REUTERS: Wilders, other politicians blast move as undemocratic / Blocking approach could push more voters towards far right
AMSTERDAM - A Dutch Labour politician's call to keep far-right leader Geert Wilders out of a new government has stirred anger among other parties who consider the move undemocratic and likely to drive voters towards him.
Wilders and his Freedom Party have been a focus of debate since the Dutch cabinet collapsed on Saturday, as the election on June 9 will be a key opportunity for the anti-immigration group to increase its influence after a stunning success at European elections last year.
Frans Timmermans, a Labour party member and minister for European affairs, said on Monday that Labour would refuse to govern in coalition with Wilders' party, and called on other parties to consider a similar approach.
"The Labour party stands for a completely different Holland than the party of Wilders, and for that reason we cannot be in a government with him," a Labour spokeswoman said.
"He (Timmermans) dared other parties to think the same thing. Do they want to be in a government that segregates people by race and religion?"
Wilders has described the call as an "arrogant" attempt to ringfence his Freedom Party (PVV) and said it was an insult to the democratic system, telling Dutch media "the voter will seek punishment for this". >>> Catherine Hornby | Tuesday, February 23, 2010
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIOBAL: Cleaning up the economy is the issue for the upcoming parliamentary election. How many seats will Wilders get? And what possible coalition could rule? These are the main questions now.
The election campaign kicked off just minutes after the Dutch cabinet collapsed at 4 am Saturday morning. Geert Wilders’ populist PVV party was the first to send out a press release, entitled “PVV is ready for new elections”. The Socialist Party issued one an hour later and left wing liberal D66 followed quickly.
The fall of the latest cabinet led by Jan Peter Balkenende brings some interesting political times, fraught with uncertainty and excitement. New parliamentary elections will be held in three months or so. A definitive date should be set this week.
The campaign is gearing up to be a repeat performance of the 2002 election, marked by the rise and fall of the populist right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn. Fortuyn was assassinated just one week before the election, but his threat to the traditional balance of power had made political leaders from all sides lash out in an unusually bitter election campaign.
This time, populist politician Geert Wilders seems set to play the part of Fortuyn. While he may lack the charisma of the late politician, he is very proficient at generating publicity and dominating public debate.
The main question is: how will the centre-right CDA deal with him? Will the Christian democrats seek cooperation with a party that agitates so loudly against Islam? Wilders has already created a possible deal breaker: he wants to maintain the age for state pensions at 65. Raising the age of eligibility to 67 was the only major cutback decision the fallen cabinet had taken. >>> Herman Staal | Monday, February 22, 2010
