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5 June 2009
Geert Wilder's party PVV (Partij voor de Vrijheid - Party for Freedom) is a big winner in The European Parliament Elections
The time difference between Holland and Australia enabled me to watch during a leisurely breakfast the two hour broadcast via satellite (BVN) of the Dutch elections for the European Parliament. Hardly a word is reported about this in Australia but in Holland it was a burning question - or rather there were two burning questions.
First, would the Dutch again veto the growing role the movers and shakers wanted for the European Parliament? There was great consternation four years ago when a majority of voters displayed a regrettable and unexpected obstinacy in rejecting the grand vision of some of its foremost leaders. Would they do it again? They did.
Second, would the surveys pointing to Wilders' party gaining some seats turn out to be accurate. They did. I doubt whether any politician in the history of The Netherlands has been execrated so often and so violently as Geert Wilders. Great chunks of humble pie had to be eaten and much egg had to be wiped from the faces of his detractors.
The PVV is guaranteed at this point of four seats, while the main party of the coalition government gained just one more. The Labour Party (PvDa), saw their votes almost halved while the two other main leftist parties, the socialists and the Greens, had a gain of one seat.
A post-election round-table debate between the main parties was televised. Wilders' opponents begrudgingly congratulated him for his success but then gave voice to their bitterness which Wilders for the most part dealt with very well. The usual complaints were levelled at Wilders: he was racist (against Muslims) and denied freedom of religion (again Islam). It was mostly a repetition of the smears Wilders is continually subjected to.
Femke Halsema did not say all that much remaining, as usual, dignified (and cute). She kept above the fiery exchanges, leaving that sort of thing to her leftist colleagues. The camera unaccountably often focused on her while the others went hammer and tong. But in all that furious exchange, she came up with in my view the most telling point against Wilders.
The PVV may have four or five seats in the European Parliament, but what were they going to do with them? Groenlinks would cooperate with the other Green Parties and prove far more effective, surely. I thought that was the only time Wilders seemed hesitant. The obvious answer, which he eventually got out, was that PVV could also cooperate with others in the parliament, perhaps not so effectively, but the PVV certainly would not be powerless.
Nevertheless, Wilders should not ignore the point. New conservative parties have shown a tendency to implode once they gain some degree of power. With the power of seats in the parliament must come discipline and organisation and a firm agreement of what the party stands for. And when it is a conservative party in question, it is absolutely paramount that members understand what conservatism entails. Wilders and his colleagues might do well to consult the people of the Burke Stichting.
Femke's intervention was a good example of how well she performs on her feet (impromptu). But there's a lot more to unfold in this fascinating story.
Finally, I will make the point that the support for the conservative parties in this election indicates how out of touch the dominant political class in Holland is with its electorate. It's the same story in Australia.
comment: gerard@gerardcharleswilson.com