On Jan. 23, the Dutch prime minister and leader of the center-right Liberal Party (VVD), Mark Rutte, wrote a 500-word letter that appeared as a full-page advertisement in major Dutch newspapers.
“By far the most of us are of good will,” Rutte wrote. “We work hard, help each other, and think the Netherlands are pretty neat. But we do worry a lot about how we are treating each other. Sometimes it seems like no one acts normally any more.… We become increasingly uncomfortable when people take advantage of our freedom to ruin things here, whereas they came to this country precisely because of its freedom.… People who refuse to adapt, criticize our customs, and reject our values. Who harass gays, yell at women in short skirts, or call regular Dutch people racists. I completely understand that people would think: ‘If you reject our country so fundamentally, I’d prefer you’d leave.’ Because I feel the same way. Act normally, or get out.”
The letter attempted to fend off Geert Wilders, the Dutch Donald Trump and the right-wing populist whose Freedom Party (PVV) is predicted to win the Dutch elections on Mar. 15. However, the remaining parties in the Netherlands, including Mr. Rutte’s Liberal Party, have vowed not to join Mr. Wilders, who claims that “Islam and freedom are not compatible” and has vowed to take the Netherlands out of the European Union.
Like Donald Trump, Wilders speaks longingly of the past and promises to return his country to a better time when it was white and Christian. To do this he wants to close all mosques, stop all Muslim immigration and ban the Quran, which he has compared to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” He was convicted in December of inciting discrimination after leading an anti-Moroccan chant at a political rally in 2014. Last week, he called Moroccan immigrants “scum”.
“Not all are scum, but there is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who makes the streets unsafe,” Mr. Wilders told reporters in English at a campaign event.
A Dutch secret service agent who was part of the team responsible for protecting Geert Wilders was suspended this week on suspicion of leaking details to a criminal organization. Secret Service chief Erik Akerboom said he could not confirm the man’s identity but confirmed the man has (guess what?) “Moroccan background”. His choice to disclose that detail is strange and feeds into Wilders racist agenda.
How can I be safe being on Al Qaida’s death list while the government provided me with corrupt muslim-police protectors? pic.twitter.com/MdeX9sNOkw
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) February 25, 2017
In that same video, he said he wanted to “make the Netherlands ours again.” Perhaps that phrase sounds familiar to you? In their piece entitled “The man who invented Trumpism”, Politico wrote that “by chance as well as by necessity — threats to his life made it difficult for Wilders to campaign conventionally — the two men [Wilders and Trump] were early adopters of internet politicking. They set up websites and email lists and, when the moment arrived, moved quickly to harness social media.”
After Mr. Wilders posted a photograph of a bloodied German Chancellor Angela Merkel after a Berlin Christmas market terrorist attack in December, his brother, Paul Wilders, took to Twitter to apologize. “Either you’re with him or if you’re not. If you do criticize him, you’re out. Instead of making the distinction between the man and his ideas, he cut me off. Twitter, whatever, you name it, there’s no way for me to contact him,” Paul said.
“I’m pretty sure my mother has not and will never vote for my brother or his party,” Mr. Wilders’s brother said.
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) December 20, 2016
Hardly ever tweet.Sincere apologies for my brothers’ @geertwilderspvv behaviour and https://t.co/r5TGw3i3uq as you please! #pvv #wilders pic.twitter.com/MQqURqOj5P
— Paul Wilders (@paul_wilders) December 21, 2016
Concerned about the role hackers and false news might have played in the United States election, Dutch authorities will count by hand all the votes cast in next month’s general elections, ditching “vulnerable” computer software, the Guardian reports.
Even if Mr. Wilders loses the elections next month, he still won something. Following Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in the U.S., he has contributed to the shifting to the right of mainstream parties in Europe and he has done so by changing Dutch politics.
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