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Subject: 	[Marxism] Racist gains in Dutch elections
Date: 	Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:24:19 -0500
From: 	Louis Proyect <lnp3 at panix.com>
Reply-To: 	Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
<marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu>
To: 	aorta <aorta at home.nl>


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/04/geert-wilders-dutch-elections-results
Geert Wilders's party wins seat in Dutch elections – early results

Far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom party wins its first seat in
local government ahead of general election in June

     * Ian Traynor, Europe editor
     * guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 March 2010 10.44 GMT
     * larger | smaller
     * Article history

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders speaks to supporters in
Almere after local elections

The Dutch far-right, anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders has
won major gains in local elections in the Netherlands, with
preliminary results today indicating he may dominate the political
scene in the run-up to the general election in three months.

Yesterday's poll, 10 days after the centrist coalition government
collapsed, was seen as a gauge of the public mood ahead of the
national elections on 9 June.

Wilders last night claimed a massive victory, predicting: "We are
going to conquer the entire country … We are going to be the
biggest party in the country.

"The leftist elite still believes in multiculturalism, coddling
criminals, a European super-state and high taxes," Wilders told
cheering supporters at a rally in Almere. "But the rest of the
Netherlands thinks differently. That silent majority now has a
voice," he said.

With almost 400 local authorities being contested, the focus was
on only two areas – The Hague and Almere, in the centre of the
country – because of Wilders's campaign to establish his Freedom
party in local government for the first time.

According to early results, he won in Almere and came second to
the Dutch Labour party in The Hague, the only two places the
Freedom party was running because of a lack of resources and
candidates.

Wilders, who likens the Qur'an to Hitler's Mein Kampf and wants
Muslim immigrants deported, is bidding to win the general election
in June, with the latest opinion polls predicting he might take 27
of the 150 seats in the Netherlands' highly fragmented political
scene.

That would make it tough for the Christian Democrats, projected to
win one seat less, to forge a strong coalition without Wilders.
Months of talks between parties, and the resulting policy vacuum,
could threaten a fragile economic recovery and cast doubt on the
scope of planned budget cuts.

Wilders is expected at the House of Lords tomorrow on an
invitation from the UK Independence party for a screening of his
incendiary anti-Islamic film, Fitna, after the Home Office barred
him from entering Britain last year. The ban has been rescinded.

Yesterday the civic halls in The Hague and Almere were under heavy
security. In both places and elsewhere scores of men and women
turned up to vote wearing headscarves, in protest against Wilders'
demand for a tax on Muslim headgear and for the wearing of
headscarves to be banned in all public buildings.

While local elections are usually a subdued affair focused on
issues such as cycle paths and rubbish collection, yesterday's
poll was dominated by immigration and Afghanistan.

The coalition government of Christian and social democrats fell 10
days ago because the Labour party, the junior partner, refused to
extend the presence of 2,000 Dutch troops in Afghanistan, who are
to be withdrawn from August.

It was the first Nato government to fall because of the war and
the collapse looks likely to end the career of Jan Peter
Balkenende, the Christian Democrat prime minister who has been in
office for eight years. The Afghan pullout is popular and Labour
has risen in the polls as a result.

Turnout in The Hague and Almere was several points up on four
years ago, suggesting that the Freedom party would do well. Almere
is a new town with a population of nearly 200,000 and hardly any
immigrants.

In European elections last year the Freedom party came second,
trouncing Labour in its heartland cities of the western and
northern coasts.

Polls predict Wilders could triple his vote at the general election.

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