Tolerant wimps no more. That appears to be the lesson of local elections in the Netherlands.
Early results suggest the hard-right anti-immigration party of Geert Wilders looks set to emerge as the main winner in local elections held in the Netherlands on Wednesday (3 March), setting the stage for a national showdown in June.
“We are going to conquer the entire country … We are going to be the biggest party in the country,” said the blond-haired Mr Wilders as the results came through.
Although the Party for Freedom (PVV) only fielded candidates in two local constituencies, a new opinion poll that coincided with the vote suggested the party was set to make significant gains in the summer general elections.
The running of PVV candidates in the central municipalities of the Hague and Almere marks the first time the anti-Muslim populist Wilders has attempted to establish his party in local government.
Should Wilders end up in power the Europeans are likely to end up in a sanctimonious tizzy. A few years back they punished the Austrian people for giving the hard-right Freedom Party, then headed by Joerg Haider, enough votes to end up in a coalition government. Would they dare punish Wilders for advocating what an increasing number of European people seem to be thinking?
