Geert Wilders "frames" his arguments to make them believable - it sounds familiar ...

"Our idea is moving the world, it is forcing humanity to choose for us or against us. It forces the Jews from behind their lackeys. They must fight. We want that fight, for we know that if we do not succeed in winning enough ground for our people, everything we have done will be in vain". That was part of a speech made by Robert Ley in Germany on May 3, 1939.

On October 2, 2010, Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Islam/immigrant populists and leader of the Party of Freedom in the Netherlands said in a speech in Berlin: "Today I am here, however, to warn you for looming disunity. Germany’s national identity, its democracy and economic prosperity, is being threatened by the political ideology of Islam. Are we about to repeat the fatal mistake of the Weimar Republic? Are we succumbing to Islam because our commitment to freedom is already dead? No, it will not happen. We are not like Frau Merkel. We do not accept Islamization as inevitable. We have to keep freedom alive."

There is no doubt, the two speeches sound similar. The ghost of fascism and racism has reappeared in Europe through politicians like Geert Wilders and other like-minded politicians who are trying to set the political pace and tone in many European countries. Sometime this year, a verdict is due in the trial of Wilders for making anti-Islamic statements — such as calling the Koran a "fascist book" that should be banned.

At the same time, the Netherlands' center-right coalition government depends for its survival on Wilders' Party for Freedom, which won more than 15% of the vote in the last general election.  The Dutch coalition deal was copied from Denmark, where the Danish People’s Party has backed a minority government since 2001. In Sweden’s recent election the far-right Sweden Democrats won seats for the first time, denying Fredrik Reinfeldt, the prime minister, a center-right majority (he is now running a minority government). These parties, all with their own special characteristics, are distinct from older far-right groups such as France’s National Front and Italy’s Northern League, and have still less to do with thuggish movements in eastern Europe. But a common theme is a dislike of foreigners, especially Muslims.

Wilders' price for participating in the Government included a commitment to a burka ban. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere in Europe, center-right parties have been trying to win back voters who have turned to such anti-foreigner populists by adopting toned-down versions of their rhetoric and policies It is a dangerous approach, which can only backfire.

Last week Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which provides the minority government with backbench support, attacked its Government partners plans to extend further financial backing to Greece. The government defeated his parliamentary motion urging it “not to pay another cent”, after Mark Rutte, the prime minister, scrambled for the support of the opposition Labour Party. But Mr Wilders, better known for his attacks on Islam than his concerns about Greek solvency, saw his popularity rocket. Polls suggest most Dutch favor his populist position.

Mr Wilders’ grip on Dutch politics may even become stronger after the Rutte ruling coalition failed to secure a majority in the Senate by just one seat on May 23rd. One can only hope for the Netherlands (which used to be the "Mecca" for tolerance) and the rest of Europe, that the past horrors of fascism and racism do not raise their ugly head again.

EU-Digest