Populist surge hits roadblock in Netherlands France and Germany are the next western countries to vote with far-right candidates threatening to upset the establishment
The roaring populist wave that has washed over much of the world was stopped on the shores of Netherlands this week when that country went to the polls.
Give credit and thanks for this fortunate result to the majority of Dutch voters who displayed wisdom, tolerance and openness in their decision.
While dissatisfied with the status quo, they soundly rejected the antiMuslim, anti-establishment and antiEuropean Union bigotry of demagogue Geert Wilders. They chose to rearrange the country’s political furniture instead of throwing it into a bonfire.
It was, as German chancellor Angela Merkel observed, “a good day for democracy.”
The coalition government that eventually forms will be dominated by parties of the centre-left, not the far-right and its rabblerousing leader Wilders, who has derided Moroccans as “scum,” demanded the closure of mosques and wants Netherlands to leave the European Union.
The intricacies of Dutch politics seldom make table talk in Canada. On this occasion, they should.
By fanning the flames of intolerance and protectionism, Donald Trump burned a path to America’s White House last November.
A few months before that, the fear of migrants and open borders helped convince a slim majority of voters in the United Kingdom to drag their country out of the EU.
With similar populist forces hungry for more power after elections in France and Germany later this year, Netherlands was seen as a bellwether. Would it join or resist a troubling trend in Western democracies?
If the populist tide rolled over Netherlands, it might do the same in those larger countries. And that could destroy the European Union, along with the global order that has existed for decades.
Even now, Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s Front National, is a serious contender to become the country’s next president in an election later this year. She wants to pull France out of the EU.
In Germany, the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party is also seeking gains in an election this year.
A better performance in the Dutch elections by Wilders, who had led the polls for months, would have galvanized right-wing populists in France and Germany.
It’s still too early for Europe to breathe easy. Wilders is not a spent force. He gleefully points out his party actually gained a few seats in Wednesday’s election.
But what is more to the point is that while many Dutch voters turned away from the two big establishment parties — the Liberals and Labour Party — which both dropped seats, they generally rejected Wilders’ Freedom Party. Instead they opted for one of the other, smaller parties.
In the wake of the Dutch vote, it’s worth asking: What kind of world do the citizens of longtime democracies — where freedom, human rights and the rule of law have prevailed — truly want?
Will borders be open or closed to the movement of people and trade?
Will citizenship be determined by race, ethnicity and religion or shared civic values?
The Dutch have made their choice. Let’s hope the French and Germans are inspired by it.