#THENETHERLANDS: Wilders Ready For Coalition To Reawaken Netherlands

[world politics news]

Details are still emerging of the program of the new coalition government assembled by the leader of the Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, following his surprise victory in the elections last year. It's taken 6 months, but a right-leaning coalition has been agreed upon.

It's unclear who will be named prime minister,  but Wilders has signaled restrictions on immigration, a roll back of Net Zero policies, a renewal of nuclear power - to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources, and lower taxes. The current government's war on farmers will end, and support will be given to agriculture and food production.

The new immigration restrictions in the likely anti- EU Wilders government is making EU officials nervous, which probably suits Wilders just fine, even if he isn't chosen for the top spot. But EU officials see a trend emerging. EU member nation Italy elected a right-leaning government in recent years,  and Germany may follow suit, as immigration is at record levels in Europe. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: New Populist Party Wins Big In Provincial Elections

[world politics news]

A new populist party riding anger among Dutch farmers and rural communities at government policies to rein in agricultural pollution emerged as the big winner in provincial elections Wednesday, according to early exit polls.

The elections for the Netherlands’ 12 provincial legislatures also indirectly decide the makeup of the country’s national senate — and the win for the Farmer Citizen Movement was seen as a powerful protest vote against Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his four-party center-right governing coalition.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Small Local Parties Do Well In Municipal Elections

[world politics news]

A historically low turnout didn’t stand in the way of various local parties celebrating a successful evening in last week's municipal elections. 

A number of the major Dutch political parties also enjoyed some solid wins across different municipalities, but the Netherlands’ local political parties were the big winners, further strengthening their hold on local politics. 

Local parties took home around 36% of the vote, up from 29% four years ago. De Mos (also known as Hart voor Den Haag) remains the largest party in The Hague. Similarly, in Rotterdam, Leefbaar Rotterdam held onto its majority and kept all 11 of its seats on the Municipal Council. In Maastricht, the Senioren Partij overtook the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) to become the biggest party in the municipality.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Geert Wilders' Party Falls Short; Beaten By Pro-EU Prime Minister Rutte

[world politics news]

Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders' party fell short of expectations Wednesday, beaten by pro-EU Prime Minister Mark Rutte. While Wilders' Party for Freedom gained four seats over their 2012 results, it was not enough, and while Rutte's Freedom and Democracy Party lost 25% of their pre-election seats in parliament, the 31 they kept are enough, with allied parties, to stay in power. The two main pro-EU parties, D66 and GreenLeft, gained 7 seats and 12 seats respectively.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THENETHERLANDS: Geert Wilders Aims To Upset Dutch And EU Politics In Today's Election

[world politics news]

Up to 13 million people in the Netherlands are voting in today's Dutch election seen as a face-off between populist Geert Wilders and the current Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Wilders, the leader of the anti-Islamist Party for Freedom, is taking on Rutte in the knife-edge election race. Dutch media were touting new polls that showed Wilders' party slumping just before the election, but as we've seen in the US election last November, polling can sometimes get it wrong, and Wilders has led in the polls for months.

[FULL STORY HERE]