Dutch voters and politicians must combine to ensure that Geert Wilders cannot devour a position of power without responsibilityThe Dutch go to the polls on Wednesday,in a highly charged election watched across the west as a bellwether of how populist forces may yet fare in Europe in 2017. What comes out of Dutch ballot boxes will likely impact the political landscape in France, Germany and perhaps also Italy, or where more tests lie ahead for liberal democracy and the European Union at large. After Brexit and Trump,the Dutch vote is seen as another potential build-or-break moment for the liberal order: a win for the far-lawful, anti-Muslim, and xenophobic and anti-EU Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders would likely embolden like-minded movements elsewhere.
In an era of globalised politics,another ingredient is at work in the Dutch vote: Turkey has invited itself into the nation’s domestic politics, setting the stage for an even heavier dose of populism. On Monday Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Turkish president,threatened to impose sanctions on the Netherlands after two of his government ministers were prevented from holding political rallies in Rotterdam over the weekend. Mr Erdoğan is actively seeking the votes of the Turkish diaspora in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, ahead of a constitutional referendum next month in which he hopes to significantly expand his executive powers.
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Source: theguardian.com