Why Anti-Islam Populist Geert Wilders Won the Dutch Elections

Dec 5, 2023 | The recent elections in The Netherlands shook up the country. Geert Wilders and his right-wing party the PVV won the majority of votes. Why did so many people vote for Wilders?

Geert Wilders' Victory May Be Only the Beginning of Voters Rebuking the Establishment: Steve Forbes

Nov 30, 2023 | Steve Forbes warns mainstream politicians that more shocking electoral upsets from outsiders may soon be in store due to voters' disaffection for current policies.

Yes, Mr. Forbes: British politics stinks to high heaven, too! – © Mark Alexander

'Get Out from Here': Dutch PM Probable Geert Wilders Tells Muslims in New Viral Video

Nov 26, 2023 | Dutch anti-Islam populist and PM probable Geert Wilders undated speech -- wherein he targets Islam and Muslims -- has gone viral. The speech is said to be after his far-right party's surprise victory in Netherlands. But HT cannot independently verify the date and location of the video. In his speech, Wilders pledges crackdown on Muslims, their mosques and Islamic centres as he brands Islam a religion of "hate and terror"

Geert Wilders speaks very tough words here. They will surely rock Europe. My guess is, though, that he is saying what many people think but wouldn't dare utter. Is Geert Wilders' victory at the polls the beginning of the end of political correctness in Europe, I wonder? – Mark

‘They Feel They Are Being Neglected’: Why Voters Turned to ‘Dutch Trump’ Geert Wilders

THE OBSERVER: In a pretty waterside town, residents applaud the veteran rightwinger’s stance on immigration, calling his success a ‘vote against the established order’

PVV leaders Geert Wilders is riding a wave of concern about immigration, housing and the cost of living. Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
In a shopping centre in Volendam, a fishing port north of Amsterdam, on Friday, there was satisfaction about far-right politician Geert Wilders having dominated last Wednesday’s Dutch elections. “It’s a really good thing,” said Pieter, who didn’t want to give a last name. “There’s a shortage of houses, people are still coming. The borders have to shut.”

In pretty Volendam, long a Wilders stronghold, the Party for Freedom (PVV) won 18.6% of votes. The jaws of politicians, political scientists and Wilders himself dropped open when early forecasts suggested a win of 37 seats – around a quarter of parliament and his largest share ever.

This blond politician sometimes called “the Dutch Trump” and known for his inflammatory comments on Islam, a criminal record for insulting Dutch Moroccans and being refused entry to Britain, has shocked the nation. According to provisional results, the veteran MP, who lives with 24-hour security after receiving death threats, is riding a wave of concern about immigration, housing, the cost of living and mistrust in governments after a string of scandals.

In a nearby cafe, Arjen, 57, said: “It’s a vote against the established order. They have made a mess of things.”

…

The Netherlands is known for low corruption, press freedom and moderation, but for the past two decades another current has been present: support for far-right parties. Anti-Islam Pim Fortuyn, murdered just before elections in 2002, created an eponymous party that won 26 seats and took part in government before falling apart. The far-right Forum for Democracy did well in provincial elections and became the biggest party in the Senate in 2019 before meeting a similar fate. According to Prof Tom Louwerse of Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science, the Dutch far right has polled on average 15% to 20% for the past decade. » | Senay Boztas in Volendam | Saturday, November 25, 2023

Geert Wilders is right about the dangers of Islam to the West, but he is wrong about Nexit.

Anyone who is not fearful of the growth of Islam in the West is either a naïve fool or is not paying attention. I have been warning about the dangers of Islam for very many years; for about thirty years to be more precise. I was warning of the dangers of Islam to the West back in the 90s! I have written a book on the dangers of Islam to the West — The Dawning of a New Dark Age — and I have blogged on the dangers of the religion/way of life for more than twenty years. This blog was originally called A New Dark Age Is Dawning. So, let me be absolutely clear: Islam IS a danger to our Western way of life. So don’t be too quick to condemn Geert Wilders! He is right on this matter. He is more extreme than I am. I am not far right; my politics is moderate. But being moderate and liberal does not mean that I am unaware of the dangers of Islam to the way of life I was raised to enjoy; and to the way of life most of you people were raised to enjoy, too.

Unless one has lived in an Islamic country, it really is difficult to explain clearly what is at stake here, to draw people attention to the dangers we face.

Having contact with the Islamic world has cost me dear. I went to the Middle East, to Saudi Arabia, to make money, but I lost money there! I left there having been cheated out of even the money the system owed me. Saudi Arabia pays gazillions to sports stars sports-washing. I wish they’d pay me back the millions they owe me first! I have suffered greatly as a result of what was done to me by the system.

Islam is tightening its grip on the West. It is subtle, but it is happening. However, our politicians are letting it happen; and in so doing, they are letting us down. The Conservatives are every bit as bad as the Socialists. Show both sides a few bob, and blind eyes are turned! And this is one of the main reasons why islam is gaining ground. Muslims know that Westerners will prostitute themselves and sell off all assets to make a quick buck. Preserving their heritage means nothing to them, especially when money can be made. Muslims, however, are different. Muslims love money, of course; but the proliferation of Islam and growing the influence of their prophet must always come first. Put simply, that is one of the main reasons why the Islamic world is far stronger than the so-called Judæo-Christian West.

Wake up! – © Mark Alexander

‘A Brexit Moment’: Dutch Voters Digest Geert Wilders’ Shock Election Win

GUARDIAN EUROPE: We hear from across the political spectrum as far-right populist begins talks to form government

The far-right PVV leader, Geert Wilders, attends a meeting with other party leaders for coalition talks on Friday. Photograph: Remko de Waal/EPA
The party of the Netherlands’ outgoing prime minister, Mark Rutte, has said it will not go into government with the anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders after this week’s shock election result.

Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV) won 37 seats, more than doubling its representation in parliament to become the largest party.

As coalition talks begin, six voters in the Netherlands from across the political spectrum share their hopes and concerns for the future. » | Clea Skopeliti | Saturday, November 25, 2023

Dutch Throne on Display for First Time as Monarchy Tries to Win Back Public

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Seat used during state opening of parliament takes centre stage in exhibition about royal power

The Dutch throne has been moved for the first time from the 13th-century Ridderzaal in The Hague to be displayed in an exhibition, as the Netherlands’ monarchy seeks to further open up to the public amid growing republican sentiment.

…

De Vries laughed off any suggestion that the new exhibition was an attempt to reignite interest and support for the Dutch monarchy at a difficult time for the king, whose royal house has a €55m annual budget, making it one of the most expensive in Europe.

…

An increase in republican sentiment in recent years can be tracked to an outpouring of anger at Willem-Alexander’s decision to take his family on holiday to Greece during the Covid pandemic in 2020, despite people being advised to travel as little as possible at the time.

Read the whole article » | Daniel Boffey, Chief reporter | Friday, October 20, 2023

Nazi Party Membership Card of Dutch Royal Confirmed as Authentic

GUARDIAN EUROPE: German-born Prince Bernhard, late grandfather of King Willem-Alexander, had denied being a paid party member

A scan of Prince Bernhard’s Nazi party membership card. Bernhard, husband of the former queen Juliana, had insisted until his death in 2004 that he had never been a Nazi. Photograph: Royal Collections, The Hague/AFP/Getty Images
The royal household of the Netherlands has confirmed the authenticity of a Nazi membership card belonging to the Dutch king’s grandfather, bringing an end to the decades-long suspicions that had swirled around Prince Bernhard.

Claims of ties between Bernhard, a German aristocrat who married into the Dutch royal family in the 1930s, and the Nazi party surfaced in the late 1990s after a Dutch historian said he had found a copy of the card in a US archive.

Bernhard, who was prince consort until 1980, adamantly denied being a Nazi. “I can swear with my hand on the Bible: I have never been a Nazi,” Bernhard, then 93, told the national daily newspaper De Volkskrant in an interview shortly before his death in 2004. “I never paid for party membership. I never had a membership card.”

He did, however, acknowledge that he had been a member of several Nazi military units, describing it as a necessity for men of his age at the time. » | Ashifa Kassam, European Community affairs correspondent and agencies | Friday, October 6, 2023

verwandter Artikel.

Netherlands and Denmark to Donate Up To 61 F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine

THE GUARDIAN: Danish PM says country will provide 19 in stages when pilot training is completed as Dutch counterpart pledges up to 42 planes

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Mark Rutte give a press conference on Sunday at Eindhoven airbase in the Netherlands. Photograph: Rob Engelaar/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
The Netherlands and Denmark have announced they will donate up to 61 F-16 fighter jets between them to Ukraine once pilot training has been satisfactorily completed, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited both countries after months of entreaties to bolster the Ukrainian air force.

Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said her country would provide 19 jets – “hopefully” six around new year, eight more next year and the remaining five in 2025. “Please take this donation as a token of Denmark’s unwavering support for your country’s fight for freedom,” Frederiksen said.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, did not put a number on the Dutch donation, but said the Netherlands had 42 in its air force. The country was already in the process of replacing them with more advanced US-made F-35s. » | Dan Sabbagh in Kharkiv | Sunday, August 20, 2023

Livraison d’avions de combat à l’Ukraine : l’Occident franchit le pas : En visite aux Pays-Bas et au Danemark, le président ukrainien, Volodymyr Zelensky, a obtenu la promesse que des F-16 américains seraient transférés à Kiev avec l’approbation des Etats-Unis. « Ce n’est que le début », s’est-il félicité. »

‘Potheads, Go Giggle Elsewhere’: Public Weed Ban Begins in Amsterdam

THE GUARDIAN: Tourists and residents now face €100 fine for public smoking in De Wallen, but some business owners are worried about impact

A worker hangs signs in the Nieuwmarkt publicising the new ban. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock
Thick fumes of cannabis smoke were noticeably absent from the air of Amsterdam’s red light district on Thursday, the familiar smell replaced by dank canal water and rats on the first day of a ban on smoking marijuana in public.

After years of complaints from residents about wild behaviour from 18 million annual visitors, a crackdown on nuisance tourism is in full swing. Last month, the municipality started a “stay away” campaign – aimed first at misbehaving Britons – that banned alcohol sales in shops at the weekend and imposed earlier closing times for window brothels and pubs.

Now, tourists and residents alike face a €100 (£87) fine for public cannabis smoking in and around the red light district, to “reduce crowding and nuisance in the area”. » | Senay Boztas in Amsterdam | Thursday, May 25, 2023

Netherlands Apologizes for Role in Historic Slave Trade | DW News

Dec 19, 2022 | Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte delivered a speech formally apologizing for his country's historical role in slavery and its consequences into the present day. "Today on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for the past actions of the Dutch state," Rutte said in a speech. "For centuries the Dutch state and its representatives have enabled and stimulated slavery and have profited from it. It is true that nobody alive today bears any personal guilt for slavery ... (however) the Dutch state bears responsibility for the immense suffering that has been done to those that were enslaved and their descendants," he added. He also said that slavery must be recognized in "the clearest terms" as "a crime against humanity." According to Rutte, the government will establish a fund for initiatives that will help tackle the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies.

LIRE EN FRANÇAIS :

Aux Pays-Bas, les excuses de Mark Rutte pour l’esclavage : Le premier ministre a qualifié la traite, pratiquée jadis par son pays, de « crime contre l’humanité ». »

UND AUS DER NEUEN ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG AUF DEUTSCH LESEN:

Die Niederlande entschuldigen sich für das düsterste Kapitel ihrer Vergangenheit: den lukrativen Menschenhandel: Die Niederlande, deren Reichtum vor vier Jahrhunderten mit der Ausbeutung von Kolonien begann, haben sich bei den Nachkommen der Sklaven entschuldigt. Ministerpräsident Rutte sprach im Namen der Regierung von einem historischen Verbrechen. »

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix: The Queen Who Gave Up the Crown: The life of Beatrix, a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.| Royal Documentary

Rotterdam Police Open Fire as Covid Protest Turns Violent

Demonstrators protest against government restrictions. Photograph: AP
THE GUARDIAN: Warning shots fired as unrest breaks out over Dutch plans to impose restrictions on unvaccinated people

Police in Rotterdam have fired warning shots, injuring protesters, as riots broke out at a demonstration against government plans to impose restrictions on unvaccinated people.

Crowds of rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police in the centre of the Dutch port city on Friday, and police responded with shots and water cannon.

“Police were forced to draw their weapons and even fire direct shots,” the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, told a press conference early on Saturday.

He described the riots as “an orgy of violence, I can’t think of another way to describe it”. With video » | Staff and agencies in The Hague | Saturday, November 20, 2021

Covid-19 : manifestations contre les mesures anti-Covid, violences aux Pays-Bas et aux Antilles : Sept personnes ont été blessées vendredi dans des émeutes à Rotterdam, tandis qu'un couvre-feu a été décrété en Guadeloupe pour mettre fin au vandalisme. Des manifestations agitent aussi l'Australie et l'Autriche. »

Weitere Festnahmen nach «Orgie der Gewalt» in Rotterdam: In den Niederlanden haben am Freitagabend Hunderte von Menschen gegen weitere Beschränkungen demonstriert. Es kam zu chaotischen Szenen. Nach Schüssen der Sicherheitskräfte gibt es sieben Verletzte. »

Corona-Kundgebung in Wien hat begonnen: Die rechte FPÖ sieht Österreich auf dem Weg in eine „Diktatur“ und hat zur Demo in Wien aufgerufen. In Telegram-Gruppen wird offen Gewalt angedroht. »

Austria braces for violence at mass protests over Covid measures. »

Australia Covid protests: threats against ‘traitorous’ politicians as thousands rally in capital cities: Melbourne ‘freedom’ rally draws largest crowds as counter-protesters avoid confrontation »

Dutch-Turkish Novelist Depicts Her Journey to Secularism with No Inhibitions

The Dutch-Turkish writer Lale Gul at the office of her publisher in Amsterdam, in June. Credit...Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Lale Gul’s autobiographical and sexually frank tale of a woman breaking with her conservative Muslim culture, and her strict parents, is a best seller in the Netherlands. “I’m done hiding,” she says.

AMSTERDAM — Perhaps naïvely, Lale Gul thought she could continue living with the same people on whom she had based her best-selling novel: her strict Turkish-Dutch migrant family.

But just weeks after the February publication of her book — the autobiographical tale of a young woman breaking with her conservative Muslim culture — “a war broke out” in the family’s tiny apartment in a migrant neighborhood in Amsterdam, said the author of “Ik Ga Leven,” or “I Will Live.”

As years of building frustration erupted into open conflict that March evening, Ms. Gul, 23, fled her house in the middle of the night and has not returned since.

Looking back, Ms. Gul admitted that after writing an unbridled book revealing her journey to secularism, the thought that her parents would simply not hear about it was maybe a little foolhardy.

They did hear about it, as has most of the country: The novel quickly became one of the most read in the Netherlands, and she was in demand for TV interviews.

The publicity made it impossible not to address the book with her family, but she wanted to stay with them.

“Even after the book came out, I was still trying to negotiate with my parents, I wanted to make it work, try to combine their lives and my own life,” she said on a recent afternoon in the 17th-century canal house where her publisher has an office. “Despite everything, they are my family.”

But in her family’s view, what Ms. Gul had done was beyond repair. » | Thomas Erdbrink | Friday, August 13, 2021

Amsterdam ‘Stumbling Stones’ Commemorate Gay Victims of Nazis

A Stolperstein for Karel Pekelharing, an artist who joined the resistance in the Netherlands and worked to sabotage the persecution of Jews. Photograph: Anja Robertus voor COC Netherlands
THE GUARDIAN: Four brass memorial plaques embedded in street remember Jews and resistance fighters

More than 75 years after they were murdered in the gas chambers or shot, gay victims of Nazi persecution were remembered with “stumbling stones” laid in Amsterdam this week.

The Netherlands has about 8,500 Stolpersteine, (stumbling stones), the brass memorial plaques embedded in the street that call on passers-by to remember individual victims of the Nazi genocide and oppression, a mental “stumbling” that forces pedestrians to reckon with the past.

Four stones laid this week are the first in the Netherlands to commemorate Jews and resistance fighters who were known to be gay, according to the Dutch historian Judith Schuyf, who played a leading role in the project. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Friday, August 6, 2021

Hundreds Missing and Scores Dead as Raging Floods Strike Western Europe

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Strong rains caused rivers to burst their banks and wash away buildings in Belgium and Germany, where at least 1,300 remained missing. Homes and streets in the Netherlands and Switzerland also flooded.

BERLIN — Following a day of frantic rescue efforts and orders to evacuate towns rapidly filling with water unloosed by violent storms, the German authorities said late Thursday that after confirming scores of deaths, they were unable to account for at least 1,300 people.

That staggering figure was announced after swift-moving water from swollen rivers surged through cities and villages in two western German states, where news outlets said more than 80 people were known to have died in the hardest-hit regions and other fatalities were expected.

With communication badly hampered, the authorities were hoping that the missing people were safe, if unreachable. But the storms and the floods have already proved deadly

. At least 11 more people were reported to have died in Belgium, according to authorities who also ordered inhabitants of downtown Liège to evacuate as the Meuse River, which flows through its center, overflowed its banks. » | Melissa Eddy | Published: Thursday, July 15, 2021; Updated: Friday, July 16, 2021

Dutch Crime Reporter Peter de Vries Dies after Shooting

Peter R de Vries had previously received threats from the criminal underworld. Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
THE GUARDIAN: Family announces death of 64-year-old just over a week after attack in Amsterdam, reports say

The Dutch crime reporter Peter R de Vries has died just over a week after he was shot in the head in central Amsterdam, local media have reported, citing a statement released by the veteran journalist’s family.

“Peter fought to the end but was unable to win the battle,” the statement said, according to RTL Nieuws. “He died surrounded by the people who love him. Peter lived by his conviction: ‘On bended knee is no way to be free.’.”

The statement continued: “We are proud of him beyond words, and at the same time inconsolable. His family, partner and loved ones want to process his death in peace and urge everyone to respect that.” » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Thursday, July 15, 2021

Le journaliste néerlandais blessé par balles à Amsterdam est mort »

Journalist de Vries nach Anschlag in den Niederlanden gestorben »

More on this sad story here

Dutch Crime Reporter Dies After Being Shot Outside TV Studio »

Dutch Reporter Who Exposed Underworld Dead after Shooting - BBC News

Jul 15, 2021 • The Dutch crime reporter Peter R de Vries, who was shot and seriously wounded in central Amsterdam nine days ago, has died.

The 64-year-old was shot in the head minutes after leaving a TV studio.

Mr de Vries had won critical acclaim for his reporting on the Dutch underworld - including the 1983 kidnapping of the beer millionaire Freddy Heineken.

The statement released by his relatives on Thursday said he died "surrounded by the people who love him".


More on this tragic story here

The Top Journalist, the Mafia Boss and the Gunman: Dutch Fear the Rise of ‘Narco Crime’

THE OBSERVER: While Peter R de Vries fights for life in an Amsterdam hospital the nation reflects on how to end the grip of drug gangs

Five gunshots blasted like fireworks on a sunny evening, just behind Amsterdam’s busy Leidseplein. To the horror of the Netherlands, a cold-blooded shooting has left prominent Dutch crime journalist Peter R de Vries fighting for his life in hospital.

Everyone from European leaders to the Dutch king Willem-Alexander and Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema have expressed their shock at the ambush of “national hero” De Vries as he walked back to his car on Tuesday after recording a chatshow, on a busy street in broad daylight.

Within hours, the Dutch police arrested two men on the A4 motorway and are holding a 21-year-old from Rotterdam and a 35-year-old Polish national. The younger man has been named in Dutch media as rapper Delano G, the Polish man as Kamil Pawel E.

But many are speculating whether it is coincidence that De Vries, who made his name reporting on the kidnap of brewing magnate Freddy Heineken in the 1980s, has recently been involved in a high-profile gangland drug and murder court case, known as the Marengo trial. » | Senay Boztas | Saturday, July 10, 2021

You will find more about this brutal attack here and here.

Dutch Police Arrest Suspects in Shooting of Investigative Journalist De Vries | DW News

Jul 8, 2021 • Police in the Netherlands have arrested two suspects over the shooting of prominent investigative journalist Peter De Vries. The men are due in court on Friday. Authorities are investigating links to De Vries' reporting on a major criminal gang. European leaders say his shooting was also an attack on freedom of the press.

Netherlands Crime Journalist Peter R. de Vries Shot in Amsterdam | DW News

Jul 7, 2021 • Dutch crime journalist Peter R. de Vries was fighting for his life after being shot and wounded in a gun attack in the center of Amsterdam on Tuesday evening.

De Vries, 64, was taken to hospital in a seriously wounded state. He had been taking part in a live television show where he was a regular guest and was shot close to the RTL studios.

In 2019, de Vries wrote on Twitter that he had been informed by police and justice officials that he was on the hit list of a fugitive criminal.

According to NOS, de Vries had recently acted as an adviser and confidant to a state witness testifying against an alleged drug kingpin, who was extradited to the Netherlands from Dubai in 2019.