A Right-Wing Revolution Is Underway in the Netherlands and Across the European Union With the New Dutch Coalition Deal

Borders will be locked down. People without a valid residence permit will be deported, “even forcibly.” Refugees will be separated from their families and international students will be limited.“The strongest asylum policy ever” is how the Dutch Party for Freedom leader, Geert Wilders, describes the coalition deal achieved Thursday by his party and three others. The new government in the Netherlands plans to take a sharp veer to the right on issues of immigration and the Middle East, punctuating a push toward populism across the European continent.The embassy in Israel will move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where most foreign countries situate their embassies, in a move that Israel would see as strengthening its claim to the capital amid its war with Hamas. The Holocaust will be included in the integration exam given to anyone seeking citizenship.Hard-right and populist parties now lead or are part of half a dozen governments in the European Union. They are set to secure even more wins when voters from the bloc’s 27 countries head to the polls between June 6 and 8 to elect 720 representatives in the alliance’s directly elected institution, the European Parliament.“My party will be at the center of power. It makes us enormously proud,” Mr. Wilders said after the provisional agreement. It’s the culmination of six months of negotiations following his stunning electoral victory last November. His Party for Freedom more than doubled in size, growing to 37 seats from the 17 it previously held in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.“All of Europe wants a political turnaround,” said the leader of Germany’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany, Alice Weidel, when she congratulated Mr. Wilders on his win. In October, her party’s popularity came in second place nationwide with support of around 20 percent, roughly double its popularity during the 2021 federal election.That win came shortly after Slovakia turned populist with the victory of Prime Minister Fico’s Smer party. Mr. Rico was shot multiple times Wednesday in what officials say was an assassination attempt, and he is now in life-threatening condition.E.U. leaders at Brussels have voiced concerns that Slovakia could form a pro-Russian alliance with its southern neighbor, Hungary, headed by another populist, Prime Minister Orbán.Mr. Fico has said he will “not send a single cartridge” of ammunition to aid Ukraine’s defense against Russia and pushed for peace talks between the two parties, which would likely involve seceding territory to Moscow. Mr. Wilders of the Netherlands is also a political ally of Mr. Orban, both of whom are doubling down on supporting Israel and questioning Islam. Mr. Wilders is often labelled by the press as “an anti-Islam firebrand” whose party has advocated for banning the Quran and closing Islamic schools. When President Herzog of Israel visited Amsterdam in March, Mr. Wilders wrote on X, “Israel has, and always will have, my full support in its fight against terror.” Mr. Wilders has also formed friendships with populist leaders like Prime Minister Meloni of Italy and French opposition leader Marine Le Pen. With the deal on Thursday, the new Dutch government is doubling down on supporting the Jewish State. It comes just a day after a video surfaced at the University of Amsterdam showing people wearing black bloc clothing and masks destroying TVs and printers and barricading entrances with office chairs as students watch on. Conservatives have said such antisemitism in Europe stems from a failed immigration policy and far-left indoctrination. It’s no wonder, then, that right-wing policies and politicians are on the rise on the continent, rocked by Russia’s war with Ukraine, chaotic and deadly migration on its borders, and worsening poverty due to sky-high inflation. At the upcoming elections, nationalist right and far-right members could gain control over a quarter of the seats, polls are predicting, from the 17 percent they control today.As for the leadership in the Netherlands, the new government has yet to declare a prime minister after Mr. Wilders took himself out of the running in March. He agreed to keep his seat in the house as the leader of his party, and so did the leaders of the conservative-liberal VVD, the centrist New Social Contract, and the Farmer Citizens Movement.The parties are aiming for a partially technocratic cabinet composed equally of politicians and people from outside politics. Civil servant Richard van Zwol will oversee the formation of that cabinet.

A Right-Wing Revolution Is Underway in the Netherlands and Across the European Union With the New Dutch Coalition Deal

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