The Netherlands Shifts to the Right
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The right-wing liberal VVD and populist PVV were the big winners of Wednesday's parliamentary election in the Netherlands. Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende was ousted after eight years in power.

After a neck-and-neck contest with the Labour party, the VVD emerged victorious, garnering 31 of 150 seats in parliament, with 98 percent of the votes counted. "It looks like, for the first time in history, the VVD will be the biggest party in the Netherlands," VVD leader Mark Rutte told supporters Thursday morning, when preliminary results showed Labour would be left with 30 seats. The right-wing liberals may have shaken the social democrats, led by former Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen, but never has the biggest party in parliament occupied so few seats, and never was the margin seperating it from the runner-up so slim.

Geert Wilders' PVV won the most in the election. Wilders, who is internationally known for his unequivocal criticism of Islam, went from 9 to 24 seats in parliament. While he ran a muted campaign and polls predicted he would barely double his seats, Wilders proved especially popular in the south-east of the country. His growing following there is part of the reason the Christian democratic party of incumbent prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende was halved at the polls. The CDA lost 20 of its 41 seats and will now be the fourth party in Dutch parliament. >>> News Staff, NRC Handelsblad | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dutch Election: Liberals Take One-seat Lead as Far-right Party Grows in Influence
THE TELEGRAPH: The Liberals have won a narrow one-seat lead in the Dutch election, putting them in pole position to form a coalition.

Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders. Photograph: The Telegraph
With 88 per cent of the votes counted, published partial results showed the Liberals with 31 and Labour on 30.

But the real victory went to Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV), which demands an end to immigration from Muslim countries and a ban on new mosques. The PVV took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24, and could hope to enter a coalition government.

The far-right leader with his distinctive shock of fair hair called the result "magnificent".

"The impossible has happened," he told a televised party gathering. "We are the biggest winner today. The Netherlands chose more security, less crime, less immigration and less Islam."

The election ousted Christian Democrat Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende from eight years in office.

The Liberals' narrow lead gives leader Mark Rutte a mandate to form a coalition and become prime minister, but sticking to his austerity policies could prove tough because he needs at least three other parties to secure a parliamentary majority. >>> | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Wilders Hails Israel 'Fighting Jihad'
THE JERUSALEM POST: Dutch "values" party head set to gain seats in current election.

Geert Wilders, who is demanding a halt to immigration from Muslim countries as the centerpiece of his campaign for the Dutch prime ministership, has hailed Israel for “fighting the jihad” and warned that “the West is next” if Israel is unsuccessful.

“Israel is the canary in the coal mine,” Wilders said in a recent telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post, ahead of Wednesday’s elections in the Netherlands. “The jihad against Israel isn’t against Israel only. It’s against the whole West.”

A year ago, Wilders’s PVV (Party for Freedom) was scoring 28 percent in opinion polls and appeared to have a realistic prospect of winning the elections. It has declined since then, however, he said, as economic issues have become increasingly dominant.

“There’s not a big chance that I’ll become prime minister,” he said.

Nonetheless, the PVV is expected to double its current nine seats in the 150-member parliament, and front-runner Mark Rutte, of the People’s Party for Freedom of Democracy (VVD), said this week that he was not ruling out Wilders’s party as a coalition partner.

Wilders, who is Catholic, has faced a barrage of criticism, legal action and death threats for expressing trenchant criticism of Islam, and lives amid constant security precautions. He told the Post that while he believes “there are moderate Muslims,” and that many Muslims living in the West are moderate, law-abiding people, “I don’t believe there is a moderate Islam.”

He described Islam as “a totalitarian ideology – against freedom, and the rule of law, and the separation of church and state.”

He said the influx of Muslims into countries such as Holland was causing “the Islamification of our societies.” In the wake of his 2008 film Fitna, he noted, he was “taken to a criminal court in the Netherlands for things I said about Islam” and had to wage a legal battle last year to enter Britain after first being barred.

“Freedom of speech is under attack,” he said. “It wouldn’t have happened if I had criticized Catholicism.” Wilders said Holland’s Muslim population had grown to about one million (out of the 16 million national populace), and that “tens of thousands are still arriving each year, from Somalia, Iraq, Morocco, Turkey” and beyond. In other European countries, the percentage of Muslims was much higher, he said. The influx “is bringing enormous changes,” he said, speaking about women and homosexuals being harassed in the streets in some Muslim neighborhoods and the rise of Shari’a courts. >>> David Horovitz | Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Far-right Anti-Islam Party Set to Double Seats in Dutch Election
THE TELEGRAPH: The far-right Party for Freedom, which has campaigned on a ticket of ending the "Islamic invasion", is expected to double its representation in the Dutch parliament, giving it enough seats to become a potential ruling coalition candidate.

The party is predicted to win 18 seats in the forthcoming elections. It currently holds nine.

Led by anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, the party claims that 40 per cent of social security payments go to non-Western immigrants and that people of Moroccan origin are suspected of committing crime five times more often than the indigenous Dutch.

"The sluice gates are wide open", Mr Wilders said in a campaign video that showed planes landing in Holland as women in headscarves outnumber natives in shopping street scenes.

"Every day we are confronted with mass immigration: headscarves, burqas, minarets, social security dependence, crime ... it never ends," he laments as dramatic music plays in the background of the clip released ahead of June 9 parliamentary elections.

"Whole neighbourhoods are being Islamised."

Mr Wilders' bold move onto the shaky ground of multi-cultural tolerance, for long a matter of Dutch pride, "has prompted other parties to adopt a stricter approach to security and the integration of Muslims", said political analyst Martin Rosema of Twente University. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010

Dutch Far-right Party Out in Cold Over Headscarf Ban
EXPATICA: Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) has scuppered its chances of governing in the city of Almere through its insistence on a head scarf ban, a crown-appointed official said Friday.

No other party in Almere would accept a blanket ban on Islamic head scarves in municipal buildings, making it impossible to form a ruling coalition, said Boele Staal, a politician appointed by Queen Beatrix to investigate options for coalition government in the city where the PVV won March 3 municipal elections.

"The PVV wants a head scarf ban regardless of any (legal) test," said Boele's letter to the city council of Almere, nearly a third of whose 190,000 residents are of immigrant origin.

"With this position, the PVV has denied itself any possibility to be part of the municipal executive." >>> | Friday, March 26, 2010

Wilders to Take Council Seat in the Hague
DUTCHNEWS.nl: Geert Wilders is to take a seat on the Hague city council after winning 13,000 preference votes in last week's local elections.

Earlier Wilders, who is a sitting MP, said he would not take up a seat if he won. His anti-Islam party PVV emerged as the second biggest party in the political capital, with 17% of the vote.

'I am going to see if I can combine it. I will give it a go for a while,' Wilders was reported as saying.

The news means two of the eight PVV councillors in the Hague's new city council will combine their work with being members of parliament. [Source: DutchNews.nl] | Monday, March 08, 2010

Niederlande: Rechtspopulist Wilders wird Stadtrat
DIE PRESSE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist und Parlamentarier Geert Wilders nimmt nun auch ein Mandat als Stadtrat in Den Haag an. "Ich werde es auf jeden Fall eine Zeit lang versuchen", kündigt Wilders an.

Nach dem Erfolg seiner Partei für die Freiheit (PVV) bei den niederländischen Kommunalwahlen wird der Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders künftig im Stadtrat von Den Haag sitzen. Eine Sprecherin der Stadt bestätigte am Montag, dass Wilders sein Mandat wahrnehmen werde. Der umstrittene Politiker sagte der niederländischen Nachrichtenagentur ANP, er habe sich nach anfänglichem Zögern für das Amt des Stadtrats entschieden. "Ich werde es auf jeden Fall eine Zeit lang versuchen", sagte er. Wilders ist auch Abgeordneter des niederländischen Parlaments. Platz zwei für Wilders in Den Haag >>> Ag. | Montag, 08. März 2010

Dutch Anti-immigration Party Gains Ground in Vote
ASSOCIATED PRESS: AMSTERDAM — Early returns in Dutch local elections showed an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party making big gains in a result seen as a possible foreshadowing of national elections in June.

"We're going to take the Netherlands back from the leftist elite, that coddles criminals and supports Islamization," said Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders early Thursday.

Wednesday's voting in 394 cities in theory elects city councils to deal with matters such as parking fees and taxes on dog ownership. But with national elections slated for June 9, Dutch media and politicians are treating the event as a dress rehearsal.

The Freedom Party was leading handily with half the votes counted in the medium-sized city of Almere, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.

Voting was conducted with paper and pencil, and full results won't be certified until Friday. >>> Toby Sterling, AP | Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Dutch Parties Tussle Over Approach to Far Right: Labour Figure Calls On Others to Keep Wilders Out of Govt
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

Bitter Election Campaign Looms
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

Kritik and Wilders-Partei: Künstler bekommt nach Nazi-Vergleich Hass-Mails
WELT ONLINE: Nach einem Vergleich der Partei des niederländischen Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders mit den Nazis ist der Sänger und Schriftsteller Herman van Veen mit Hass-Mails überschüttet worden. Er habe Tausende von E-Mails bekommen, in denen "widerwärtige, beängstigende Sachen stehen", sagte der international bekannte Künstler.

Schriftsteller und Sänger: der niederländische Künstler Herman van Veen. Bild: Welt Online
Herman van Veen ist mit Hass-Mails überschüttet worden. Der niederländische Schriftsteller und Sänger hatte zuvor die Partei des niederländischen Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders mit den Nazis verglichen. Auslöser war nach Medienberichten vom Dienstag eine Rede zum 20. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls, in der van Veen vor totalitären Systemen warnte.

Dabei erklärte der 64-Jährige, die Partei für die Freiheit (PVV) sei eigentlich keine politische Partei, sondern eine Vereinigung, in der allein Wilders das Sagen habe. Man müsse aufpassen, dass sie nicht zu einer Art NSB werde. Die „Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging“ (NSB) der Niederlande war während der Hitler-Diktatur mit der NSDAP verbündet. >>> dpa/fas | Dienstag, 10. November 2009

Wilders Compares Prophet Muhammad to a Pig
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has seized on a news report from Saudi Arabia for peppery written questions to the cabinet. In these, he compares the Islamic prophet Mohammed to a pig.

Wilders has requested clarification from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on a marriage in Saudi Arabia between an 80 year old man and a 10 year old child. The child had run away from her elderly husband, but was brought back to him by her father, the English-language website Arab News reports based on a Saudi newspaper.

Wilders asks the minister if he shares the view that "this man is behaving like a pig, just like the barbarous Prophet Mohammed, who married the six year old girl Aisha." The PVV leader wants Verhagen to summon the Saudi Arabian ambassador to express his repugnance. [Source: NIS News Bulletin] | Thursday, August 27, 2009

Wilders' Party Loses Support
DUTCHNEWS.nl: Geert Wilders' anti-immigration PVV party would take 24 seats in the 150-seat parliament if there was a general election tomorrow, four down on last month, according to the latest Politieke Barometer opinion poll.

At the beginning of July, support for the PVV had reached an all-time high of 32, making it the most popular party in the country. It currently has nine seats in parliament.

The new poll says the Christian Democrats are now in the lead, with 37 seats. Coalition party Labour (PvdA) is up two seats at 24.

Meanwhile, research by Synovate for tv programme Nova shows that almost 40% of Wilders' supporters back the PVV because they have lost faith in the government and other political parties. >>> AD | Friday, August 28, 2009

Mohammed Is Most Popular Boy's Name in Four Biggest Dutch Cities
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

Wilders' Party Is 'Extremely Right-wing'
DUTCH NEWS: Dutch journalists and politicians should stop calling Geert Wilders' political party the PVV a populist party because it has all the hallmarks of an extreme-right wing group, says Renée Danen, the president of the Dutch anti-racist group Nederland Bekent Kleur, in the NRC.

'The PVV wants to close the borders to people who belong to one particular religion, and ban the houses of worship and schools for one population group,' Danen wrote in an article.

'Wilders once told De Limburger newspaper that he wants to 'tear down the mosques'. He told HP/De Tijd newsweekly that 'it is okay for the Netherlands to have Jewish and Christian school but not Islamic schools'. In other words: pure discrimination,' Danen said.

Wilders is also anti-democratic, Danen argues, pointing out that he is the only member of the PVV. 'PVV MPs are not elected by the party but appointed by Wilders himself. The PVV meets behind closed doors in meetings where no one has the right to vote. So the main defining characteristics of an extreme-right party - nationalist, anti-democratic and racist - are all found in the PVV,' Danen says. Economic Policy >>> | Thursday, June 11, 2009

THE WASHINGTON POST: Dutch Far Right MP Snubs EU, Refuses to Take Seat

AMSTERDAM - Dutch anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders won enough preference votes for a seat in the European Parliament, but has refused to take up the position, his party said Thursday.

Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), had campaigned on an anti-European Union platform and had said before last week's election he would not take up a seat in the parliament in protest against an institution he said needed change.

He says he objects to EU influence in Dutch matters, arguing the Netherlands should keep a veto right over issues such as immigration laws. He is also against Dutch taxpayer money being paid to the union and Turkey's entry into the bloc.

The Dutch Electoral Council said Wilders had won almost 335,000 preference votes, guaranteeing him a seat. Wilders had not been expected to win a seat because he was listed at number 10 on his party's candidate list.

Barry Madlener, who topped the PVV's candidate list, confirmed Wilders would not take up his seat. "We would miss him here too much," he told news agency ANP. >>> Reuters | Thursday, June 11, 2009

Rechtsextremisten drängen ins Europaparlament: Auftakt zu Europawahl in Grossbritannien und Holland
Geert Wilders: Trommelt in Holland gegen den Islam. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ Online: In Grossbritannien und den Niederlanden haben die Wahlen zum Europaparlament begonnen. Rechtsextremisten wie die holländische Freiheitspartei und die British National Party können mit beträchtlichem Zulauf rechnen.

Zum Auftakt der Europawahl in den 27 Ländern der EU galt es als sicher, dass die anti-islamische Freiheitspartei (PVV) des Filmemachers Geert Wilders erstmals Abgeordnete nach Strassburg schicken wird.

Bei seiner Stimmabgabe sagte Wilders am Donnerstag in Den Haag, die Türkei sollte auch in Millionen Jahren kein Mitglied der EU werden. Zugleich wandte er sich gegen jede Mitwirkung der EU an der Einwanderungspolitik der Mitgliedsländer. Für die PVV werden laut Umfragen etwa 14 Prozent der Stimmen erwartet, womit die Anti-Islam-Partei ähnlich grosse Anteile erhalten könnte wie die etablierten Parteien der Christlichdemokraten und Sozialdemokraten. >>> | Donnerstag, 04. Juni 2009

FINANCIAL TIMES: European Elections Get Under Way

The European parliamentary elections got under way in the Netherlands and Britain on Thursday, with Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-immigration politician, vowing to do his utmost to stop Turkey entering the European Union “in a million years”.

Smaller parties are expected to gain seats in the 736-seat chamber from bigger rivals in both countries, the first two nations to vote in pan-European polls that run until Sunday. Voters across the 27-nation bloc are expected to focus on unemployment and economic uncertainty in the poll.

In the Netherlands, Mr Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) is fielding its first candidates for the European parliament and has focused on a Eurosceptic call to “get money back” from Brussels and a firm no to Turkish aspirations of membership.

Judging by Dutch schoolchildren – one in five of whom voted for the PVV this week in a shadow election organised among 15,000 of them – he should do well.

“The message for Europeans is go and vote, vote against immigration, vote against the political elite, choose parties that really want to fight for the preservation of our freedom and our cultural identity,” the bleached blond Mr Wilders said after casting his vote in The Hague.

On the question of Turkish membership, he said the country should not be admitted “in 10 years, not in a million years. Turkey should never be allowed to join the European family”.

Although banned from travelling to the UK earlier this year, Mr Wilders, who controls nine of 150 seats in the Dutch parliament, is not as much of a pariah in domestic politics as other anti-immigration politicians are across Europe. >>> By Michael Steen in The Hague | Thursday, June 04, 2009

Wilders’ Supporters - What Do They Want?
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) >>>

Wilders Now a Celebrity in US and Prime Minister in Poll
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE - Controversial MP Geert Wilders has reacted with pleasure to a poll according to which his Party for Freedom (PVV) would be the Netherlands' biggest party. "As far as I am concerned elections can be held tomorrow; then I will be the next premier."

The PVV would according to prominent pollster Maurice de Hond win 27 seats in the 150-member Lower House if elections were held now. This is one more than the Christian democrats (CDA). This is the first time the PVV has emerged as the biggest party in a poll.

The PVV has risen in recent weeks thanks to apparent setbacks. First, the Amsterdam appeal court ruled that Wilders must be prosecuted for incitement to hatred and insulting of Muslims as a group. And subsequently, the UK refused him entry to the country.

In the US on the other hand, Wilders was greeted by neo-conservatives - as by a growing portion of the Dutch population - as a martyr for freedom of speech. The contrasts with Europe are great. A conservative philosopher said of his impact in the American media: "He is more than a hero. He is a celebrity".

Wilders says his criticism of Islam is dealt with much less frenetically in America. "In the Netherlands, the elite consider that you may not speak as I do, but here (in the US) freedom is in the genes. (...) I notice that in this country, at least arguments are exchanged. The Netherlands and Europe could adopt this as an example."

According to Wilders, the Pentagon shares his fears of a 'Eurabia'. "I have spoken with Pentagon staff, and they fear for the stability of Europe if the influence of Islam grows further." >>> | Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Submission in the Netherlands
CITY JOURNAL: The trial of Geert Wilders represents another blow against Dutch freedom.

“The Freedom Party (PVV),” read yesterday’s press release, “is shocked by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal’s decision to prosecute Geert Wilders for his statements and opinions. Geert Wilders considers this ruling an all-out assault on freedom of speech.”

The appalling decision to try Wilders, the Freedom Party’s head and the Dutch Parliament’s only internationally famous member, for “incitement to hatred and discrimination” against Islam is indeed an assault on free speech. But no one who has followed events in the Netherlands over the last decade can have been terribly surprised by it. Far from coming out of the blue, this is the predictable next step in a long, shameful process of accommodating Islam—and of increasingly aggressive attempts to silence Islam’s critics—on the part of the Dutch establishment.

What a different road the Netherlands might have taken if Pim Fortuyn had lived! Back in the early spring of 2002, the sociologist-turned-politician—who didn’t mince words about the threat to democracy represented by his country’s rapidly expanding sharia enclaves—was riding high in the polls and appeared on the verge of becoming the next prime minister. For his supporters, Fortuyn represented a solitary voice of courage and an embodiment of hope for freedom’s preservation in the land of the dikes and windmills. But for the Dutch political class and its allies in the media and academia—variously blinded by multiculturalism, loath to be labeled racists, or terrified of offending Muslims—Fortuyn himself was the threat. They painted him as a dangerous racist, a new Mussolini out to tyrannize a defenseless minority. The result: on May 6, 2002, nine days before the election, Fortuyn was gunned down by a far-left activist taken in by the propaganda. The Dutch establishment remained in power. For many Dutchmen, hope died that day. >>> Bruce Bawer | Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hat tip: Pastorius >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Complaints Against Geert Wilders Pile Up
EXPATICA: AMSTERDAM – The reports against politician Geert Wilders are piling up. The foundation Nederland Bekent Kleur has once again gone to the public prosecution department in Amsterdam to lodge a complaint about 20 violations of antidiscrimination legislation of which Wilders and his party, the PVV, are reportedly guilty. Complaints against Geert Wilders pile up: Antidiscrimination organisation files report against Wilders >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Wilders: Cabinet Fears Prove Islam's Intolerance
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: THE HAGUE, 24/01/08 - In an open letter in newspaper De Volkskrant yesterday, Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders criticised the commotion over his Koran film. With their panicky reactions, politicians and authorities are proving that Islam is an intolerant ideology, in his view.

Wilders uses half of his letter to sketch a contrast between Islam and Christianity. "Imagine that (...) it became known that I was going to make a film to demonstrate the Fascist character of the Bible. Say that I had urged in a letter a few months earlier that the Bible should be banned. (...) Would Premier Balkenende then (...) have spoken of a serious crisis with international effects? Would there (...) have been a special meeting of ministers? Would the chief editors (...) in public broadcasting have conferred about how to deal with the film?" (...) "Of course not."

Wilders summarises a further catalogue of things that would "of course not" have happened if he had criticised the Bible. "But now that my film is not about the Bible but about the Koran, government, media, Muslims and others have been in a state of hysterical panic for weeks." There are two explanations for this, according to Wilders.

"Firstly, Islam is an intolerant ideology (...), within which there is no room for matters like self-reflection and self-criticism. Nor does there appear to be any room for individual responsibility and self-control. (...). Secondly, there is a question of fear. The emergency scenarios (of authorities) illustrate the state of panic within the Dutch government at the moment." (...) "It is not the cabinet (....) but the fear of Islam that governs the Netherlands."

"The fact that a not yet shown film of about 10 minutes could according to some lead to economic boycotts, riots and other horrible things says everything about the nature of Islam. Nothing about me. The cabinet acknowledges with its panicky reaction that Islam is not comparable to Christianity, but is a unique ideology. And this ideology thus demands a separate, unique approach. The Koran film has thus already demonstrated its usefulness."

The National Anti-terrorism Coordinator has warned Wilders that he may have to leave the Netherlands temporarily after the appearance of his anti-Koran film, Wilders added in the letter. The film will appear in "a few weeks," said the PVV leader. [Source: Wilders: Cabinet Fears Prove Islam's Intolerance >>>]

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)