Loonwatch.com has an article about Wilders' impact on Dutch Muslims.
Our US friends have their doubts as to the passive attitude, a Dutch source claims to have found among them. Me too. But it is a fact, that a kind of fatalism was coming up, only weeks ago, before the seemingly unstoppable rise of Geert Wilders to Government Minister.
Many people on the Left were preparing themselves for a long period of hibernation, while - as they hoped - Wilders would prove to be incapable as a government leader. A very dangerous attitude, as they could have known, remembering the pre-1933 German "Verelendungs" theory concerning Adolf Hitler.
My contribution to the 17 comments may help you to get an impression of the huge changes in Wilders' position and perspectives as a politician that occurred in recent weeks.
Huib Riethof Says:
April 21st, 2010 at 7:24 pmWilders is down in the polls to 18 seats out of 150 in Dutch parliament. Some weeks ago, his PVV party was estimated at about 30. In the very fragmented Dutch political landscape, the PVV would have been the biggest party at that particular moment. The PVV is 4th now, behind Labor (PvdA, 33), the Conservative liberals VVD (30) and the Christian democrats (CDA) (27).
The Wilders hype in Holland seems to be over. A right-center or left-center government without the PVV is the most likely outcome of the June 9 parliamentary elections.
The *international* Wilders-hype is still going on, but is doomed to give way to another one, as it becomes evident, that Wilders is not going to be in power in an European country.
Some ‘handicaps’, Wilders carries with him from the beginning, are helping to accelerate this process.I mentioned, here at Loonwatch, already Wilders’ pro-abortion and pro-gay positions, that are in line with the views of a vast majority in Holland. Moreover, Wilders is (in Holland) an outspoken critic of Christian fundamentalism.
Geert Wilders successfully hid his points of view on these matters during his lecturing tours in the US, in Israel and elsewhere abroad. Thus rallying ideologically and financially right extremists, Israeli supremacists and Christian fundis to his cause.That hypocrisy was exposed recently, in Holland as well as in the US, as Wilders was forced to disown a movie made by the Californian CAN Christian fundamentalists about himself. Since that outrage, Wilders’ webmasters for his site in English fell silent. The latest post dates from March 22, a copy of a demagogic letter Diana West sent to the mayor of a small German city, that banned Wilders from staying there in the future because of his racism.
To you and me, this may be positive news. But there is no guarantee, that lessons have been learned. Some other loon may get his take on the subconscious fears of the middle classes.That is why we, at Krapuul in Holland, continue to work at helping people to spot racism and discrimination, the moment they appear.
One “Wilders-experience” is enough!
Among the other contributions to the discussion, I recommend those by eslaporte, editor of the Yellow Stars Blog. Eslaporte is an American, living in-, and passionately pleading for-, Europe. An Europe like I see it, in my more optimist moments, shining among the stars...