There’s no getting away from it: the Dutch are sadists. At least they are in respect to their politicians. Following the recent general election, it has become apparent that the mainstream parties are caught in a trap of fiendish cruelty. No matter which way they wriggle, their situation becomes more desperate.
It all began with the shock win for Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) late last month. The voters could have chosen a more moderate kind of populist, but instead they went with Wilders — who is arguably further to the Right than Marine Le Pen or Viktor Orbán.
He didn’t get a majority of seats, but if one takes into account the overall result it’s clear that public opinion has shifted in favour of a Right-of-centre government and a restrictive immigration policy. In fact, polling shows that popular support for the Freedom Party continues to grow.
Coming so soon after a general election, a mere opinion poll wouldn’t normally matter — but, as we’ll see, it is very relevant to the fraught negotiations over the composition of the next government. There are four options for the mainstream parties, all of them excruciating.
The first is to submit to the voters and form a coalition between the Freedom Party and the two biggest parties of the centre-Right — i.e. the Dutch Liberals (VVD) and a Christian Democrat offshoot called New Social Contract (NSC). The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) could also be included. As it happens, that’s exactly what Wilders is suggesting.
However, as leader of by far the largest party in this potential coalition, he would be the logical choice for prime minister and neither the VVD or NSC would be keen on that. Nor would the wider EU establishment — the last thing they want is to normalise hard-Right power in Western Europe.
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