Showing posts with label Freedom Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom Party. Show all posts
Monday, October 23, 2017
How Trump’s Presidency Is Fueling Right-Wing Nationalist & Anti-Immigration Movements Across Europe
Saturday, April 24, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A far-Right politician whose support for Holocaust deniers and 10 children have earned her the nickname “Reich Mother” is poised to take her Freedom Party to second place in Austria’s presidential race on Sunday.
Campaigning on an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, anti-feminist ticket, Barbara Rosenkranz, 51, is poised to pave the way for her party to return to its glory days a decade ago under Jörg Haider, the popular and charismatic leader who died in a car crash in 2008.
Mrs Rosenkranz has shocked Austria by calling for the country’s Holocaust denial laws to be repealed. She later signed a statement distancing herself from Nazism.
Germany’s Central Council of Jews has described Mrs Rosenkranz’s position as the main electoral challenger to Heinz Fischer, 71, the Austrian president, as part of a “terrifying shift to the Right” across Europe, following recent gains for far-Right parties in Hungary and France over the last two months.
Earlier this month, the far-Right took more parliamentary seats in neighbouring Hungary’s national elections than at any time since the Second World War and French regional elections last month saw an electoral revival for the National Front. In June, Dutch elections could propel Geert Wilders, whose anti-Islamic, hard-Right Freedom Party leads the polls, into power.
While the role of president in Austria is largely symbolic, it still has significant moral influence, and Mrs Rosenkranz’s personal background and political views have polarised the campaign.
Her husband, Horst, with whom she has had six daughters and four sons, publishes an extremist magazine, raises funds for imprisoned neo-Nazis, and was a member of a neo-Nazi party banned under the Holocaust denial legislation. >>> Phil Cain in Graz | Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, August 13, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Mohammed, or other variations of the name of Islam's founding prophet, has become the most popular name choice for baby boys in the four biggest cities of the Netherlands.
Information collected by the country's social security agency has found that traditional Dutch names have been displaced in the urban centres of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht as the country's Muslim population grows.
In The Hague variations of the name Mohammed have taken first, second and fifth place in the Dutch capital's league table of most popular names for boys, replacing traditional favourites such as Jan, Luuk, Gijs or Daan.
At a national level the name Mohammed is now the 16th most popular name for boys.
The figures, obtained by the Dutch Elsevier magazine, from the Dutch Social Insurance Bank, or Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB), are different from the official statistics which have in the past counted various spellings of Mohammed, Muhamed, or Muhammad as different names.
Previous government name counts, separating the different versions, have avoided controversy by keeping the name of Islam's founder outside the Dutch top 20 of favourite names for baby boys.
Geert Wilders, leader of the far-Right, anti-Islam Freedom Party, which is currently leading the Dutch opinion polls, has demanded a government investigation following the Daily Telegraph's Aug 8 report that over a fifth of the European Union's population has been forecast to be Muslim by 2050. >>> Bruno Waterfield | Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
FRANCE 24: Europe has elected its angriest, most eurosceptic and xenophobic parliament ever - with a battalion of hard-right parties breaking through for the first time on a wave of anti-immigrant feeling and an unholy cocktail of both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
But while there is no denying the fury of the "angry middle-aged men" apparently responsible for electing the violent anti-Roma Jobbik party in Hungary, the BNP in Britain, Heinz-Christian Strache's Third Reich nostalgics in Austria and Geert Wilders Freedom Party in Holland - who alone on the extreme right is proud to call himself a Zionist - the new parliament will also have a caucus of new and surprising progressive voices.
Sweden's Pirate Party, who have campaigned for freer internet downloading and a loosening of copyright restrictions, have struck a chord among the young everywhere, and France's crusading anti-corruption magistrate Eva Joly - elected on the Green ticket - and her Italian opposite number Antonio Di Pietro are likely to hold many in Brussels and beyond it to account.
This is also a much more colourful and controversial parliament than the one that went before. If half of the parliament's accountability problem is its lack of visibility, a bit of personality surely has to be a good thing - granted, of course, that it does not turn into a theatre of hate. But even that unedifying prospect may prompt the majority of Europeans who did not bother to vote to do so the next time. >>> By Fiachra Gibbons/RFI | Sunday, June 07, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The biggest winners in Thursday's European Parliament elections in the Netherlands are the two most outspoken parties: Geert Wilders' nationalist anti-EU party and the firmly pro-EU social-liberal party D66.
Fielding candidates for the first time, Mr Wilders' staunchly anti-European party will be returning four of the 25 Dutch MEPs. The other winners are social-liberal D66 and Green Left, both of whom are firm advocates of the European Union; each will send three MEPs to Brussels.
The Freedom Party MEPs will be headed by Barry Madlener; Mr Wilders will remain an MP in The Hague. The Freedom Party has ruled out joining any of the existing multi-party factions in the EP. In his victory speech, Mr Madlener repeated he will go for "less Europe, more Netherlands, Turkey never an EU member". >>> By Rob Kievit | Friday, June 06, 2009
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The Netherlands Is Now a Polarised Country
Stable government coalitions may be a thing of the past in the new, polarised Netherlands.
In politics, things can turn on a euro cent. Just six month ago Wouter Bos was celebrated for the way he dealt with the financial crisis. The Dutch Labour party leader and finance minister soared in the opinion polls. But all that was forgotten when people went to vote on Thursday, and dealt Bos' party a devastating blow: Labour lost four of its seven seats in the European parliament.
The Christian democrats, the other major coalition partner, also took a severe beating: it went from seven to five seats. That didn't keep prime minister and party leader Jan Peter Balkenende from claiming victory: "We said we wanted to remain the biggest party and that's what happened," Balkenende said, adding nevertheless that his coalition government will have to work hard to regain the public's confidence.
The big winner of Thursday's election was undoubtedly Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom (PVV) went from zero to four seats, making it the second biggest Dutch party in the Brussels parliament in its first European election.
Low turnout
The mainstream parties had silently hoped that the traditional low turnout for European elections would prevent a PVV breakthrough, going on the assumption that Wilders supporters are not that interested in Europe and wouldn't bother to vote. That turned out to be wrong. Despite a record low turnout - 36.5 percent, 2.5 points less than in 2004 - the PVV was able to attract 16.9 percent of all voters. According to research by public broadcaster NOS, many PVV voters were men and/or over fifty.
At a party meeting on Monday, Wilders had correctly predicted that the PVV would become bigger than his old party, the right-wing liberal VVD, which he broke away from in 2004. Still, VVD party leader Mark Rutte was not entirely unhappy with his party's three seats - down from four. Opinion polls had predicted a bigger loss. Just ahead of the election, Rutte had caused a controversy by proposing to broaden the definition of freedom of speech to include Holocaust denial. No matter how hard he tried to explain what exactly he meant, Rutte was ruthlessly attacked by political friends and foes alike. "This is a good result, " Rutte said on Thursday night.
But even Wilders had not expected his party to become bigger than Labour. "This the day the PVV finally made its breakthrough," he said. "People have had enough of the Balkenende and Bos cabinet." Wilders will not be going to Brussels himself; preferring to concentrate on national politics. Instead, an aide, Barry Madlener, will lead the PVV's four-man delegation to the European parliament, an institution it would like to see abolished. >>> By Herman Staal in The Hague | Friday, June 05, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
GLOBAL POST: GRAZ, Austria — Flushed with recent electoral success, the Austrian far-right's bid for seats in the European Parliament has come with a level of xenophobic, pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim antics not seen for years — and in many cases against the law.
This is where "where the path of open doors takes you" said Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party (FP), the largest far-right party in Austria, surveying the hall in which rival Sikh sects clashed May 24. The incident left Sant Rama Anand, a 57-year-old preacher, shot dead, 16 others injured and triggered rioting in India. According to Ewald Stadler, the main candidate for the FP's smaller breakaway rival, Alliance for the Future (AF), it was time for a travel ban on "problem gurus."
The week before, the FP's Martin Graf, deputy president of parliament, had said Jewish community leader Ariel Muzicant was the "instigator of anti-fascist left-wing terrorism." His comments even went too far for the AF, which is now keen to be seen as the more sober face of the far-right. The governing coalition has called for Graf's resignation. >>> By Phil Cain | Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
EU BUSINESS: (VIENNA) - Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann condemned the far-right Freedom Party Sunday for using anti-Semitic rhetoric ahead of the European parliamentary elections in June.
In a new campaign ad published in the tabloid Kronen Zeitung on Sunday, the Freedom Party (FPOe) pasted in large red letters: "FPOe veto for Turkey and Israel in the EU."
While the party has long campaigned against Turkish accession to the 27-nation bloc, this was the first time it made mention of Israel. >>> | © EUBusiness | Monday, May 18, 2009
TAGES ANZEIGER: FPÖ-Chef ist «Hassprediger und Schande»
Nach Provokationen von Rechtsextremisten und antisemitischen Inseraten muss sich FPÖ-Chef Strache für seine Kampagne vor der EU-Wahl rechtfertigen.
Nachrichten der vergangenen Woche aus Österreich: In der Gedenkstätte eines Konzentrationslagers in Ebensee provozieren Jugendliche Besucher und Überlebende des Lagers mit Steinwürfen, gestreckten rechten Armen und «Heil Hitler»-Rufen. In Auschwitz werden Schüler einer österreichischen Schulklasse nach antisemitischen Provokationen nach Hause geschickt.
In Wien demonstrieren eine Bürgerinitiative und die Freiheitliche Partei, FPÖ, gegen den Bau eines islamischen Zentrums, die Organisatorin bedankt sich bei «Christen, die den Mut hatten, mit uns Nazis mitzugehen. Langsam empfinde ich das schon als Ehrentitel.» Und in der «Kronen Zeitung», dem grösstem Boulevardblatt, erscheint am Sonntag ein Inserat der FPÖ mit der Ankündigung eines Vetos gegen den «EU-Beitritt von Türkei & Israel», offensichtlich, um antisemitische Vorurteile zu schüren. Denn die Frage, ob Israel in die EU soll, war in Österreich bis jetzt kein Thema.
FPÖ–Chef ein «Hassprediger»
Am deutlichsten und schnellsten nahm der Präsident der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde, Ariel Muzicant, Stellung. In einem Interview machte er die Freiheitlichen für die jüngsten Vorfälle verantwortlich: Unter ihrem Vorsitzenden Heinz-Christian Strache bereite die FPÖ-Führung den Boden «für den Vormarsch des Rechtsextremismus systematisch und absichtlich vor». Tags darauf verurteilte auch Bundeskanzler Werner Faymann (SPÖ) das Inserat der FPÖ, weil es religiöse Gefühle verletze: Strache sei ein «Hassprediger» und «eine Schande». >>> Von Bernhard Odehnal, Wien | Dienstag, 19. Mai 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The Freedom Party of populist right-wing leader Geert Wilders has climbed again in the polls, this time to a record of 32 seats in the 150-seat parliament. The Freedom Party is in first place and is now four seats ahead of the Christian Democrats, the largest of the three parties in the governing coalition. Pollster Maurice de Hond attributes the rise in popularity to his departure from a parliamentary debate on Thursday. He walked out of the debate in a huff, describing the debate on the economic crisis as "a sham".
His ratings began to soar in February, when the British government refused to allow him to enter the country. Sixty percent of voters who describe themselves as right-wing say they will vote for Wilders' Freedom Party. [Source: RNW] | Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: "I want to become prime minister." That's what Geert Wilders said after a private meeting with 200 followers in his home town of Venlo on Monday. "One day my party will be the biggest, and then it will be an honour to accept the prime-ministership."
According to a recent poll, Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is the most popular party in the Netherlands. But exactly who supports this party is unclear. Two Volkskrant journalists tried to find out.
If there were elections today, the right-wing populist PVV would get 27 of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament. That, at least, was the outcome of a poll conducted by Dutch researcher Maurice de Hond a few weeks ago. This sudden rise of popularity is mainly due to the fact that party leader Geert Wilders was recently denied access to the UK.
But who really are the supporters of Geert Wilders? As the Freedom Party does not have members, the profile of his followers remains a bit unclear. The stereotype image is that of the low-paid and low-educated inhabitants of poor neighbourhoods who saw their familiar surroundings change beyond recognition by the coming of immigrants.
But a recent poll [TNS NIPO] reveals that the Freedom Party is also attracting increasing numbers of voters with a higher education. Thirteen percent of Mr Wilders' current followers have received higher education, in contrast to nine percent at the time of the elections of 2006. Also, it turns out that the average Freedom Party supporter is now earning more than before. >>> By Michael Hoebink | Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"This is a black day for everyone who has voted for me and for everyone who thinks you are allowed to criticize Islam," he said. "In this country, you are apparently allowed to criticize only if you are politically correct in how you express yourself." – Geert Wilders [Source: SpiegelOnline International]
BBC: A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.
"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said.
Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression".
"Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.
Not only he, but all Dutch citizens opposed to the "Islamisation" of their country would be on trial, Mr Wilders warned.
"Who will stand up for our culture if I am silenced?" he added.
'Incitement'
The three judges said that they had weighed Mr Wilders's "one-sided generalisations" against his right to free speech, and ruled that he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians.
"The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.
"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," it added. >>> | Wednesday, January 21, 2009
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Geert Wilders Prosecuted for Hate Speech
Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders of the populist PVV party is to be charged with hate speech and inciting discrimination, the appeals court in Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday.
Last year the public prosecutor decided not to prosecute Wilders for his anti-Islamic statements, which include calling the Quran a fascist book and comparing it to Hilter's Mein Kampf. Wilders made headlines around the world in March 2008 with his film Fitna, which juxtaposed Quranic verses against a background of violent film clips and images of terrorism by Islamic radicals.
Dozens of organisations and individuals in the Netherlands wanted to bring charges against the politician, but the prosecutor decided that his remarks were painful for Muslims - but not criminal. The Amsterdam court disagreed and found that there was a case of inciting hatred to answer for, both because of the content of Wilders' remarks and the way in which they were presented. The judges said they had weighed Wilders' anti-Islam rhetoric against his right to free speech, and ruled he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians.
The court ruled that Wilders had personally insulted Muslim believers by attacking the symbols of Islam. The court found that many of Wilders' comments offensive because they "injure Muslims in their religious dignity." About Fitna the court said it was "one-sided, extremely generalising rhetoric to radical effect, using relentless repetition and increasing intensity." >>> News staff | Wednesday, January 21, 2009
DIE PRESSE: Islam-Film: Geert Wilders muss doch vor Gericht
Der Niederländer bezeichnete den Koran als faschistisch und den Propheten Mohammed als Barbaren. Entgegen eines vorangegangenen Richterspruchs muss sich Wilders nun doch vor dem Obersten Gericht in Amsterdam verteidigen.
Anti-islamische Attacken des niederländischen Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders müssen doch noch von der Staatsanwaltschaft als mutmaßliche Straftaten verfolgt werden. Das entschied am Mittwoch das oberste Gericht in Amsterdam. Es stellte sich damit gegen den Spruch eines Richters in Den Haag, der Wilders Angriffe durch das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit gedeckt sah. Wilders hatte den Koran als faschistisch und den Propheten Mohammed als Barbaren bezeichnet. >>> | Mittwoch, 21. Januar 2009
DIE PRESSE:
Bild für Bild: Der umstrittene Koran-Film >>>
Fitna: The Movie – فتنة
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Geert Wilders Meets an Israeli Kindred Spirit
Geert Wilders screened his controversial anti-Koran film Fitna in Jerusalem this weekend at the invitation of right-wing Zionist politician Arieh Eldad.
Geert Wilders, member of the Dutch parliament and leader of the populist PVV party, got a round of applause when he told his audience at the conference Facing Jihad that Jerusalem was on the front line of the Jihad, or Holy War. And they stood up when Wilders praised the parents of Israeli soldiers, and attacked the Netherlands “left-wing elite”.
But is is hardly surprising that his appearance went down so well. The Facing Jihad conference was organised by the Zionist Arieh Eldad, who describes Islam as “a global disease”. Its aim, just prior to Israeli elections, was to show “the true face of islam” Eldad said.
“I have not come here to comment on Israeli internal affairs”, Wilders stated in a telephone interview shortly before the conference. “I am not going to tell people which way to vote and I am not going to endorse Arieh Eldad. If the [right wing] Likud party had invited me, I would have come as well.”
Arieh Eldad is one of the most talked-of politicians in Israel. The plastic surgeon is a member of parliament (the Knesset ) for Ichud Leumi (the National Union, a merger of several far-right parties which has nine parliamentary seats). But he is also founder and leader of the new right-wing Zionist party Hativka (Hope). That party’s main goal is defending the interests of the settlers on the occupied West Bank. >>> Guus Valk in Jerusalem | Monday, 15. December 2009 / Wednesday, 21. January 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
THE GUARDIAN: • Strache seen as further to right than mentor Haider • Weakened main party faces coalition dilemma
He has been filmed in forests, carrying arms and wearing paramilitary fatigues in the company of banned German neo-Nazis. Islam, he says, is "the fascism of the 21st century". He was photographed apparently giving a three-fingered neo-Nazi salute - though he says he was ordering three beers.
He mocks gay people; wants a ministry for the deportation of immigrants; says "Vienna must not become Istanbul"; hopes to repeal laws banning Nazi revivalism, and is pushing for a constitutional ban on the building of minarets. Heinz-Christian Strache, a former dental technician, is the new star of Austrian politics and the new poster boy of Europe's extreme right.
"I was never a neo-Nazi, and never will be," Strache has insisted. But when he sued the Vienna news weekly Profil for defamation, the court ruled that Strache could fairly be said to display "an affinity to national-socialist thinking".
Strache, 39, led his Freedom party to 18% of the vote in an early general election on Sunday. His former boss and mentor-turned-rival, Jörg Haider, single-handedly steered his breakaway far-right Movement for Austria's Future to 11% - meaning that almost one in three Austrians who voted opted for the extreme right.
"A unique case among the western democracies," said Profil yesterday as Viennese liberals reeled from the results of an election that put the far right comfortably ahead of the mainstream conservatives of the Austrian People's party and neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats, who narrowly won the election.
It will be very difficult for any party to muster a parliamentary majority. The only options are for the Social Democrats to invite Strache into government, or to form another "grand coalition" with the Christian Democrats. Such a coalition collapsed in June after 18 months in office, and another attempt could fire a bigger protest vote for Strache next time. Austria in Crisis as Far Right Win 29% of Vote >>> By Ian Traynor, Europe editor | September 30, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
Monday, September 29, 2008
THE INDEPENDENT: He has been linked to neo-Nazi groups, says that women in Islamic dress are "female ninjas" and wants to take Austria out of the EU. But after his huge gains in yesterday's general election, the far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache was today bidding to become his country's next Chancellor.
The extreme-right romped home with a record 29 per cent of the vote in Sunday's Austrian poll, inflicting disaster on the country's two main established parties, the Social Democrats and centre-right People's Party, whose grand coalition government collapsed earlier this year due to infighting.
In their worst performance since 1945, the Social Democrats secured 30 percent of the vote and their conservative rivals a mere 25 percent. With Austria now in political turmoil, the two parties were yesterday facing the unwelcome choices of forming another highly unpopular grand coalition or joining forces with the far right.
The xenophobic Freedom Party, presided over by 39-year-old Strache, won 18 percent of the far right vote with the remainder going to veteran right winger Jörg Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria. It was the Austrian far right's best performance since the Second World War.
Yesterday Strache, a dental technician who sports a permanent tan, claimed to be the true victor in the election. "We are the winners of election night," he told Austrian television. Demanding a role in any future Austrian government, he also announced that he was interested in becoming the country's next Chancellor. Far-Right's Strache Claims Austria Victory >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | September 29, 2008
FINANCIAL TIMES:
Austria Sees Return of Extreme Right >>> By Eric Frey in Vienna and Haig Simonian in Zurich | September 29, 2008
TIMESONLINE:
Muslim Graves Desecrated as Austria Swings to the Right: Police are blaming far-Right extremists for desecrating a Muslim cemetery in Austria, in the same weekend that the political parties of the far-Right made huge gains in the country's general election.
More than 90 graves were severely damaged at the cemetery in Traun, near Linz, some time between Friday night and this morning, in what police believe was an organised action.
The offenders sprayed Jewish symbols such as the Star of David over some of the graves, but detectives believe that this may have been a bid to disguise the motives of extremists driven by a hatred of Muslim immigrants. >>> Bojan Pancevski | September 29, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) >>>
Thursday, January 31, 2008
PR-INSIDE.COM: THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Dutch Queen Beatrix celebrated her 70th birthday Thursday with a low-key gathering of close friends at her palace nestled in woods on the edge of The Hague, while her subjects hung the national flag and orange streamers from their homes and public buildings. Despite the public shows of affection, her birthday comes at a time when a recent speech has sparked criticism for interfering in politics.
In her 2007 Christmas speech, Beatrix said: «Rudeness in word and deed tests the limits of tolerance. Discussions end up in rigid stances _ in that kind of atmosphere people are quickly grouped together and prejudices are accepted as truth. That erodes the community spirit.
Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party who has warned the Netherlands is in danger of being swamped by «a tsunami of Islamization» and is busy making a film in which he says he will portray the Quran as a «fascist book,» interpreted the comments as an attack on his party, which holds nine of Parliament's 150 seats.
Calling the comments, «multi-culti nonsense,» Wilders said the queen's duties should be limited to «cutting ribbons.»
Under the Dutch constitution, the prime minister is responsible for the queen's speech, and she cannot speak on her own behalf.
The monarchy also came under fire last year when the queen's daughter-in-law Princess Maxima, the Argentine-born wife of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, said in a speech that there was no such thing as a single Dutch identity. Dutch Queen Beatrix celebrates 70th birthday with low-key party >>> ©AP
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)