The anti-Islam party of far-right politician Geert Wilders has made major gains in local elections held in the Netherlands. The party took part in two cities and has become the largest party in Almere and the second largest in The Hague.
The Freedom Party has taken around 20 percent of the vote in these cities. Geert Wilders told Dutch TV that it was fantastic day for his party.
"This is a springboard for the vote on 9 June," said Wilders referring to the forthcoming national elections.
An opinion poll held at the same time as the local vote showed that Wilders' Freedom Party had the most support in the Netherlands and would be the biggest party nationally should a general election be held now, another poll put them as the third biggest party just a few seats behind the main established political parties.
Votes were cast in almost 400 districts altogether. Turnout was 56 percent, which meant that some seven million people voted.
The Christian Democrat party (CDA) led by caretaker Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos' Labour Party were the biggest losers. The coalition government combining these two parties, plus the much smaller Christian Union, collapsed just two weeks ago over the question of extending the Dutch military mission in Afghanistan - it seems voters have lost much of their faith in these parties following the break.
Other parties who did well in the local elections were the centre-right D66 and the left-wing Green Left party, notably both parties have been vocal in their opposition to Geert Wilders' Freedom Party.
© Radio Netherlands Worldwide





















Hiram ,I agree, RNW is not objective, even though they say they are (see box at top >About RNW) .This is not a serious journalistic site, it is mostly for entertainment. They reduce articles from other sources & put their spin on them. They also hire people from many other cultures & countries & must tread carefully or get sued, just like the Danish paper (Politiken) . Conservatives or Christians are always fair game ,just like in the USA or England.For a bit more serious journalism try some real online Dutch newsites ; or Deutsche-Welle, or Spiegel, but even there you will still notice some lack of objectivity...it is the sign of the times,unfortunately.
Freedom from Islamic Oppression, I guess you are now finding out like others that one's opinions can easlily be deleted by a touch of the delete key at RNW. They use an European style of journalism where "Freedom of Speech" is very subjective. That is one reason for their lack of indepth investigative reporting. Be nice to them, they can't help it. It is their way of avoiding the truth. { "Why do you headline your news article with the "Anti-Islam Party" when they are called the "Freedom Party".".......Freedom from Islamic Oppression, did you notice there wasn't one specific reporter who wrote the article; therefore, they can defame Wilder's party with their European style of journalism. This article was written by someone who supports Islam and turned the article into an editorial (a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the editors or publishers) or otherwise he or she would have correctly identified the party. It was an opinion and should not have been published by professional news agancy like RNW.
Why do you headline your news article with the "Anti-Islam Party" when they are called the "Freedom Party". You liberal retards are the same kind of fools that voted in our own idiot...Barrack Hussein Obamanation. You idiots wont realize what you have done to your country until the people of the (no so peace loving) religion (oops...death cult) of Islam is standing over your body while cutting your head off with a dull knife. They have no intention of living like a civilized people, they only want to convert your society or kill all the non-believers. Don’t believe me...just read their book of hate! Call me a racist, but I see the face of death in the news every day, and it always is committed by people who are brainwashed by Islam! Remember... not all Muslim are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.
I wrote an article that was considered "Anti-Islam" but for some odd reason you would not let me post my comments, even after several dozen attempts at completing CAPTCHA (which I know were correct) your site still refused to post my comments. Is this the way you censor opposition to your retarded liberal ideals!
It happens to me too I noticed. Seems like it only happens to us Wilders supporters.
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