Netherlands Latest Country to Tilt to the Right

Credit: Carl Court/Getty ImagesBy Andrew FirminLONDON, Dec 4 2023 (IPS) The Netherlands is the latest country to lurch to the right amid the global cost of living crisis. Its November election saw maverick far-right populist Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) come first. A hardline Islamophobe who’s called for the Quran to be banned could be the next prime minister. Change – of what kind? Change always looked on the cards – the only question was what kind. Since 2010, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte pieced together governing coalitions after four elections – no mean feat given highly fragmented politics in which numerous parties take seats. Rutte even bounced back from resigning in 2021 following a scandal over mass false fraud accusations against child benefit claimants, only to come first in the election. But his last government split when other parties rejected his proposal to tighten restrictions on the right of asylum seekers to be joined by family members. Rutte announced he wouldn’t run again. Suddenly the election had a fresh look. Rutte’s party, the People’s Party for Freedom for Democracy (VVD), had a new leader, Dilan Yeşilgöz, who arrived in the Netherlands as a child refugee and hoped to become the country’s first female prime minister. The New Social Contract (NSC) party, founded in August, sought to capitalise on anger at government scandals and for a time rode high in the polls. On the centre-left, the Green and Labour parties ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Climate Action Economy & Trade Education Environment Europe Featured Financial Crisis Headlines Health Migration & Refugees Religion TerraViva United Nations CIVICUS 2023 IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news