Dutch vote today
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Amid unprecedented international attention, the Dutch go to the polls today in a parliamentary election that is seen as a bellwether for the future of populism in a year of crucial votes in Europe.
With the anti-Islam, far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders running just behind two-term right-wing Prime Minister Mark Rutte in polls, the Dutch vote could give an indication of whether the tide of populism that swept Britain toward the European Union exit door and Donald Trump into the White house has peaked.
The election in the Netherlands comes ahead of polls in France and Germany over the next half year, when right-wing nationalists will also be key players.
During a final election debate among leaders from the parties vying for seats and control of the government, Wilders piled on the anti-Islam invective while Rutte sought to underscore his leadership experience.
The final days of campaigning have been overshadowed by a diplomatic crisis between the Dutch and Turkish governments over the refusal of the Netherlands to let two Turkish ministers address rallies about a constitutional reform referendum next month that could give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more powers. It showed Rutte as refusing to bow to pressure from the outside, a stance which has widespread backing in the nation.
Rutte has driven through unpopular austerity measures over the last four years, but as the election approaches, the Dutch economic recovery has gathered pace and unemployment has fallen fast. So the prime minister is urging voters to stick with him.
Rutte is casting the election as a two-horse race between his VVD party and the Party for Freedom led by Wilders. The choice, Rutte says, is simple: Chaos or continuity.
The prime minister says Wilders’ one-page manifesto — which pledges to take the Netherlands out of the European Union, shut its borders to all immigrants from Muslim countries, shutter mosques and ban the Qur’an — would lead to chaos. Wilders fired back that it would allow the Dutch “to become the boss in our own country again.”
Wilders also is tapping into discontent among voters who say they are not benefiting from economic recovery in this nation of 17 million.