Tag: Netherlands

In yesterday’s election, Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) were able to get the largest number of seats in the Dutch House of Representatives.  Current estimate with 94% of the vote counted is 37 out of 150 seats.  Of course, they’ll need at least 76 seats to form a governing coalition.  So where does that leave them?

The PVV is at heart an anti-immigrant party.  Their stated goal is to prevent the influx of Islamic immigrants and their culture and religion.  But in general, they are a nationalist party.  Wilders would love to pull the Netherlands out of the EU but knows that isn’t going to happen in his lifetime.  In terms of domestic policy, they are not libertarian but sort of average euro-socialist.  And from what I’ve read they don’t buy into the green agenda.

I went on-line and did some check into the orientation of the various parties that were likely to share at least some agenda with the PVV and found these numbers.

So, there is a bare minimum for a coalition on the “right.”

Up until the election the next largest party on “the right” VVD had expressly ruled out working with the PVV.  Of course, after the results of yesterday’s election, the leader of that party, Dilan Yeşilgöz has backed off that sentiment and sounds like there might be something to talk about.

Now this is interesting.  Up until now, major European political organizations have been consistent in refusing to form coalitions with “far-right” parties.  Specifically, France and Germany have been adamant on this point.  But the PVV is now the largest party in terms of representation in the Dutch House of Representatives.  We may finally have reached the tipping point, where ostracizing the right no longer works.  That’s what’s about to come out.  If Wilders can convince the other non-leftist parties that he is pragmatic he might just break the blockade that has kept the “far-right” out of the kitchen.

Well, well, well.  Seems to me that if Wilders is willing to rule by only reaching for what everyone in his coalition can agree to, he can at least prevent any more damage from being done.  And I’m guessing if he is shrewd and willing to do a lot of horse-trading, he can reverse some of the craziest things that have been done lately.  The greatest good would be to reverse all this insane attack on the farming industry in the name of not offending the gods of greenhouse gas emissions.

From what I know of the Dutch, which isn’t much, they have a goodly share of crazed enviro-warriors who are willing to empty the world of human beings in order to please Gaia.  So, I assume Wilders has his work cut out for him.  But between the immigration problems and the green nightmare it’s good to see that a goodly 25% of the Dutch are starting to wake up from the woke trance and realize they need to start facing reality.

So, it wouldn’t be realistic to think that this election is some kind of panacea for all the ills that this small European nation suffers from.  Like our election of Donald Trump in 2016 it’s just the first spasm of the drowning body politic in its attempt to reach the surface and breath fresh air.  It will take a lot more to finally swim back to dry land.  How’s that for a tortured metaphor!