In Canada’s last election, a voter turnout of 68% was considered astonishing. Then the Netherlands has their election and cranks out a whopping 81%.
There were some murmurings worried about Geert Wilders’ potential success, but it looks like the impending government will be a centrist (relative to Dutch politics) coalition.
I don’t know much else other than, “the Dutch fascists lost.” So hurray! Plus there’s this… delightful interview from an exit poll:
If other parties would offer, for example, an approach against groups of youths showing disrespectful behaviour, they could lure away a lot of PVV voters. It’s not that hard: more money for 24/7 police surveillance and social work, for example. People need anything that shows that the government cares.
Try not to have existential crises every time you glimpse into the mind of an authoritarian.
-Shiv
That was one hell of a turnout, showing just how many people cared. Be good to see that here.
Oh ffs. I don’t even want to know what constitutes “disrespectful” behaviour. Sounds like the common complaint of the ‘get off my lawn’ curmudgeon. In my old age, as I recall, being “disrespectful” was a rather delightful part of being a snotty teenager.
“youths showing disrespectful behaviour” is like the oldest complaint around. I don’t know how many times those darn kids have ended civilisation by chewing gum (and not by, let’s say, starting wars or electing Trump).
There was a good reason for a high voter turnout, including voters in the Caribbean Netherlands.
For the last 2 years, far right politicians like Wilders could peddle the idea their hateful and fear mongering ideology is but a remedy to a very real threat posed by illegal immigration, except of course, they spew this rhetoric since the ’80s, when, thanks to the Zündel trial in Canada, Neo Nazism went on the rise.
Basically, Wilders, in tune with Marine Le Pen proposes a complete withdrawal from the EU, and the readoption of their national currency. The Dutch may be angry, but they’re not stupid, such a withdrawal would have disastrous effects even without knowing the exact details how Brexit will go down.
The difference between the current American voters/Eastern European voters and Western Europe is simply knowing, that such grandeur plans need taxpayer contribution to compensate losses.
You’re right to call it centrist by Dutch standards. While Wilders would have deepened the tryst with Turkey, I feel the need to mention, that Rutte is the lesser of 2 evils, seeing that he held office in the second Balkenende cabinet, which had infamously tried to implement immigration restrictions, which were supported by Wilders and by Aayan Hirsi Ali (she lived with Wilders under police protection after Theo van Gogh was murdered). Times have however changed, and Wilders tries to tone down how he hates everyone who isn’t white, and doesn’t speak Dutch.
As we don’t have a federal government for the EU, the Netherlands can’t become Kansas, depending on federal funding to survive, so this was a wise and necessary choice.
Speaking of fascists, Nick Griffin has attended a conference of the far right to have an anti-Soros bashing, and he announced to a reporter upon asked of his future plans, that he wishes to relocate to Hungary within the year, and soon others will follow. The irony is, that the former head of the British Nationalist Party completely misreads the local xenophobia, and fails to understand, that until he doesn’t learn the language, and probably won’t, he will taste the bigoted discrimination that built that wall, and hightail out of there once his visa free stay expires. Since he doesn’t speak the language, it flew past buy him, that the powers that be will be at war with retail chains and the Heineken company, so the situation of the local Tesco chain is up in the air. The only thing he was honest about was rambling “reverse racism” brought on by liberals and other treehuggers.