Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders has come in second in two polls for politician of the year. A panel of Dutch television viewers said he is the second best politician this year, while Mr Wilders' colleagues in parliament named him the second worst.
Quite a discrepancy. But, actually, not so surprising. It is yet more evidence of the gap between the public and the elite.
Next prime minister
Geert Wilders has made the disillusionment of many Dutch voters his reason for being. He is always ready to fight the establishment in the name of the little guy.
Part of the success of his Freedom Party movement comes from his style of speaking directly to the public. The simple, sometimes crude, language he uses on the floor of parliament has brought reprimands from his colleagues, and praise from his followers.
And it's his followers that have put Mr Wilders and his Freedom Party in a very strong position: second in European elections last spring, the largest party in the country for the last six months, according to one national opinion pollster. Mr Wilders himself openly speculates about becoming the next prime minister.
Anti-Islam ticket
Other political parties are having a tough time dealing with that scenario. The Freedom Party has been accused of having just one issue: anti-Islam. And it is precisely his fervent, if not radical, opposition to outward displays of Islam that brings condemnation from other politicians.
For instance, when Mr Wilders proposed a tax on women who wear a Muslim headscarf, calling it a 'rag-head tax', other politicians felt Mr Wilders had finally gone too far.
A blogger subtitled Geert Wilders' speech in parliament criticising the Dutch government's 2010 budget.
Gulf
Mr Wilders has been successful, but he doesn't owe his success solely to good political tactics. The gulf between the Dutch public and the élite has been wide, and growing, for years now. Voters are no longer faithful to one party; they no longer feel rooted in any particular ideology.
Academics and pollsters have been studying this gulf since the late 1990s. Pim Fortuyn was the first politician to appeal directly to these floating voters, but he was murdered just before elections in the spring of 2002. Since then, voters have been party hopping much more than in decades past, and the established parties have suffered.
Can be both
But whether or not Geert Wilders' popular success is due to his own talents, or to public disillusionment with the powers-that-be, in the end it is not so uncommon for politicians to be chosen best and worst in the same year.
The year-end polls ask people to choose both whom they think is best, and separately whom they think is worst. Both Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Finance Minister Wouter Bos have been in the top three and bottom three many times. It is a sign of recognition, a consequence of being outspoken and involved in the topics of the day. That triggers approval in some, rejection in others.
In that light, Mr Wilders can take solace. He did not come in second in all this years' polls. The very public who narrowly voted him second best politician of the year, also voted him as the outright winner for the worst politician of the year.
Of course, the only poll that counts is the ballot box. National elections must take place within the next 17 months - then we will see just how large the gap is between the public and the élite.
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It seems as if Dutch people are like pigeons, they coo and coo, but really do little else. It is not entirely their fault, they have been lied to and mislead by a small group of elitist , almost unbelievably arrogant people, who have been in power in Holland since about the 1840's. They despise and detest ordinary Dutch people, with a vengeance. People like Geert Wilders are just opportunistic right wing politicians . His actual political platform is just plain old economic rationalism , he is a one trick pony , in that he taps into an issue about foreigners who smell funny and are inherently obnoxious, but is response is weak in the extreme. The Dutch left-wing parties are socialist in name only, their agenda has long ago been hijacked ,by various interest groups such as feminists, gays and the more articulate Muslims. None dare mention the elephant in the room , because to mention race ,is to invite the wrath of the Jew controlled media , and the rather tedious and largely unproven allusions to the Holocaust , Hitler and Auschwitz. Wilders is a blind alley a Jew sponsored Judas goat,the only real answer ,even if it is not an easy one to come to terms with ,is national socialism , and this can only be achieved when not just the Dutch ,but the entire white race ,( what's left of it after 60 years of Zionist attempts to wipe them out )learns to recognize its real enemy. Arabs, Turks , Blacks are like acne, annoying but hardly fatal, kill a couple of thousand and they'll run off, Jews are like cancer , getting rid of them is much ,much harder, but not impossible, but Dutch people just coo, and get all weepy about Anne Frank. ironically anyone who ever spent more than 5 minutes with Otto Frank , would a become a instant anti Semite and realize the whole story is largely made up nonsense.I sometimes doubt if the white race has lost the plot entirely ,when they actually listen to rap, perhaps a fitting funeral dirge to a once proud people.
Dear Commentsdesk;
Historically, Islamic countries have usually charged a religion tax for non-Islamic religions to practice their faithmodes within the borders of such Mohamedan-oriented sovereign nation states. Christian and Hebrew religions have paid a permission to practice religion tax in Islamic operated territories for centuries. Now, of course, many Islamostates strictly ban any non-Islamic religiosophy from openly existing within their jurisdictions and would undoubtedly do the same should the dystopian fear of "Eurabia" be allowed to come to pass. Gerts "headscarf tax" idea is simply a tit for tat game, "They hate us so we hate them back." Islamites tax Holland and all white countries by getting in front of the welfare line for the best subsidised housing, cars, college, medicine and politically payola make-work sit on bottom in some silly nonessential office jobs paid for by hard working Europeans, North Americans, Australians and New Zealanders. Dump them all on Kadaafi and let him house, feed, medicate and educate them. Or ship them all to Somalia where there is no country and they an start a new one..Or perhaps to Kommunist China where they can make slave labor shoddy products to be sold at Walmart the Trojan Horse of the Chinese Communist Party. Yes, support free Holland and do it now!!!!!
Prime Minister is leader of one country, Geert is leader of Humanity.
For me he is more than any Prime or Crime Minister.
I am from Bharat (India), I admire him.
Good on Geert Wilders for speaking out about a disease that is spreading world wide. Many European countries are in deep trouble because they were hoodwinked with political correctness and freedom of religion. Well, Islam is a facist political ideal born of a misogynist Warlord who gathered support by claiming to be a messenger from God. He tortured, raped, pillaged and plundered, enslaved murdered and forcibly converted victims to Islam. They are still trying to do it, but they've sneaked in the back door and are slowly but surely taking over, because your governments are too weak and gutless to take action against them.
Geert Wilders cannot be a racist he is only anti-Islamist. Islam is not a race, it is not a religion, it is a form of totalitarianism much like Communism. The Dutch as well as we Americans are not going to be ruled by a small clique of Fabian faux elitist cowards. We will defend our Western Cukture of Individual freedom and Ruke of Law.
You do that. We should do that. We should not allow the evil ideology of Islam to dominate this land, otherwise it will murder everything and turn Europe into Afghanistan and Pakistan. Destruction is their ultimate motive.
i agree with u thats why even though iam a migrant . I voted for Geert.
Muslims want to subjugate the West. They abuse the notion of multiculturalism to hijack society. Has anyone heard a muslim condemn the attempted destruction of a US bound passenger plan on Christmas day? And why should unemployable burqa-clad women be allowed to collect the dole either?
Nona, that is what i always say if muslims are peacefull, god-fearing and god-loving people why donot they condem the terrorist attacks. I was in karachi pakistan when twin towers were attacked and guess what people were celebrating and distributing sweets.
Nona, you are right. When the twin towers were destroyed and thousands of lives were lost, the Palistians celebrated at the deaths. Those same people today are receiving millions of dollars of American money and part of it is being paid by the families who lost love ones in the Islamic act of terrorism. It was done in the name of Islamic Jihad. Nona, I don't think any European nation made a statement of condemnation of the incident of which you spoke. Why? Because they have a big thirst for oil and guess where it comes from....Islamic nations. They will sell their souls for a cup 10w40 oil from Iran!
Each style of a successful politician in public speaking and try to win over Abbaritharp pressing issues that concern them and the most serious Ancharalasalam militant in the West, which helped in the emergence of dissident political figures and attempts to deter it from these figures, Mr. Geert Fields, who has demonstrated its existence by fighting Islamization and Mdahirha backward distorted Mndhar streets Aagharb civilized
Where are these so called "moderate" muslims when atrocities are being perpetrated. . . Where is the loud condemnation of extreme islam. . . the silence is as usual, deafening. Islam is an ideology of subjugation, and I for one do not believe that this moderate muslim majority even exists. If you believe that the writings of the quran are the unerrant word of allah, then to be a moderate muslim is denying this. Sorry, but "moderate muslim" is the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard. I have a couple of muslim friends who are as moderate as I have seen, and on the surface they seem to be fairly anti-extremist, but start and engage in any meaningful conversation about their ideology and they find it more and more difficult to hide the true agenda of Islam.
I am afraid that Hiram is to a large extent correct. We in the UK have let the politicians slowly erode all of our civil liberties till we are toothless to stop any Islamisation. Winston Churchill made an impassioned speech on the creeping power of Islam, and was ignored for 100 years. Enoch Powell made his infamous "rivers of blood" speech 50 years ago and was villified by his peers. Even now the majority of voters are totally apathetic to what is going on around them. They either don't see whats happening, or even worse, they don't care. . .
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