Populism put to the test

The Netherlands’ parliamentary election is seen as a bellwether for the future of populism in a year of crucial votes in Europe.

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.

The anti-Islam, far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders was running just behind two-term right-wing Prime Minister Mark Rutte in polls ahead of voting overnight.

During a final election debate yesterday, Wilders piled on the antiIslam 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 government ministers address rallies about a constitutional reform referendum next month that could give Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more powers.

It showed Rutte as refusing to bow to pressure from outside, a stance which has widespread backing in the nation.

Rutte has cast the election as a two-horse race between his VVD party and the Party for Freedom led by Wilders. The choice, Rutte said, is simple: chaos or continuity.

The Prime Minister says Wilders’ one-page manifesto — which pledges to take the Netherlands out of the EU, shut its borders to all immigrants from Muslim countries, shutter mosques and ban the Koran — would lead to chaos. Wilders fired back in a debate on Tuesday that it would allow the Dutch “to become the boss in our own country again”. “The Netherlands does not belong to all of us,” he proclaimed.

Talks to form the next ruling coalition could take a while. “The longest coalition formation was seven months,” said Amsterdam Free University political analyst Andre Krouwel. “It wouldn’t surprise me if these results lead to a very complicated and long formation process.” — AP