The Dutch speak (no one listens)

The recent elections in Holland have thrown up the usual proportional representation farce. The ousted Prime Minister, crazed europhile Jan Peter Balkenende, had been unable to form a lasting coalition, despite trying for four years.

The party with the most seats is the VVD, an economic liberal party which emphasised the need for public expenditure cuts. But it cannot get a majority in parliament even with another party. It will need four, and it seems likely that one of these will be Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom which is an extreme far right organisation which wants to ‘de-Islamise’ Holland. Wilders has more than doubled his seats since the last election.

So the likelihood is that having voted for economic restraint the Dutch will not get it, because the VVD will not be able to get it over its partners, but will get the policies of a half crazed fascist.

If this is democracy I’m a Dutchman.

Interestingly the mood in Europe is to let them get on with it, as Der Spiegel says let Wilders show how little he has to offer. This is a stark contrast to when in Austria Joerg Haider rose to the status of party leader and possible Prime Minister. Then there were mumblings that Austrian MEPs shouldn’t be allowed to take their seats in the European Parliament.