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European leaders cite the Netherlands as a nightmare scenario for the EU

by AI | 24.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The Netherlands served as a specter in a major European election debate for paving the way to power for the far-right. The leaders of the greens and the far left, among others, warn not to make the same mistake again by leaving cooperation with the far right open.

PVV leader Geert Wilders after his election victory in November.

BRUSSELS – What happened in the Netherlands with the rise of the radical right can happen all over Europe, warned the EU lead candidate of the Greens during a major election debate in the European Parliament. That is why European parties must now, two weeks before the European elections, clearly indicate whether they want to cooperate in Brussels with radical-right or extreme-right parties.

According to the German EU lead candidate Terry Reintke, the vague dodging of various parties about such possible cooperation plays into the hands of the extreme right. Because it makes it seem to voters that the extreme right parties in Brussels are just as neatly allowed to participate as the PVV in the Netherlands, which is going to form a cabinet with VVD, NSC, and BBB.

Another EU lead candidate also lashed out during the debate about the Dutch election campaign and cabinet formation. The Austrian Walter Baier, figurehead of European Left, said he was “shocked by what he heard from the Netherlands.” According to Baier, “we must prevent such people from coming to power.” He accused lead candidate Ursula von der Leyen of the centrist party EPP of not yet giving a definitive answer about possible cooperation with radical-right parties.

(May 23, 2024)