Geert Wilders went full on the organ during the General Discussions as usual. In doing so, he presents the other parties with a dilemma.
As usual, Geert Wilders draws attention during the first hours of the General Political Reflections. Last year, other group chairmen opted – initially – not to respond to statements and provocations from the PVV leader, this year Wilders’ contribution will lead to fierce debates and interruptions.
These Reflections confront the other parties with the same dilemma as every year: to counteract and refute Wilders’ attacks on democracy and the rule of law, or to keep him silent. They choose the former, giving Wilders the opportunity to repeat his point over and over again. In the end, he spoke for more than two hours.
Wilders chooses, just like last year, to start his argument about his prosecution. Two weeks ago, he was convicted by a judge of group insults, but acquitted of incitement to hatred and discrimination. He concludes from this that the rule of law is bankrupt and that the Netherlands is an “intensely corrupt country” and a “banana republic”. According to him, the rule of law treats him differently than, for example, rapper Akwasi or minister Ferd Grapperhaus. Akwasi is not prosecuted for inflammatory statements, Grapperhaus violated corona rules at his wedding, after which he had to go through the dust in the Lower House. He was not fined.
“Tribute to Mr. Orbán”
The fact that D66 party chairman Rob Jetten compares him to Hungarian president Viktor Orbán, who restricts the freedom of the press and the rule of law in his country, Wilders considers a compliment. “I am very pleased with the good contacts with Mr. Orbán who, unlike the Netherlands, closes his borders and ensures that his country does not become a semi-Islamic country like here. So tribute to Mr. Orbán. ”
The PVV leader further insists on his regular themes, such as nuisance and crime of Moroccan Dutch and Islam. Attacks by other group leaders on these topics are grist to the PVV leader’s mill. To a remark that Dutch people with a different background also commit crimes: “Have you ever watched ‘Investigation Requested’? That could be the broadcasting time for political parties of the PVV. ”
“Shouldn’t people listen to the judge anymore?”
PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher and GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver are the only ones who manage to get a grip on Wilders. Asscher asks the PVV why he usually agrees with the VVD on economic issues and how this relates to his appearance as a politician who stands up for employees. Wilders did not go beyond reproaching about the role of the PvdA in Rutte II. According to Klaver, Wilders radicalizes and places himself outside the rule of law. “Are you telling the million and a half people who voted for you that they should stop listening to the judge?” Wilders does not want to answer that question.
After Wilders lost elections for years on end and in the polls stood for a while on fewer seats than Forum for Democracy, the corona crisis has given him wind in his sails. The PVV leader invariably calls on the cabinet to relax the corona measures and he managed to embarrass the coalition parties with a vote on higher care wages. To avoid the vote, many members of the coalition left the House of Representatives in a hurry. The contrast is great with his “competitor” on the right, Thierry Baudet. In the morning of the General Discussions, the Forum for Democracy leader barely speaks, except for an interruption in which he expresses support for Wilders’ story.
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