Radio Netherlands Worldwide

SSO Login

More login possibilities:

Close
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
Home
Monday 13 February RNW - NEWS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE NETHERLANDS IN 10 LANGUAGES, WORLDWIDE 24/7 ON RADIO, TV AND ONLINE

Dutch anti-Islam party to have strong voice in next govt

Published on 30 July 2010 - 10:42pm

Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders will have to be consulted on every decision the next government makes if a provisional agreement on forming a new cabinet reached Friday is finalised, an expert said.

Under the provisional agreement, Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) will have no cabinet members but would have a crucial "support" role, the centre-right VVD, the Christian Democratic Action (CDA) and the free-market PVV said in a joint statement.

An analyst told AFP the agreement would in fact mean Wilders having a strong voice in government decisions as he would have to be consulted on each issue.

Talks on forming a new cabinet ended late Friday with further discussions scheduled to firm up the accord from next week.

Although he will not be in the cabinet, Wilders is in a strong bargaining position after the PVV made the biggest gains in June 9 elections -- coming third by raising its number of seats from nine to 24 out of 150 in the Dutch parliament.

The VVD won with 31 seats, while fellow rightists CDA came in fourth with 21 seats -- half its previous total.

Negotiations to form a coalition involving the VVD and the second biggest party, the labour PvdA with 30 seats, failed over disagreements on economic policy.

Maverick Wilders has earned notoriety around the world with his campaign to "stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands."

He calls Islam a fascist religion, campaigns for the banning of the Koran and the burqa, and likens the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf." He is known abroad for his 17-minute commentary, "Fitna", which was termed "offensively anti-Islamic" by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

He was barred from entering Britain last year to stop him spreading "hatred and violent messages."

© ANP/AFP

Video highlights

Homs: where is the UN?
The citizens of Homs in Syria are under attack and are asking the UN for...
In from Holland
On this week's show: winter weather takes hold of the country, we find out...

RNW on Facebook

Sign up for our newsletters

Email news bulletin

What's on - Programme Preview

Press Review - of the leading Dutch newspapers every weekday

Media Network

Euro Hit 40 - Europe's No. 1 chart show

RNW - News and analysis from the Netherlands in 10 languages, worldwide 24/7 on radio, television and online