By Peter Mills.
Geert Wilders’ Dutch Freedom Party (Partij voor de Vrijheid or PVV)) is now showing that it is capable of flexing its political muscles, as confirmed in the Telegraph here.
While nationalism in Backwater Britain struggles to find a new political identity and direction for itself after years of refusing to accept that it should change into a less toxic format, in Europe the various nationalist parties are doing rather better at coping with realities and turning them to their advantage, and the Dutch are a good example of this new brand of nationalism – “new” because it is successful.
Already, the Dutch Freedom Party (founded in its present form as recently as 2005) has shown that by re-branding nationalism into a de-toxified populist political format it is perfectly possible to bring nationalism into parliament, and even into government, in which the PVV now has an actual foothold.
The Dutch National Party won 9 seats in the general election of 2006, the year following its formation, a victory which left it the fifth largest party in parliament. However, in the 2009 elections to the European Parliament, the PVV came second by winning 4 out of 25 seats, which was topped by its tremendous success in the 2010 general election – you remember, that was the year the BNP did not win a single seat and promptly collapsed from the rot of internal corruption and incompetence – when Geert Wilders’ nationalist party won no less than 24 seats, promoting it to 3rd largest party.
This is equivalent to the BNP doing better than the Lib-Dems in the 2010 general election! At least somebody got it right, but it was not British nationalism, it was Dutch. If nationalists in Britain had come third instead of the Lib-Dems, David Cameron and his Tories would have either had to swallow their misplaced pride and form a coalition with nationalists, or else blow David Cameron’s chance of being Prime Minister out of the water.
In the Netherlands, though, the Conservative/Liberal party led by Mark Rutte was neither so snooty nor so bigoted as Britain’s fossilised Tories and obsolescent Labourites. Rutte, though his party had not won a clear majority in the Dutch House of Representatives, saw his opportunity to form a government by entering into a coalition with the Dutch Freedom Party, the nationalists.
This coalition is interesting for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that Mark Rutte, who gained power with the agreement and cooperation of the nationalist party, is hailed as being the first Dutch Liberal Prime Minister for 92 years! This amounts to a nationalist image re-branding of atomic proportion.
Dutch Nationalist leader Geert Wilders is now able to bring nationalist policies and ideology into the councils of the wise on equal terms with other politicians. At present, he is speaking out against the Netherlands remaining in the European Single Currency and advocating a return to its own currency the Guilder, and he has extremely cogent reasons for urging this – a damning report from the Lombard Street Research economic consultancy (downloadable here) in which the forthcoming total collapse of the Euro and Eurozone is mapped out in meticulous unavoidable detail.
From the point of view of the Netherlands, Geert Wilders is concerned that since the start of the European Monetary Union (“Eurozone”) the non-Euro countries Switzerland and Sweden have overtaken the Netherlands while the Dutch growth rate has fallen from 3% to a mere 1.25%. Wilders has announced from his prominent political platform that the Euro “…is not in the interests of the Dutch people,” adding that the facts revealed by the report “…go against everything we are told in the media and by the left-wing elite…”
The liberalistic government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte needs the support of the Dutch Freedom Party in order to command a majority and get its legislation passed in parliament. It is reported (in the Telegraph and other sources) that Geert Wilders and Mark Rutte have been in talks together to discuss the current urgent financial catastrophe, especially the horrific 16 billion Euros’ worth of new “austerity cuts” which, like those imposed upon Greece, are now required by Europe in the Netherlands economy to prevent a 4.5% budget deficit.
The interesting thing from the viewpoint of British nationalists looking in from outside is that, as the European crisis gathers impact like a slow-motion avalanche, the de-toxified and re-branded Dutch nationalist party is in there with the top politicians, holding conferences with the Prime Minister and not only being taken seriously, but in addition, looking increasingly fitter for government themselves on a daily basis.
The Dutch nationalist party stands a very good chance of so impressing the general population that increased votes are likely in forthcoming elections, and especially so if the nationalist leader is part of the political team that can rescue the Netherlands from the predicted impending collapse of the Eurozone and, thereby, save the Dutch economy and population from the same kind of ruination and squalor now inflicted upon the Euro’s Greek victims.
The vital question nationalists in Britain need to ask themselves is this: can anyone picture in their mind’s eye a scenario in which Nick Griffin is asked by David Cameron to attend a meeting to discuss economic affairs? I rather expect I am not alone in finding it easier to imagine such an invitation being made to Kermit the Frog.
This underlines the simple fact that, unless nationalism in Britain can get it’s act together, de-toxify its image, appoint honest management, re-brand itself and become a populist political party that can successfully win increasing votes from ordinary voters, not only is British nationalism doomed to abject failure and ridicule, but Britain itself, as we have known and loved it, is also doomed to continue to be nothing but the handy offshore garbage dump of Europe.
British nationalism desperately needs a new direction and a new image, and it also needs a sweeping “house-clearing” of all the crooks, traitors, con-tricksters, get-rich-quick merchants, semi-illiterate writers and speakers, petulant psychopaths, buffoons and Muppets who have become its traditional entrenched leadership, advisors, commentators and management.
This is why Nationalist Unity is vitally important, and this is why we need the Nationalist Unity Forum. It may not itself be the answer to the problem, but it is certainly providing the research team that will find that answer.a
