Wilder, Wilder, Wilders

What do you look like? Will it move in Europe when former digression Geert Wilders wins the elections in the Netherlands? His right-wing populist party critical of Islam is now the largest in the country, receiving 23.5% of the vote and 37 out of 150 representatives in the National Assembly. He has never been closer to the position of Prime Minister than he is now. He is the most likely to get this position.

Wilders is first and foremost a provocateur. Convicted instigator. The so-called Freedom Party, of which he has almost private ownership, is in favor of the ban on the Qur’an, 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, and has been a prominent figure in Dutch national politics since the 1990s. Second, opposition to immigration is growing, and third, voters are dissatisfied with what has happened.

When Mark Rutte’s government collapsed over integration policy this summer, dissatisfaction with the policy reached a record high among voters. Rutte has been in office for 13 years, which in itself creates government fatigue among voters and in the Cabinet.

Observers believe Wilders has moderated somewhat in the election campaign. Among other things, it limited its derogatory and hateful mention of other ethnic groups. In particular, Moroccans have felt Wilders’ wrath in recent years. Moderation could make government negotiations easier, and there are many other parties critical of immigration other than the PPP, but it will not be easy.

It is anyway It is surprising that the liberal Netherlands, with its diverse society, is taking such a clear move to the right. Wilders has been embraced and congratulated by like-minded people in other EU countries, including former French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. Hungary’s “illiberal democratic” president, Viktor Orban, also expressed his happiness with the result.

These greetings are It is clear that the Netherlands is moving in an undesirable direction. Geert Wilders assuming a central position in a central EU state is bad news, and not just for other EU countries. It is bad news for all liberal legal states trying to pursue a humane migration policy at a time when tens of thousands of people are forced to flee due to wars and disasters. It is a warning that precisely such a global situation unfortunately contributes to the victory of these powers.