Geert Wilders is dragging all of Dutch politics in a nationalist direction
“THERE’S something wrong with our country,” began
an open letter to the Dutch people published last month. It went on to moan
about those who “abuse our country’s freedom to cause havoc, when they came to
our country precisely for that freedom”, and warned them to “act normal or
leave”.
The author was not Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Muslim Freedom
Party (PVV), but Mark Rutte, leader of the free-thinking Liberals (VVD) and
prime minister of a country that presents itself as one of the most tolerant in
the world. “Act normal” (doe normaal) is a common injunction in Dutch; it can mean “Don’t
be obnoxious” or “Don’t be silly.” But here it had a dark, exclusionary ring.
Mr Rutte’s letter marked how much Dutch politics has
changed as the country prepares for a national election on March 15th. The vote
will test the strength of European populism in the era of Brexit and Donald
Trump, and will be seen as a portent of the French and German elections later
this year. If Mr Wilders comes first, says Cas Mudde, an expert on populism at
the University of Georgia, “The media will represent him and his European
collaborators as ‘the choice of the people’.” That would boost France’s Marine
Le Pen, Germany’s Frauke Petry and others of their ilk.
The Netherlands has often been a bit of a bellwether
for northern Europe. Its left-wing student rebellion arrived early, in 1966.
Wim Kok, a Labour prime minister elected in 1994, propagated Third Way
centre-left policies before Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder did. Anti-Muslim
populism took off earlier than elsewhere in Europe, and the country elected a
centre-right government in 2002, again foreshadowing Britain and Germany.
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