At last we know what the conservative VVD, the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the Freedom Party (PVV) are planning to achieve in the Netherlands. However, it is still not 100 percent sure that the intended right-wing cabinet will become a reality.

At a party congress to be held in Arnhem on Saturday, CDA members will meet to pass judgement on the coalition agreement negotiated by their leader Maxime Verhagen. The words spoken by Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders in Berlin will echo around the congress hall.

As the CDA debates whether to agree with the coalition agreement, right-populist leader Geert Wilders will give a speech in Berlin on Islam and integration. He has been invited by former Berlin Christian Democratic Union member René Stadkewitz who is engaged in forming his own party, Die Freiheit (Freedom). Geert Wilders has been the main inspiration of the German project.

Berlin migrants
Just like Wilders, René Stadtkewitz is convinced the main problem among migrants is Islam, which he believes is more than a religion. "It is also a political system, a system responsible for the creation of parallel societies in Berlin migrant districts. A system completely at odds with Western society."

Stadtkewitz supports a ban on headscarves, but is opposed to a ban on the Qur’an: "We need to build a society so strong that we won’t need such a ban.” Mr Stadkewitz wants to stand in the Berlin local elections which are scheduled to be held in 2011. He believes he will easily cross the five-recent electoral threshold and is elated to have Geert Wilders’ support. The first meetings between Wilders and Stadtkewitz took place this summer in The Hague.

"Geert Wilders has, and has received awards for this, the great talent of sparking and stirring up debate. He openly speaks of things others will not discuss. It sets him apart from the other politicians”.

During the presentation of his plans for a German anti-Islam party, Mr Stadtkewitz said that Die Freiheit is not simply an appendix to the PVV. “There will be subjects we agree on, but there will also be moments at which we agree with others.”

The Free West
There is not much known about what Wilders intends to say in Berlin. The PVV leader has only confirmed that he will speak. His speech may well focus on a project Wilders announced in summer. In an interview with the video service of the Dutch populist daily De Telegraaf , he said he was working on an ‘International Freedom Alliance’, a network of groups opposed to the ‘Islamisation’ of Europe.

"The march of Islam is not just a Dutch problem, it is a problem facing the entire Western world. However, there is no joining of forces, and if we could achieve that, it would be wonderful. So it is a new initiative and I expect a lot of it."

Wilders has mentioned five countries: Canada, the US, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. He wants to make contacts there for international agitation. ”I will speak in all five of these countries", he announced recently. “The march of Islam, the restrictions imposed on our freedom, these problems are not unique to the Netherlands, these are issues facing the entire free West".

Many people would beg to differ. German politicians in government and in parliament were extremely negative about the new Dutch minority cabinet. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel joined in, saying she regretted it had proved impossible to form a cabinet without the support of Geert Wilders.

Racist
Tomorrow, demonstrators in Berlin will try to make it impossible for Geert Wilders to speak. A broad alliance of political parties, unions and migrants’ organisations intend to block the roads leading to the venue where Wilders is scheduled to speak. Spokesperson Dirk Stegemann says:

I believe that Wilders is a racist. Try as he may to present his views as criticism of Islam, the fact of the matter is that he seeks to create an image of a homogenous Islam, attributing common traits to a diverse group of people. Here in Germany we call this cultural-religious racism.

CDA debate
And so on Saturday, while Wilders is speaking in Berlin, 600 kilometres to the west the CDA congress will be grappling with the coalition agreement. The real issue is not what is in the agreement, as CDA negotiator Verhagen has succeeded in safeguarding many Christian Democratic keynotes. However, a group of prominent CDA politicians refuse on principle to be dependent on the support of the likes of Geert Wilders. The more extreme Wilders’ arguments get, the more powerful their arguments will resonate with the CDA rank-and-file.

If Wilders keeps a low profile, CDA politicians supporting the coalition agreement will be in a position to argue that Wilders is not really as bad as he seems.

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