No Nexit
Submitted by gjohnsit on Wed, 03/15/2017 - 3:59pm
Based on the exit polls, the xenophobic, right-wing PVV will NOT be winning today's election in Netherlands.
However, the center-left didn't do all that well either.
No clear right-wing coalition to be formed here; the left is also completely splintered. Four party coalition at least #DutchElection #tk17
— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) March 15, 2017
Labour party got absolutely destroyed.
It appears most of those votes went to the Green party.
Right bloc PVV-VVD-CDA stable at 69 seats
Left bloc PvdA-GL-SP lose 18 seatsBiggest loser: PvdA (-29 seats)
Biggest winner: GL (+12 seats)— Cas Mudde (@CasMudde) March 15, 2017
Comments
This is good news but
I believe that a country has the right to control its borders and to control those who come to live there. Holland is a crowded country and if they so "no more" that's OK with me. I don't think that's xenophobic.
The fact that the RW is doing so well across Europe shows me - maybe I'm right, maybe not - that response to austerity and a lowering of living standards and a concentration of wealth is nationalism and a tendency to accept authoritarianism if promised a better deal for workers.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
The same mischief wrought here was wrought
in Europe--and by the very same people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_From
My theory: When neither the left nor the right helps the majority of people, the people tend to either ping pong between parties in desperation, throwing out the right, then the left, then the right, then the left, etc. We've certainly seen that in the US. Democrats started being thrown out under Clinton, the gained back both Houses in 2206 and the White House in 2008, then suffered historic losses in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Or, the people go with the party that promises lower taxes. "Heck, if government is not going to do anything for me, why the heck are they taking so much of my money? And we've seen that here, too.
That's my theory, anyway.
I know the German greens are hawkish now.
Any idea what the Netherlands green foreign policy is?
Solidarity forever
The governing current
The governing current governing coalition under Rutte - VVD & PvdA - lost 38 seats. That's 25% of the parliament. How can that be construed as any sort of victory? Except for the fact that Wilders didn't get 40 seats or even 30. Any other prime minister losing 38 seats would have 0% chance of forming a government.
And although some voters may have gone to the Greens from the Labour Party - Labour lost 29 while the Greens only picked up 12. Where did the other 17 seats go? 18 if you include the 1 seat lost by the Socialists. D66 is not a left party - it is liberal/neoliberal. And the CDA is center-right - although less business-oriented while more socially conservative than the VVD.
But - all in all - this election appears to be part of a Europe-wide diminution of economic left parties. Nothing to celebrate.
Neoliberals where I used to post are celebrating.
Please see this post above. http://caucus99percent.com/comment/249556#comment-249556
On the other hand, 12 seats ain't nothing. So, maybe that is a ray of hope. (I'm a sucker for hope.)
The mass movement of human populations
has only just started up again. Climate change and war seem inevitable at this point. Yemen and South Sudan both new and recurrent to the scene. The Dutch nationalists, and for that matter nationalists parties globally and strong border politics will get another chance to build walls.