How is the Netherlands reacting to the PVV’s surprisingly large election victory? NOS and regional broadcasters are told that many voters in areas where Geert Wilders has performed above average are satisfied and hope he will have the chance to fulfill his promises.
“The Netherlands is at a point we do not want, and this is due to the destructive policies implemented over the last twelve years. These people are ready for something different,” said a gym owner (33) in Westland, South Holland, early this morning. percentage for PVV).
This call for change can also be heard among her customers: “We must put ourselves first,” says one active woman. Her friend says the Netherlands “needs to cut down on the pampering.” I’m not against foreigners living and working here, but we need to limit immigration a bit. I’m definitely not in favor of “just”. “Shut down the mosques” or something like that, let everyone do it, let them do what they want, but I think we are seen as a bit too Valhalla in the Netherlands.”
According to NH Nieuws, the majority of Volendam residents (43 percent for PVV) are also happy this morning. One visitor to a gas station there found it “refreshing and new” that it was Wilders’ turn and hoped he would now “defend the Dutch.” Another customer said he was happy that the other political parties were “all against Wilders. “He needs to do this now.”
Here are the reactions to PVV’s big victory in Groningen:
In Ootmarsum, Twente, Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC was the strongest party, followed by the PVV by a wide margin. Many visitors to the weekly market say they would prefer Omtzigt or BBB to win, but could also live with a cabinet full of Wilders.
One man says: “I’m not against comments like ‘less, less, less.’ Wilders doesn’t say it quite right sometimes. But if the MGK can reach an agreement with them, I have no problem.”
Many other voters in Dinkelland see excessive attention to the “climate event” and the housing crisis as cause for celebration; Wilders is the biggest of them all. “People are fed up,” one woman told NOS. “You should think more about young people in the Netherlands. “Those coming from abroad are given all kinds of opportunities, but our young people cannot find a home.”
“The Netherlands has become tougher”
Ahead of the election, Wilders showed a different face than before, saying he was being “soft” and looking for the desired election victory and a possible coalition.
But many Dutch people with immigrant backgrounds have not forgotten that she wanted to impose a tax on headscarves (“Kopvoddentax”) in 2009 and called for fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands after local elections in 2014, with her supporters chanting “less”. , less, less” Wilders was found guilty of insulting a group before the Supreme Court.
“A party spearheaded by Islamophobia has become the largest party in the country,” SPIOR, the umbrella organization of Islamic organisations, said in a press release. “Wilders didn’t give up, Holland got tougher.”
Elsewhere in the country, voters are also worried about a possible cabinet with PVV:
The Partnership for Moroccan Dutch is receiving many signals that its supporters are concerned about the future in the Netherlands. “Many neighborhood figures, local organizations and community workers now receive anxious questions from children and women such as: What will happen to us now?”
“I think it’s bad, yes. This is his ideology and his way of speaking,” says a child on the street in Rotterdam. “I haven’t forgotten the ‘less, less’ thing. “People say it’s in the past, but it says something about his personality.”
Social media is now awash with fearful comments and gallows humor from Dutch immigrants who say they fear for their future. Many people joke about constantly packing suitcases.
A selection of the many jokes currently being shared on social media:
But there are also people in the PVV strongholds who are worried about the future. “I’m so ashamed,” says a woman at the market in Ootmarsum. “I find this terrible. I work a lot with people from non-Western backgrounds, and they are very good, hard-working people. “I hope this isn’t a sign that living together won’t work in the future.”
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
