Geert Wilders' Far-Right Party Gains In EU Assembly Exit Polls

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A right-wing, stridently anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker's party won more than 15 percent of votes in the country's European Parliament elections Thursday, according to the national broadcaster's exit poll.

The NOS poll predicted the Freedom Party of Geert Wilders will win four of the 25 Dutch seats in the European assembly, one behind the Christian Democrats of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

The exit poll supported pre-vote predictions that right-wing and fringe parties would make gains in many countries, where the economic downturn, cynicism over the union's eastward expansion and worries about relations between Muslims and non-Muslims were expected to fuel a voter backlash against mainstream politicians.

Wilders' party was second only to the Christian Democrats, which got nearly 20 percent of votes, according to the poll.

At a rowdy celebration, he said his party's success was a vote against a sprawling and costly EU _ and against the incumbent Dutch coalition led by Balkenende and Labor Party leader Wouter Bos.

"People have had enough of Europe as it is now _ a big Europe with Turkey possibly joining _ that we spend billions on each year," he said. "I think some people have also had enough of the Balkenende and Bos Cabinet."

Wilders, whose party was contesting European elections for the first time, won support from Protestant and Catholic voters disenchanted with what's perceived as the growing influence of the nation's 800,000 Muslims, many of them immigrants from Morocco and Turkey.

Wilders, creator of a short film that criticizes the Quran as a "fascist book," had urged voters to reject EU involvement in immigration policy and said Turkey should not join the 27-nation bloc.

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"Turkey as (an) Islamic country should never be in the EU, not in 10 years, not in a million years," Wilders said after voting.

But Dutch IT manager Olivier van der Post, 40, rejected Wilders' vision.

"I didn't vote for Wilders ... History has shown that if you want prosperity you must open your borders, not close them," he said after voting in Voorburg, a leafy village on the outskirts of The Hague.

Voting was under way in Britain as well, where the far-right British National Party, which bars nonwhite members, was slated to win its first seat. The anti-European United Kingdom Independence Party was also expected to benefit from voter anger at the economic crisis and recent revelations that lawmakers sought public reimbursement for items ranging from horse manure to swimming-pool repairs.

Ivano Chiesa, a 49-year-old hotel proprietor in London, said that he'd voted for the UKIP.

"I don't think our laws should be from Brussels, it's worse than the Parliament here. They really abuse the system," Chiesa said, leaving a polling station in central London's Bloomsbury district.

About 375 million voters across the 27-nation European Union are voting Thursday through Sunday, appointing candidates to 736 seats on the assembly in the second-largest election in the world after India's.

Official results will be announced in Brussels only after voting throughout the bloc is completed.

The NOS poll showed voter turnout in the Netherlands at around 40 percent, unchanged from the last European elections.

The 736-seat European Parliament has evolved over the past 50 years from a consultative legislature to one with the right to vote on or amend two-thirds of all EU laws including on immigration, the environment, transport, consumer protection and trade.

The parliament can amend the EU budget _ euro120 billion ($170 billion) this year _ and has a role in appointing the European Commission, the EU administration, and the board of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.

But polls continentwide consistently show that voters consider their MEPs to be overpaid, remote and irrelevant in their daily lives. Such voter disinterest typically fuels low turnouts and stronger-than-usual showings for protest candidates from the hard left and right of the political spectrum.

___

Associated Press Writers David Stringer and Nardine Saad in London contributed to this report.

Comments

[instarx]

I'd never vote for anyone who color coordinates his tie with his hair - no matter his politics.

[aspizon]

Wilders is going to be a huge problem for The Netherlands. His polarizing influence will stoke the paranoia surrounding the country's culture debate and he will severely impact the Dutch traditions of freedom, openess and tolerance. How sad.

[ModernTimes1]

"severely impact the Dutch traditions of freedom, openess and tolerance. "
I think the people who support and promote intolerance that led to The Van Gogh assassination and threats against H.A.Ali and Wilders crossed that line long ago.

[arle]

Good. Then punish those half dozen or so people and move on. There's no need to be deporting Muslims en masse or putting them in prison camps because they aren't "reinrassig" enough for your tastes.

[jason10006]

This Dutch party is hardly "right wing" across the board, the way other European anti-immigrant parties are. Its actually more like Bill Maher, who many liberals adore. Its totally socially liberal (pro gay rights, pro gay marriage even pro abortion rights etc, etc) and ecnomicaly is in the mainstream of Dutch politics. There former leader was openly gay, for example.

Its not even anti-MUSLIM per se, but it wants Muslims who come to Europe to be forced before they come to accept that they are part of liberal democracy and that gays and women etc have rights. IOf not, they don't want them.

If anything, its Berkeley or Greenwich village political correctness run amok. But they are not Nazis or anything - they are open to immigrants of all races as long as they are not Muslim (or if they are avowedly "moderate" or secular Muslims.

A bit crazy, I know, but its a distinction.

[HuffEurope2]

Well put! I'm glad someone's said this; there's no party in America that's even vaguely like the Freedom Party.

[arle]

You know there was a party /just/ like that in German -- all left wing and such -- whose "only beef" was that Jews had to be forced to surrender their identity, right? Remember that?

[Freenation]

he needs a hair-cut for start...

[Ira7]

I'm all for immigration, usually, but it can have some very negative effects when the immigrants don't assimilate. For example, I live in South Florida, and I have no problem with going to Miami because I speak Spanish and I'm originally from New York anyway.

To me, it's like a trip to a foreign COUNTRY!

But I can sure understand the frustration and anger a lot of Floridians have with how the place has changed.

[Gordo10]

All faiths are insane i'll sign up for a war against Islam, Juda, & Christians they have destoryed our planet plus it's all made up anyway no one has ever spoken to "God" & if they claim to then they're insane.. c'mon a man is killed then rises from the dead sounds like a zombie movie to me lol

[Usama]

If the EU wants to go rightwing, so be it. But if they hate Islam and Muslims, then they should stop doing business and trade with them and stop inviting Muslim immigrants. Send back the 100s of billions in EU bank accounts from African, Arab, and Asian Muslim elites. Stop trade with a majority of Muslim countries who rely on EU products .
End business dealings with the Muslim world. Stop arming Muslim militaries with EU armanents.

[ModernTimes1]

Now THAT sounds like a great idea!

[arle]

Yeah because "white people first" mentality worked /so/ well for Europe while the age of imperialism was coming to an end.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

They won't do that. If they don't allow Muslims to enter the country to compete for jobs, there would be no angry mobs demanding that they leave, and no one to vote for Geert Wilders, who says he would make sure they do.

[ModernTimes1]

"Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to
place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would
like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and
religions, who gave us their support...."

[GDUS]

Are you a reincarnation of Megisterludi?

[HuffEurope2]

"Voluntary apartheid" in parts of Europe?

For the last 6 years I've lived in a small town in the UK where about 80% are "indigenous" and 20% are muslims (originally from Pakistan and Bangladesh). There are probably many towns like it. I've yet to see someone from one community speak to someone from another (my efforts have been miserably failures). Different parts of town, different jobs, different shops, often different langauges used.

I have to admit there is no apparent tension in the air; both groups seem quite happy to be left in peace to go about their business. The far right don't get many votes here. Yet, I find it weird. Surely it will all end in tears one day?

[Soule23]

Throughout the history of the Americas, it has been pretty typical for first generation immigrants to remain segregated in communities of their countrypeople--perhaps this phenomenon is analogous

[HuffEurope2]

It has been three generations now - but, yes, you may well be right.

[ModernTimes1]

While Melting Pot ideas no longer takes precedence in American narrative, the inertia is still strong.
Overall American culture ( what of it) is doing a far better job of integration and assimilation of immigrants than European carefully calibrated muti-culti policies.

[arle]

How would you know? You don't live in the US. You think you're in a better position to speak about what goes on in the US than those of us who actually /live/ here 24/7?

[Dystopic]

Ahhh the European Right Wing ... gone but not forgotten ..

Europe has horrible race relations in their respective countries, esp France and Holland.

[fbr79]

This has nothing to do with race...it's about culture. Have you ever been to the Netherlands? It is a wonderfull country. Besides the areas where the Muslim ghettos have established themselves. In those areas you don't see any women outside at night and the police doesn't dare to get involved, local Dutch avoid going there.

[appie]

I used to be on good speaking terms with my Moroccan neighbors in Utrecht. Friendly people although I didn't share all their values. This is all so extremely overblown, I can't imagine what happened even when I was there as it was happening (with Pim and Theo and everything). Why can't people just respect each other's culture just a little bit more. Sure I would like Muslim women to them to be able to go out at night when they want to but you can't force your principles on others. Just live and let live. I think things will change but this vitriolic Islam debate sure doesn't make things go faster.

[arle]

LOL! Ooooh, it's about /culture/ not about /race/. Because Europe desperately, desperately needs to do something about those Jewish -- oh wait, sorry, /Muslim/ ghettos before all these strange, foreign people become a threat to the government.

My how history repeats itself.

[appie]

The Netherlands suffers from a collective "Calimero complex" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calimeroo): "we are small and they are many and that's unfair." All Wilders voters are just full of fear. They want to go back to the 50s when the local Italian ice cream vendor was the only rarity from outer space in their provincial micro universe of good-natured Dutchness. Well good luck with that in the globalized world of today. The Dutch Islam debate is so provincial and I'm so sick of it. Happy not to be there right now.

[ModernTimes1]

Wilders opnions and his voters were coalesned due to mur.der of Theo Van Gogh and series of other outrages by unrependant Jihadists and fundies. Especially because they are allowed to operate with inpunity on European soil.
Next subject.

[appie]

This guy was a confused youth, not a Jihadi at all. I was in Holland when it happened. It was tragic but you can't blame a murder to a whole religion or a segment of Dutch society. This guy was as home grown as the cannabis I used to buy at the coffee shop when I was his age.

[Soule23]

The problem with your logic is that you attempt to superimpose the beliefs and actions of a tiny cross section of Muslim immigrants upon all Muslim immigrants. This is generalisation--the simplest and most transparent of logical fallacies

[appie]

So a single confused guy of eighteen years old who uses the Quoran to defend his slaughter of a film maker constitutes a Jihadi? He was not part of an organization or anything just really frustrated. He is in jail now for the rest of his life. It was tragic but we just can't blame a whole segment of the Dutch society for what happened. If we do, we create real Jihadis who deserved this name. And Wilders is working hard on that.

[arle]

So Wilders represents the interests of one dead guy and all the nationalist Dutch people who are trampling his corpse on their way to justify their race hatred? Nice?

[fbr79]

"They" are not that many, 800.000 so far. But they have very different customs from the local people and are not willing to adapt to the country they decided to imigrate to.

[EducatedObserver]

I think that recent political and social events in the Netherlands demonstrate vividly how not to approach the thorny issues of immigration and integration.

For while I believe the policy of immigration can be a noble and successful objective (look at Canada and the United States), it can also be a disaster if not managed properly.

Many European governments promoted immigration as a goal without insisting on concomitant social integration - some (such as the UK) even going so far as to advocate multiculturalism over social integration for their immigrants.

Coupled with this, the culturally laissez-faire attitude of some European populations allowed this void to be filled by certain immigrant groups, who were far more passionate about their own cultural tradtions, than the native citizens of their host countries were about theirs.

And now the consequence is a rise of politicians such as Geert Wilder, and of political parties such as the UKIP and BNP in Britain, to which decent people are attracted, not out of being racistbut instead because they have belatedly come to view their comfortable cultural assumptions as having been supplanted.

[createpeace]

I am an expat that lives in Voorburg. In the few years I have been here there have been many Muslums that have moved into the neighborhood. When I talk to them they just talk like human beings who care for their families and want a good life.
I do understand the Dutch fear of loosing their identity.
I do not have a solution, but I am glad things are calm.

[KalinkavandeCamp]

Let's see things in perspective. Yes, Wilders (sadly!) did win 4 seats. But he is still a minor player in Dutch politics, not taken very seriously by the other political parties. And 85% of the population did vote sanely. I truly believe that the PVV (=the Freedom Party) will self destruct in due course, just as was the fate of all the other extreme rightwing parties in the Netherlands in the past (Lijst Fortuyn and the Centrum Partij).

[EducatedObserver]

I think that recent political and social events in the Netherlands demonstrate vividly how not to approach the thorny issues of immigration and integration.

For while I believe the policy of immigration can be a noble and successful objective (look at Canada and the United States), it can also be a disaster if not managed properly.

Many European governments promoted immigration as a goal without insisting on social integration - some (such as the UK) even going so far as to advocate multiculturalism over social integration for their immigrants.

Coupled with this, the culturally laissez-faire attitude of some European populations allowed this void to be filled by certain immigrant groups, who were far more passionate about their own cultural tradtions, than the native citizens of their host countries were about theirs.

And now the consequence is a rise of politicians such as Geert Wilder, and of political parties such as the UKIP and BNP in Britain, to whom decent people are attracted, not out of being racistbut instead because they have belatedly come to view their cosy cultural assumptions as having been supplanted