hatred against Moroccans when he called them "scum" at an election rally in 2016

Last week, Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) won the largest number of parliamentary seats in the Dutch national elections. The political figure is known internationally for his radical Islamophobia, and demands for, among other thing, the closing of all mosques in The Netherlands.

Crucial his victory is the radicalisation of former supporters of the mainstream conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of incumbent prime minister, Mark Rutte. As Dutch news satire website De Speld explained, VVD’s new leader Dilan Yesilgöz had run an excellent campaign, but for Wilders.

Rutte had triggered the fall of his own coalition-government by demanding further restrictions on refugee-rights that were unacceptable for part of his coalition. The VVD hoped the elections would be dominated by migration, and not by other urgent issues such as the country’s housing crisis and the rising cost of living. During the campaign, Yesilgöz exaggerated the supposed ease with which refugees enter the Netherlands. The main beneficiary of this tactic ended up being the PVV, the political force that for a decade-and-half built its political profile on hostility towards migrants.


''An error made by parts of the Dutch left is that anti-racism and migrants' rights are considered secondary to social-economic issues. However, as the recent election dramatically showed, these are incredibly decisive issues in Dutch politics.''

The VVD lost 10 seats, leaving them with 24. Of the new PVV voters, one out of four previously voted VVD.

Like many of his voters, Wilders is a product of the right-wing establishment. In the early nineties he worked for the VVD and in 1998 he represented the party in parliament. He also wrote speeches for the future European Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein, a pioneer in ‘clash of civilisations’ rhetoric regarding the West and Muslim societies in Dutch politics.

Wilders eventually left the VVD in 2004, partly because they would not categorically oppose Turkey joining the European Union.

Since founding the PVV in 2006, Wilders gathered a loyal base; almost 80% of those who voted for him in the previous national elections, did so again last month. Whilst the PVV largely rallied support as an opposition to Rutte, it is important to highlight that Wilders is not a political newcomer. Voters showed up for a seasoned politician who for years has remained consistent in his main policies. His popularity therefore shows how mainstream Islamophobia has become in The Netherlands.

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Ibtissam Abaâziz & Rahma Bavelaar

Indeed, the PVV’s manifesto presented the racist and authoritarian positions that characterise the party. Pledges ranged from the petty revoking of the government’s apologies for the role played by the Dutch state in slavery, to the deportation of criminals with a double nationality, to the deployment of the army against ‘street scum’, and the closing of borders for refugees and preventive arrests of ‘jihadist sympathisers’. Particularly drastic was Wilders’ long-standing insistence on ‘no Islamic schools, Qurans and mosques’.

However, it is not only racist and xenophobic politics that has attracted voters to the PVV. Wilders was originally an explicit supporter of neoliberal economic policies but for the past decade, his party increasingly posed as defenders of welfare. The PVV programme contained seemingly progressive positions, such as raising the minimum wage, lowering healthcare costs and returning the retirement age from 67 to 65. Though such rhetoric is contradicted by the party’s actions.

In his book Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me (2012), Wilders described the role of the PVV as supporting the austerity plans of Rutte’s first cabinet in return for measures to 'restrict immigration, roll back crime, counter cultural relativism, and insist on the integration of immigrants'. In parliament, the PVV introduced a proposal to make collective bargaining agreements no longer binding, and supported further restricting access to social security.

Not to mention, today the PVV seeks to form a government with the VVD – the party that for the last decade headed the government’s implementation of neoliberal measures that they claim to oppose.

Whilst a substantial part of Wilders' voters are certainly committed to far-right politics, part of his appeal is that he has been able to pose as an opposition force to an establishment that included the left-wing parties like the Labour Party.

In an attempt to present itself as a legitimate party that could govern, Labour entered a coalition headed by Rutte back in 2012 after they had won close to 25% of votes. They remained despte the deeply unpopular harsh austerity measures that were implemented, and even ran a former minister in the government as the candidate for a joint Labour/Greens ticket.

The result was a modest advance for these parties, mostly through votes coming from the centre and other left-wing parties, but it hardly attracted new voters. In the elections last month Labour/Greens won 25 seats, and became the second largest party, but finished far behind Wilders.

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Laurent Bonnefoy

Another error made by parts of the Dutch left is that anti-racism and migrants rights are considered secondary to social-economic issues. However, as the recent election dramatically showed, these are incredibly decisive issues in Dutch politics.

When Wilders’ electoral victory was announced, hastily organised protests took place in some cities. A coalition of progressive groups called a national demonstration in defence of civil liberties, freedom of religion and human rights. Such protests are of course not only important, but urgent because they make visible the opposition to Wilders’ agenda and show solidarity with groups that are threatened, especially Muslims. After all, the case of Giorgia Meloni's Italy shows what can happen when the far-right is in power; it may moderate some of its rhetoric, but it will not abandon its authoritarian and nativist project.

But protests in themselves are not enough. For years, Wilders pressured the mainstream from the right, pulling voters to his side. The Dutch left can learn something from this; instead of pandering the right, it needs to pressure them. As for rebuilding the left that can effectively pressure the centre and win new supporters, this will need to be a long term project. What is needed now more than ever is a left that sees itself not as a government-in-waiting but as an opposition force.

Alex de Jong is co-director of the International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE) in Amsterdam, Netherlands and editor of the Dutch socialist website Grenzeloos.org
Follow him on Twitter (X): @AlexdeJongIIRE

FASCIST EUROPE
Anti-migrant firebrand Geert Wilders leads Dutch polls on eve of knife-edge election

James Crisp
Tue, 21 November 2023 

The spotlight is on Geert Wilders, a divisive figure in the Netherlands but one who could become the country's next prime minister if the polls are correct - Shutterstock /Robin Utrecht

Geert Wilders, the anti-migrant firebrand known for his fierce rhetoric against Islam, has taken a shock lead in the polls before a knife-edge general election in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The veteran leader of the hard-Right PVV was on Tuesday predicted to win 28 seats, enough to potentially make him prime minister in a country where nearly one million people, more than five per cent of the population, are Muslims.

“In the latest poll we are the biggest party in the Netherlands!,” the shock haired populist said. “Make it the truth tomorrow.”


It would be a seismic victory for Mr Wilders, who has been an MP since 1998 but never a formal part of any Dutch government.

The election is being held to replace Mark Rutte, the former VVD leader and the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history.

Mr Wilders increased his support by two seats in 24 hours, to lead by one, while his rivals in the three-way race remained tied in second place in Tuesday’s poll. Some 63 per cent of voters were still undecided.

Polls on Monday evening showed Mr Wilders had moved from fourth to third place before taking the lead over the pro-business VVD and Groenlinks-PvdA, an alliance of green and left wing parties led by Frans Timmermans, the former EU climate change chief.

Mr Wilders has moderated his inflammatory rhetoric in a campaign dominated by migration, the cost of living and a housing crisis, amid reports he could be kingmaker in a future coalition. Victory in the election would give him the first attempt to form a government.

Wilders has toned down his inflammatory rhetoric recently - Shutterstock /Koen van Weel

As momentum built behind his campaign in the final days before the vote, aided by a strong performance in a televised leaders’ debate at the weekend, he has soaked up the anti-establishment vote from populist rivals. That support has shifted from the BBB, the Dutch farmer’s party which triumphed in regional elections earlier this year, to the radical centrist New Social Contract party, founded by the hugely popular Pieter Omtzigt just three months ago, before alighting on the PVV.

Wilders faces fight with ‘pitbull in high heels’

But the Eurosceptic Mr Wilders, 60, will face stiff opposition from Dilan Yesilgöz, the 46-year-old leader of the VVD, who was tied at the head of the polls with Mr Timmermans before the PVV’s latest surge.

Ms Yesilgöz, an Ankara-born former refugee nicknamed a “pitbull in high heels”, had earlier appeared to be on course to become the first female prime minister of the Netherlands after vowing to crack down on migration. She still could head a conservative coalition if the divisive Mr Wilders proves unable to form a government, keeping her party in power after 13 years under “Teflon Mark” Rutte’s leadership.

The latest polls have her taking 27 seats, the same as Mr Timmermans, who has warned Left-leaning voters he is their only chance to prevent a Right-wing coalition.

Ms Yesilgöz moved to the Netherlands as an eight year old in 1984 with her mother and sister to join her father, a Kurdish human rights activist who had fled Turkey three years earlier. She was Mr Rutte’s uncompromising justice minister, earning comparisons to former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, whose parents moved to this country from India and who spearheaded the controversial Rwanda plan.
Yesilgöz rules out coalition with Wilders

Mr Rutte’s coalition government collapsed in July when his partners bridled at his push for tougher migration rules after a crushing March defeat at the hands of the BBB in a regional vote dominated by tractor protests against his green policies.

Ms Yesilgöz stands to benefit from widespread support for other Right-wing parties promising limits on migration who may baulk at entering an alliance with Mr Wilders, who goes everywhere with bodyguards because of his frequent criticism of the Koran.

Mr Omtzigt, a possible ally who had led in the polls but has lost support after suggesting he might not want to be prime minister, is predicted to win 21 seats. The BBB, which also backs a cap on asylum seeker numbers, is set to take five.

Early in the campaign, Ms Yesilgöz declared she would not exclude Mr Wilders from coalition negotiations, unlike her predecessor Mr Rutte. Mr Timmermans accused her of opening the door for Mr Wilders to enter government, who he accused of treating a million Dutch Muslims as “second class citizens”.

On Tuesday, however, Ms Yesilgöz said she would not enter into coalition with Mr Wilders if he was to be prime minister and that she did not think the PVV would win the election.

“I am not going to do that,” she said, “This country needs a leader who can connect.”

Dilan Yesilgoz (R) says she will not enter into a coalition with Wilders (L) if he was to become prime minster - Shutterstock

Andre Krouwel, who teaches political science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said Ms Yesilgöz had tried to split the anti-establishment vote between the PVV and NSC by not explicitly ruling out any coalition. The associate professor told the Telegraph that encouraged voters to turn to the PVV because it had a chance at government, unlike in the past.

Dutch far-Right government set for immigration showdown with EU

James Crisp

TELEGRAPH 
Thu, 16 May 2024 

Geert Wilders, the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader, after the presentation of the agreement for a new cabinet, in the Hague, on Thursday - ROBIN VAN LONKUIJSEN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock


Geert Wilders said that he would implement the Netherlands’ “strictest-ever” migration policy, as the new Dutch government pledged to quit EU asylum rules, on Thursday.

The plan to opt out of the European laws has put Mr Wilders’ incoming four-party Right-wing coalition government on a collision course with Brussels before it has even taken office.

The firebrand, notorious for his fiercely anti-Islam rhetoric and calls to ban the Koran, won a shock victory in a general election six months ago.


It took until Wednesday before negotiations with the pro-business VVD, the “radical centrist” New Social Contract, and the BBB farmers’ party ended with agreement on a plan for government.

“The sun will shine again in the Netherlands,” Mr Wilders, the founder and leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), said.

“I think that anyone who reads the agreement between us four will see that a lot is going to change in the Netherlands,” he added and predicted “the strictest asylum policy ever”.

Shoulder to shoulder: Geert Wilders (PVV), Dilan Yesilgoz (VVD), Caroline van der Plas (BBB) and Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) present the agreement of their four parties for a new cabinet, at the Hague, on Thursday - Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

He said there would be a two-year asylum crisis act to drive down numbers arriving in the Netherlands.

The government plans call for a maximum reduction in migrant numbers without giving a hard figure. The agreement includes austere reception centres, a hold on processing asylum applications and only temporary asylum being granted.

“An opt out clause for European asylum and migration policies will be submitted as soon as possible to the European Commission,” the coalition said in its pact.

Mr Wilders said the plan would make the Netherlands less attractive for asylum seekers, adding that “people in Africa and the Middle East will start thinking they might be better off elsewhere”.

The coalition says it would also strive to limit free movement for people from countries joining the EU in the future.

Frans Timmermans, leader of the opposition GreenLeft–Labour party, said the pact was 'disastrous', on Thursday - ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP

Frans Timmermans, the former EU climate chief and leader of the opposition GreenLeft–Labour party, said the pact was “disastrous”.

Mr Wilders, an ardent eurosceptic, was forced to ditch a campaign promise to hold a Brexit-style Nexit referendum and sacrifice his hopes of being prime minister to get the deal over the line.

The prime minister has not yet been named but the leaders of the other parties are also ruled out.

One name being mentioned is Ronald Plasterk, a former Labour minister who chaired an earlier round of coalition negotiations.
‘Truss lettuce’ stands for prime minister

However, some commentators are sceptical that the new government will last. One podcast, inspired by a British newspaper stunt over Liz Truss’s ill-fated premiership, has already set up a lettuce in competition with Mr Plasterk to see which lasts longest.

The Netherlands joins Hungary and Poland’s previous nationalist government in challenging EU migration policy.

Brussels will resist, as EU countries have already agreed on their migration pact and opt outs are usually discussed in the negotiating phase.

“We have a new pact on migration and asylum, which has been voted upon and confirmed and therefore has to be applied,” the European Commission’s chief spokesman said in Brussels.

“This legislation will be applied and the commission will play its role in making sure it is.”

New Dutch coalition aims to reintroduce 80mph limit in cull of climate goals

Senay Boztas in Amsterdam
Thu, 16 May 2024 

Netherlands' party leaders of the new coalition government (from left): Caroline van der Plas (Farmer-Citizen), Pieter Omtzigt (New Social Contract),
Dilan Yeşilgöz (Freedom and Democracy) and Geert Wilders (Party for Freedom).Photograph: Sem van der Wal/ANP/AFP/Getty ImagesMore

The Netherlands’ new right-wing coalition government aims to reintroduce daytime speeds of 80mph on motorways as part of a number of proposed changes to the country’s environmental policies which have sparked concern.

The move echoes the anti-green stance of other right-wing parties across the continent, as environmental issues become popular bogeymen for populist politicians. In Germany, for example, heat pumps have been politicised, as members of the far-right party AfD have called the Green party “our enemies’.

Related: The EU’s great green retreat benefits the far right. For the rest of us, it’s a looming disaster | Arthur Neslen

On Thursday morning, the far-right politician Geert Wilders announced that his anti-Islam, anti-immigration Party for Freedom was forming a coalition with the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), pro-reform party New Social Contract and the Farmer-Citizen Movement.

A 26-page coalition accord titled “hope, guts and pride” outlined measures aiming to reduce migration, introduce constitutional reform, address a housing and cost-of-living crisis and row back on climate change and pollution policy.

Under previous governments, the Netherlands was seen as one of the forerunners of Europe in adopting renewable energy sources – especially in solar power – and planning to drastically reduce animal farming to address its manure-based pollution problem. But, although the small, low-lying country would be partially submerged without action on rising sea levels and river flood risk, there is little in the accord on climate change.

Echoing far-right sentiment across Europe, Wilders’ own manifesto pledged to give “no billions to unnecessary climate and nitrogen pollution policy” and “stop the hysterical reduction of CO2”, while putting climate rules through the shredder. “For decades, we have been made to fear climate change and although the predicted disaster scenarios – over the whole world – were supposed to get more and more extreme, none of them have happened,” it claimed.

He did not gain enough cross-party support to become prime minister and the coalition will have an experimental structure, recruiting 50% of ministers from business. A multi-year climate change fund remains, although with €1.2bn less invested in the next four years.

Daytime motorway speeds, which had been reduced to 62mph to reduce nitrogen compound pollution, will return to 80mph (130km an hour) “where possible”, subsidised “red diesel” will be reintroduced for farmers from 2027, certain manure pollution measures will be scrapped and the coalition pledges not to enforce compulsory animal farm closures.

Targets for the introduction of heat pumps will be abandoned, and four nuclear plants will be built.

Caroline van der Plas, the leader of the Farmer-Citizen Movement – for the first time representing farmers in government – said: “High-quality agriculture is being protected, and that’s necessary because we have a problem with food security in the world. Dutch farmers don’t have to feed the world, but farmers in the Netherlands can help.”

Left-wing leaders and climate activists were immediately sceptical, pointing out that the coalition also has no majority in the Senate. Frans Timmermans, the leader of the Green Left-Labour alliance – second-largest party in parliament – and former head of Europe’s Green Deal, told Dutch media the EU would never agree to Dutch exemptions: “They say …‘We’ll go to Brussels because we don’t want to keep to the rules about nitrogen’. Brussels will see you coming. You always ask other member states to stick to the rules but you don’t want to do that yourself. Honestly, it is not going to happen.”

Marjan Minnesma, the director of Urgenda, which won a legal battle to make the Dutch state reduce carbon emissions, said the accord risked a stream of court cases. “Previous ministers have tried to do all they can by derogation [provisions within EU law] for agriculture and nitrogen-based emissions … and it’s easy to say you will just stop, but an awful lot is built on EU law,” she told NPO Radio1. “But we are also dependent on the EU because the same farmers export most of their products. This is largely gesture politics.”

Europe reels as far-right Wilders tops Dutch election poll

Ella Joyner

DW

The surprise victory of the Dutch far-right PVV party, which was trailing at fourth in the polls last week, is sending shockwaves around Europe. But what does it mean for the future?

If he becomes prime minister, Geert Wilders would be among Europe's most far-right leaders

Image: Remko de Waal/ANP/IMAGO

Geert Wilders is already known to many Europeans beyond Dutch borders for his radical anti-immigration and Islamophobic politics, his staunch Euroskepticism and of course his unmistakable blonde bouffant hairstyle.

But after Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) emerged victorious from national elections on Wednesday off the back of a shock last-minute surge in opinion polls, Europeans will be hearing a lot more from him in the months to come as a new Dutch government is built.

PVV won by far the most seats in parliament with a projected 37 out of 150, though Wilders' is not certain to end up in government. The Netherlands is always governed by multi-party coalitions. A center-left alliance came second with 25 seats, followed by the center-right VVD party of outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte with 24, and then the newcomer centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party with 20.

Disagreements over immigration policy toppled the previous VVD-led coalition

Image: Carl Court/Getty Images

The way ahead is not self-evident, but a right-wing coalition of PVV, VVD and NSC would be possible if the more centrist parties are willing to stomach it. On Thursday morning, after the shock poll result, 60-year-old Wilders said he wanted to be the prime minister of the Netherlands, news agency Reuters reported.
Wilders' wish list: 'Nexit' vote, ban on Mosques, no more asylum

In the EU capital Brussels, Wilders' platform will undoubtedly cause concern. Some of it goes against not only Dutch but EU law. Ben Coates, an author of a book on the Netherlands, summed up the more extreme points of PVV's manifesto on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

A "Nexit” referendum on the Netherlands' EU membership, a complete end to asylum for refugees, an end to blanket freedom of movement for EU workers, a ban on Islamic schools, Qurans and mosques, and on headscarves in government buildings, an end to military support for Ukraine and kicking Turkey out of NATO – just some of the policies Coates listed off.

From calling Moroccans "scum,"to holding competitions for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Wilders has built a career from his self-appointed mission to stop an "Islamic invasion" of the West.

The view from Brussels

Mindful of the compromises likely required to get into government, Wilders had toned down his rhetoric – particularly on Islam – in the past few weeks, Stijn van Kessel from the Queen Mary University of London explained.

In return, the center-right VVD, now led by Dilan Yesilgoz, showed more willingness to work with the far-right PVV than her predecessors.

"Wilders is happy to let these issues go or to not make that big a point of them in coalition negotiations, because, he said, there are bigger priorities now, mainly cost-of-living problems," van Kessel told DW. "But immigration has always remained a very high priority for him."

Far-right populist Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch elections  01:53

Right-wing populists, like, for example, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, often tone down their anti-EU rhetoric once in office, according to van Kessel, an expert on populism in Europe. "They don't tend to prioritize the issue of European integration that much."

Even Wilders had watered things down since 2012, when he had called for a full departure from the EU, van Kessel noted. Now he was only calling for a referendum. Whether one would ever be held under a new coalition remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, if he were to become prime minister, Wilders could significantly disrupt EU policymaking on issues like climate policy, military support for Ukraine and migration, not to mention negotiations over the shared EU budget.

How did the PVV do it?

For van Kessel, a big part of Wilders' success story lies with the center-right VVD. By putting immigration – undoubtedly a top concern among voters along with housing and the cost of living – at the heart of its campaign, Yesilgoz may have shot herself in the foot.

"Research has indicated now that ultimately, on average, it's the mainstream right that loses out if they focus more on immigration. They only legitimize the far-right message," van Kessel said. "Ultimately it is to the benefit of the populist radical right. You shift the terms of the public debate very much towards these issues," he said.

Some observers have pointed the finger at VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz for cozying up to Wilders' party

Image: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

The surprise victory also likely has a lot to do with last-minute competition between parties, according to van Kessel. Only last week, Wilders' PVV was polling fourth at around 13%, but went on to score a projected 23% in Wednesday's final poll.

Initially, the rise of the NSC was tipped to be the big story for the election, but leader Pieter Omtzigt's vagueness on certain issues – including whether he wanted to be prime minister – may have turned the tide in PVV's favor. A surprising number of voters were still undecided last week, van Kessel noted.

Bellwether for European elections

For the political scientist, these elections may serve as "a bit of a bellwether for the sentiments in Western Europe in general" ahead of next June's EU-wide poll to elect the European Parliament, as well as Belgian national elections.

The far right has grown throughout much of Europe in the past decade. Giorgia Meloni of Brothers of Italy rode to power last year, the National Rally led by Marine Le Pen came second in the 2022 French presidential election polls, and the Alternative for Germany party is currently polling second.

Far-right leaders including Hungary's Viktor Orban clearly felt vindicated on Thursday. "The winds of change are here," Orban wrote on X. His political advisor Balazs Orban, who is not a relative of the Hungarian prime minister but shares his surname, went further: "Europe is waking up! The Dutch right-wing victory put another conservative flag on the map."

In Belgium, the leader of the secessionist party for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders welcomed the news. "While the elites are worrying about the end of the world, ordinary people are worried about the end of the month," Vlaams Belang leader Tom van Grieken told local broadcaster VRT. "Those who want change must opt to make anti-system parties like PVV or Vlaams Belang big."

For van Kessel at least, it is now up to mainstream parties, particularly those on the center-right, to stand up for liberal democracy in the face of politicians like Wilders who openly seek to exclude certain types of people. "There's no room for politicians who can claim that they alone speak in the name of the people. That is illiberal, and ultimately dangerous to democracy."

Wilders' win sets 'textbook' example for European populist right: analysts

Tom BARFIELD and Cecile FEUILLATRE
Fri, 24 November 2023

PVV leader Geert Wilders stunned observers by claiming first place in the Dutch vote (JOHN THYS)

Anti-EU, anti-immigration firebrand Geert Wilders' surprise victory in the Dutch general election this week shows right-wing populism's success in gobbling up support from traditional conservative parties and taking its pet themes mainstream, experts said.

Whether in power -- often in coalition -- in countries including Italy, Hungary or Slovakia, or steadily gaining, as in France, Germany and Spain, momentum appears on the side of far-right parties.

"Election after election, we're seeing the far right win immense successes," French MEP Raphael Glucksmann told broadcaster France 2 on Friday.

"The European Union is in danger of death from within and without," he warned.

In recent months, observers "were very focused on elections in large countries in the EU... Spain this summer or Poland in October" where populists suffered setbacks, said French political scientist Thierry Chopin.

"(But) the reasons that explain the strength or even the rise of far-right parties in some European countries have not gone away," added Chopin, a researcher at France's Jacques Delors Institute.

Rooted in nationalism and opposition to immigration, the rise of far-right parties began in the late 1970s, surging in 2015 when hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing civil war arrived across the continent.

Geert Wilders' career has been built on anti-Islam rhetoric.

Italy's Giorgia Meloni mostly campaigned on anti-immigration themes.

And Sweden is governed by a coalition supported by the far-right that promises to reduce arrivals.

France, Germany and Spain's politics are often dominated by rows about identity and immigration.

- Anti-elites -

In the Netherlands, the traditional centre-right VVD party "had no power to set the terms of debate on Wilders' preferred themes", said Johannes Hillje, a German electoral strategist and author of "Propaganda 4.0: how far-right populists do politics".

"Other parties in the conservative spectrum across Europe have lost their hegemony on the right."

Chopin pointed to classic themes of populist right politics in Wilders' campaign -- anti-elite rhetoric that breaks with bipartisan consensus, fears about immigration and cultural change, and questioning of welfare and redistribution.

"Times of economic and social insecurity favour far-right parties," said Gilles Ivaldi, a researcher at Paris' Sciences Po university.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the groups "mobilised a lot of people based on fear, frustration and rejection of the health measures... banking support" for the future, he added.

The Netherlands was also "a textbook example of how not to deal with the radical right", as other parties and the media took their policy positions mainstream, Hillje said.

In the Netherlands, VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz left the possibility of a coalition with Wilders open before the election, only to rule out being a junior partner when he won.

"Everything they did made Wilders stronger and contributed to his electability," Hillje argued.

- Increasingly mainstream -

Wilders and Italian premier Meloni have followed the "de-demonisation" strategy of French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, moderating their rhetoric when it looks electorally useful.

"It's not that they've changed their positions, but they express them a little differently to be more appealing, to overcome the emotional barrier to the middle ground," Hillje said.

Meloni has backed Ukraine and trimmed her hostility to the EU, with one French diplomat recently telling AFP she had been "a welcome surprise" on international issues.

"(But) in domestic politics she's doing just what she promised, cutting welfare benefits, taking a hard line against refugees," Hillje pointed out.

"All these parties signal respectability. They have learned or are learning how to exercise power," Ivaldi said -- while cautioning against handing them "a democratic blank cheque".

Many mainstream conservative parties are also absorbing far-right ideas or considering cooperation.

Politicians from Germany's CDU sometimes openly mull regional coalitions with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), while France's right-wing Republicans often try to outdo the far-right National Rally (RN) in shows of toughness against migrants.

At the European level, "an alliance between the far right and the (centre-right) European People's Party (EPP) is not impossible", Ivaldi said.

"That would be a big shift... on migration policy but also on the environment" given far-right denials of climate change.

Ivaldi nevertheless warned against overstating the common ground between far-right parties in different European countries.

"There are very clear fault lines" on support for or hostility to Russia, economics and values, he said.

"Fundamentally, what holds these right-wing populists together is shared enemies and things they all reject, like migration or ambitious climate policies," Hillje said.

"There are conflicts within this camp that will not lead to unified policy, and that may be the hope for the mainstream camp in Europe".

tgb-cf/sjw/gil

 

Jorg Haider to Geert Wilders: Far-right Normalised in Europe

Subhash Gatade | 16 Dec 2023

NEWSCLICK.IN

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But the malaise stretches far beyond one part of a continent.

Jorg Haider. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Jorg Haider, a far-right Austrian politician who died in 2008, is largely forgotten. It is also forgotten that merely two decades ago, he was considered a very dangerous man in Europe, whose ascent to power had prompted rare European Union unity aimed to thwart his ambitions.

Twice elected as governor of the southern state of Carinthia, Haider—who opposed immigration and was critical of Islam and Muslims—once praised the Nazi regime’s “employment policies”. 

His Freedom Party of Austria allied with another party, the OVP, which allowed Haider to become the country’s chancellor. But the possibility of a ‘right-wing extremist’ ruling a European Union member country prompted the other 14 members to join hands punitively against Australia, putting Haider out of the chancellorship race.

The European Union stuck by the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam principles and emphasised that nobody would be allowed to “breach them”. 

Many European countries threatened to recall envoys from Austria, and some said that Austria could be shunted out of the union if the need arose. The Belgian foreign minister at the time said, “Europe can very well do without Austria. We don’t need it.

After much water has flown down the Thames, the Rheins, the Danubes and all other rivers of Europe, the world has Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, a “political earthquake”, whom some consider more extreme and fanatical than Haider. But Wilders’ views on immigration and Islam cause no similar outrage in European capitals today.

Wilders’s party, which promised to ban mosques and compared the Quran with the infamous Mein Kampf, has won 37 seats in a 150-member Parliament. It is now the number one party in the country’s parliament. 

In his book, Marked for Death: Islam’s War against the West and Me, Wilders puts in black and white his extreme views, refusing to accept Islam as a ‘religion’ and calling it a totalitarian ideology instead. He writes that Islam aims to “conquer the West” and that a “free society should not grant freedom to those who want to destroy it. Every halal shop, every mosque, every Islamic school, and every burka is regarded by Islam as a step toward the ultimate goal of our submission… we must close down all Islamic schools, for they are totalitarian institutions where young children are indoctrinated into an ideology of violence and hatred. We must also close down all radical mosques and forbid the construction of new mosques, which Islam regards as symbols of its triumph. And we must ban the burka—people’s faces should not be hidden in society, for it is our faces that give us our identity and our fundamental means of communication with others,” he writes.

During the election campaign, he promised to focus on curbing immigration if elected and sugarcoated his anti-Islam rhetoric with concerns about the cost of living crisis. The ‘humanisation’ of an Islamophobe accompanied his meteoric ascent. A leading channel in the Netherlands tried to present Wilders’ softer side before the elections—apparently, he loves cats! Better call him Milders, not Wilders, a media outlet quipped.

For the Netherlands, a north-western European nation, the emergence of a hard right once seemed impossible. But as a headline published in The Nation notes, “The Sensible Dutch Take a Sharp Turn to the Right’.  

Not long ago, the largest bank in the Netherlands, ABN Amro NV, had resisted Haider’s ascendance and declared it would freeze its offer to help finance a controversial child support programme in his home province of Carinthia.

Wilders’ emergence as a key political actor signifies the long distance that once-liberal countries have travelled in Europe. The world confronts a changed Netherlands, better called ‘New Netherlands’, if we borrow a phrase from the largest democracy.

Indeed, if Haider’s possible ascent led to unity based on principles in the European Union, Wilders is Prince Charming to many.

No doubt, Haider’s trajectory to power was in a radically different ambience. In Haider’s time, the European Union resisted the shift towards a right-wing anti-immigrant agenda, but in less than a quarter century, even more extreme views are being normalised. The many congratulatory messages Wilders has received, including from other right-wing European governments, testify to the changed scenario. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister, said on X (formerly Twitter), “The winds of change are here!” Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on X: “Congratulations to our friend @geertwilderspvv.”

A new Europe is emerging, ready to give space to ethnonationalism and exclusivist agendas. After failing thrice, Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right politician, is moving towards a goal for the presidency in 2027. Alternative For Deutschland (AfD) has received electoral success in Germany. In Slovakia, populist Fico has announced a coalition with the far-right to form the next government. 

Far-right parties are steadily climbing, shaping the mainstream to reflect their nativist and populist agendas and occupying ministerial roles in coalition governments.

Having travelled this far, perhaps Europe might like to obliterate how and why it once stalled Haider’s ascent. The Guardian tells us, “If everyone who voted in the election had been under 35, Geert Wilders, the far-right populist whose Party for Freedom (PVV) shocked Europe by winning the most parliamentary seats, would have won even more.”

The paper points out that Le Pen won 39% of votes from people aged 18-24 and 49% from those aged 25-34. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy was the largest party among under-35s, with 22%.

The white, male, non-graduate and older demographic of the radical-right voter is changing. Studies tell us that “in several countries, support for the far right is growing fastest among younger voters,” The Guardian pointed out.

But the youth has not suddenly become exclusivist. There is a growing housing and healthcare crisis, and life is increasingly precarious without regular jobs. Slogans that promise to ‘make the country great again’ are bound to appeal to younger voters.

An editorial in The Hindu newspaper warns that rising ethnonationalism is a wake-up call for the establishment parties in the West. “Establishment parties should have a clear economic agenda and political vision to arrest the rising tide of far-right politics, which echoes Europe’s dangerous and not-so-distant past,” notes the paper.

But a more discomforting question would be whether these parties have contributed to the emergence of the far right. For example, when the election results were announced in the Netherlands, the mainstream came under criticism.

Writing in The Wire, Aurelien Mondon, a senior lecturer at the University of Bath, notes, “We cannot pretend to stand against the far right while referring to its politics as ‘legitimate concerns’. We must stand unequivocally by and be in service of every one of the communities at the sharp end of oppression.”

This applies in South Asia, too, where parties have repeatedly demonstrated political naiveté by aligning with retrograde forces, such as under the name of “fighting corruption”. It has, ultimately, facilitated the ascent of the right to the echelons of power. 

The author is an independent journalist. The views are personal.