Netherlands: Heavy Defeat Forausterity Government

Build a mass workers’ party that fights for socialism.

- Pieter Brans

The most important feature of the elections is the colossal defeat for the outgoing austerity coalition government of the Liberal Party (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA).

The VVD and the media present the Liberal’s 33 seats as a ‘victory’. But the VVD lost eight seats and its coalition partner, the Labour Party, was reduced to a rump of nine seats having lost 29. Neoliberalism has suffered a serious election defeat.

Another important feature is that although it came second, the extreme right-wing Freedom Party (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, remained stuck on 20 seats.

Even with the strong winds of the asylum seekers crisis of 2016, Brexit and Trump’s victory in its sails, the PVV failed in its aim to become the largest party.

It has more seats than in 2012, when it had supported the outgoing government, but in comparison with its high point in the polls the results were disappointing for Wilders.

Wilders poured out endless hateful racist tweets and remarks during the election, including his shameful call for “less Moroccans” in the Netherlands.

His campaign consisted of tweets and flying visits to a couple of cities. He did not try to organise a mass rally. More often than not there was more security people and press than PVV supporters around Wilders during his visits.

His bluff was called in a debate with VVD leader, Mark Rutte, when Wilders admitted that his demand for the policing of the ‘use’ of the Koran would never materialise.