Why the Dutch Election Doesn’t Mean Populism Is Dead in Europe

Rutte’s conservative liberal party, the VVD, has lost eight parliamentary seats, but, with 33 seats, remains the largest party in a highly fragmented parliament.

“It seems the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) will be the largest party three times in a row”, Rutte told a crowd of cheering supporters in a gathering on Wednesday evening at the World Trade Centre in The Hague.

It was a reaffirmation for many of Holland’s famously laid-back citizens that their fellow citizens have not become so disenchanted with the political system that they would vote overwhelmingly for a man who has no problems calling Moroccans “scum” and equating the Koran with Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The Dutch elections demonstrate clearly that such a system increases turnout – over 80%, which is the sort of figure we can only dream of in the UK.

The result left a parliament that is more fragmented than ever, with 13 parties gaining seats.

“Wilders raised the right issues in the election campaign, but perhaps not always struck the right tone”, said Frauke Petry, the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, which is poised to capture seats in the German Parliament in elections in September.

From a practical rather than symbolic point of view, the Dutch parliament will have an nearly two-thirds pro-EU majority.

Also, the Dutch prime minister suggested holding several meetings with leading parties to discuss the lineup of a coalition government, which could take several months to form. It was nearly certain even then that Wilders wouldn’t get a chance to govern, since other big parties had refused to cooperate with him after a minority Cabinet’s failed attempt to work with the PVV in 2011. Next time we will be nr.

The Dutch result drove the euro higher and analysts in the banking and investment industry, where many see Ms Le Pen as a grave danger because of her plans to quit the single currency and probably the European Union too, also took heart.

Erdogan, in response to the ban, accused the Netherlands of acting like “Nazi remnants” and having a “rotten” character, claiming the country was responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian War.

Other candidates have denounced Wilders’ strong language against Muslims and immigration. “Then the way in which Trump behaved – many Dutch people do not agree with his policies and approach”.

The dissolution of the center strengthens marginal forces, as we saw in Greece when the crisis erupted. Her public support is almost equal to more moderate candidate Emmanuel Macron before a first round of elections next month. The political fragmentation and the better representation it provides is in itself a powerful obstacle to the success of Wilders, Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France or the AfD in Germany.

Binyomin Jacobs, president of the Rabbinical Council for the Netherlands, and a representative for the country’s small Jewish population, said parts of Wilders’ main message were echoed in more moderate terms by the main parties, who took a harder line than usual on integration and immigration. The election of Donald Trump and Brexit have also given a greater political legitimacy to nativist populism. The Socialist Party, Green Left and Labour all support sheltering refugees, but ideally elsewhere, and are generally opposed to letting in economic migrants.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a media conference at the end of an European Union summit in Brussels, March 10, 2017.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker: The people of the Netherlands voted for “free and tolerant societies in a prosperous Europe”. “I look forward to working closely with you to enhance our co-op”, he said in a Twitter post last night. Mario Ritter was the editor. And a big reason he was the big victor was the way he responded in the days immediately prior to the election to the insults of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian president of Turkey, in a war of words after the Dutch government blocked Turkey’s effort to send ministers to the Netherlands to campaign for votes in Turkey’s April 16 constitutional referendum.