Whoever has a knowledge about Dutch society or better who has known it two decades ago, the results of yesterday’s election are suprisiing. Only a few years ago it would have been unthinkable to say a word or a gesture against immigration in the Netherlands, which was a taboo and the entire society was enchanted by the enrichment brought by the “multicultural “approach.
It was unthinkable, therefore, that a Party openly against immigration could obtain 13% of the votes and that the winners with the 21% of consensus, that is the right wing liberals of the Prime Minister Mark Rutte, could criticise many aspects of immigration and prohibit Turkish election campaign in Holland not allowing a Turkish minister to enter the country.
Today this is reality and therefore a positive symptom of popular reaction against the multicultural dictatorship. Nevertheless, the PVV of Geert Wilders which has gained 5 seats more for a total of 20 and 13% of votes, is the big defeated of this election because exit polls gave him as the first party in Holland.
Three points must be underlined to consider this failure:
– the fragility of a political campaign obsessively focused on antiimmigration which does not consider other political aspects and that assumes liberal economic principles; this has allowed the VVD , right wing liberals, to drain votes easily :in a month of critical campaigning on the immigration issue they have drained a big part of Wilders potential voters ,whom, differently from other idenitarian movements in Europe, as FPO, VB, FN has not presented any social program.
– Exit polls and participation
Giving Wilders as a winner, even if it was clear in the last days that he would arrive second and presenting him as a “racist and fascist” (?), the media have succeeded to mobilise the electorate through a record participation which has prejudiced the PVV.
-The main factor: Euroscepticism
It is now demonstrated that to link the immigration issue to the exit from the EU and the Euro, as Wilders did, is a big mistake.
Presenting itself on the geopolitical flow of the Brexit and Trump‘s political views -in which there are things which we can like- in Europe means only “make America great and Europe small” which conveys a huge strategic and ideological ambiguity.
The Netherlands live on two essential factors: a fiscal regime which they offer to EU companies which operate on Dutch soil and in particular in the port of Rotterdam, gate of arrival and departure for German merchant navy. To propose to exit the EU and the Euro would mean the end of source of wealth for the Netherlands and in case of commercial barrier with the EU, and Germany, in particular, Berlin could react substituting Rotterdam with Hamburg. Wilders seem to forget that petrol in the North Sea is next to end.
This senseless proposal, not agreed by the majority of Dutch people, also amongst those against immigration, explains in a great part Wilders defeat and could explain the defeat of whoever will fall into this trap. Because it should be clear that neither Geert Wilders nor Marine Le Pen will succeed in having The Netherlands and France to quit the EU, simply because Dutch and French people do not want to leave the EU.
Yesterday, Jean-Marc Ayrault, Foreign Ministry of France congratulated the Dutch people, for “showing the will to work for a stronger Europe”. It is a paradox that it is the socialists to speak this way, whilst many identitarian, the ones eurosceptical and antieuropean, are demonstrating a lack of realism.
There is something basic lacking: it is time to bet for a strong Europe and to think in political terms about the XXI century. Somebody is already doing so, in particular the Austrian party FPO. This is the line to follow.