Far right celebrates breakthrough in Dutch polls

[FarCenter]

Thursday, March 4, 2010
ALMERE, Netherlands – Agence France-Presse

Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders celebrated a symbolic breakthrough Thursday as his party won control of its first municipality in a show of strength ahead of June's general election.

"What is possible in The Hague and Almere is possible all over the country," Wilders said after his Party for Freedom, or PVV, came first and second in the only two out of 394 municipalities it contested in local polls Wednesday. "It's a springboard for our victory. We will become the biggest party in the Netherlands on June 9."

While the mainstream Christian Democratic and Labour parties lost support, the PVV emerged with the largest share of the vote (21.6 percent) in Almere, a city of nearly 190,000 people near Amsterdam. The party also came second in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government and the third largest city with a population of 442,000.

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The PVV had previously won nine of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament when it contested its first elections in 2006 and won four of the country's 25 European parliament seats in elections last June. But some recent polls have shown it is now the most popular party in the Netherlands, traditionally seen as a bastion of tolerance.

The cornerstone of Wilders' party is his pledge to "stop the Islamization of the Netherlands" and he has run into trouble with the authorities at home and abroad. Wilders - nicknamed Mozart for his platinum-dyed mop of hair -- is awaiting trial for hate speech after calling Islam a fascist religion and likening the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

His anti-Islam film Fitna, a 17-minute commentary featuring shocking imagery of attacks on New York in 2001 and Madrid in 2004 combined with quotes from the Koran, has drawn outrage in a series of Muslim countries. He was also barred from entering Britain last year to stop him spreading "hatred and violent messages.".

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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=far-right-celebrates-breakthrough-in-dutch-polls-2010-03-04

[Blue_Tires]

1. certainly some Dutch still remember the last time

a certain population was targeted and marginalized?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Well, listen to how Wilders has reacted to this result:

"The national campaign begins today. Today, in Almere and The Hague, tomorrow in all of the Netherlands… On 9 June, we'll conquer the Netherlands," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8549155.stm

Altogether now - "Tomorrow belongs to me ..." :scared: