Last week, the Dutch electorate voted for the third time in five years. After just 11 months of governing, the highly unstable coalition government which included the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) and populist Farmers Party (BBB) collapsed, marking the end of a cabinet which despite its huge electoral mandate, achieved very little.
Many parties have ruled out the PVV as a coalition partner, but this was primarily done to safeguard the mechanics of government and policy-making, rather than to prevent PVV policies from being implemented. Having seen Wilders bring down both the governments that he was part of, other parties now consider him too unreliable to enter into coalition with.
It is clear there is no cordon sanitaire around far-right parties in the Netherlands. The VVD went into government with the PVV. In parliament, the VVD has not only voted for motions proposed by other parties from the far-right bloc, but also co-sponsored them. Most recently, the VVD supported a ban on Antifa proposed by the FvD, while party leader Dylan Yeşilgöz has worked together with JA21 on parliamentary motions. While the pre-emptive exclusion of the PVV from government by other political parties weakened Wilders’ appeal in this election, as he would not be able to govern, his and other far-right parties retain influence over policy.
Not only will more far-right MPs take up their seats in parliament than ever before, but it will also be a parliament made up of a record high number of political parties whose manifesto included policy proposals contrary to the rule of law, according to the Netherlands Bar Association. In fact, out of the only three parties whose entire manifesto met the minimum standards for rule of law and sound democratic governance, two are insignificant political forces due to their size (Volt and the Animal Party), and the third lost a fifth of its seats (GL/PvDA).
Instead, one of the worst offenders, JA21, is trying to actively position itself as a possible coalition partner. Here too, the overall trendline is one of declined support for political parties who advance and support the rule of law in the Netherlands and in international contexts.
D66, the big winners, tried to appeal to more conservative voters in rhetoric and positioning: the hallmark of its campaign was featuring the Dutch flag whenever possible – usually a tool of the right. Most strikingly, the party changed course and now supports the externalisation of asylum procedures to outside the EU – a policy condemned by human rights organisations. In these elections, 35 per cent of its votes came from those who had previously voted for right-wing and far-right parties, including the VVD (11 per cent) and the PVV (7 per cent). How they will keep these voters happy with policy, beyond political symbols, is unclear – and D66 may face difficult choices about who to enter into government with.
About the author:
Armida van Rij is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, specialising in European security, defence, and foreign policy; and the implications of populism and politics on security policy.
Sander Tordoir is chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.