By: Lionel Baland
Geert Wilders is a member of the Dutch Parliament and the leader of the PVV, the Party for Freedom, which is the third political party in the Netherlands. He has been living under police protection for 18 years already, under the threat of the Islamists. Lionel Baland met him for Breizh-info.
Breizh-info.com: What do you think of future relations between Belgium and the Netherlands? Is your political party, the PVV, for the realization of a state regrouping the current Netherlands and Belgian Flanders?
Geert Wilders: We speak the same language; we have the same culture. I do not exclude that it could happen one day. But what is most important right now is that we must work to try to regain our sovereignty, which our governments have voluntarily given up over the past decades to the European Union. Currently, on the important points relating to national sovereignty, whether it is about our future rights, finances, the budget, the important question of immigration policy, we are not in charge of our own rules, of our own laws anymore.
The Antwerp Declaration – signed by the political party’s members of the European Identity and Democracy party – addresses this subject. Many people are misusing the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in order to gain more influence and power for the European Union, for example by trying to build a European defence or other things.
Before we start discussing the fact that one day the Netherlands and Flanders can, perhaps, be reunited, we must be certain that we are not a province of a European superstate. This is what is most important these days.
Different patriotic parties in Europe occupy second or third place in their respective countries and together we have the potential to influence events.
Breizh-info.com: In the Netherlands, various local patriotic political parties – such as Leefbaar Rotterdam, which is the first party in the Rotterdam City Council – and national ones – PVV, Forum voor Democratie, JA21 – are represented in the various assembled. How can you manage this?
Geert Wilders: In the Netherlands, we have a series of dysfunctions that create a gap between the political elites and the people, and this shows up in many areas. For example, right now the lot of farmers is a hot topic: politicians of the system are trying to destroy farmers by “killing” them with crazy legislation. Moreover, while the income of the citizens is affected by the elevated level of inflation and that the inhabitants have almost no money left because of the cost of energy, large sums are spent on immigration or other measures, rather than to help the population. This divide means that people no longer say “I agree with A or B” but ask if they can get support.
In the Netherlands we have twenty parties represented in the Dutch Parliament. Twenty! This is the consequence of a government that people cannot trust and that has it all wrong, in every way!
Last year we had the parliamentary elections – in March 2021 – and since then the four parties in the government coalition have together lost in the polls 31 MP seats, which is almost half of what they actually have – the Dutch Chamber of Deputies has 150 seats.
The political system is affected by turmoil and instability and a gap exists between the population and the leaders. The current government is from the centre-left, the social-liberals are in power, and are developing an ideology that is not in people’s minds. The latter want to have a job and a home, to have safe streets, to send their children to school, to pay for their groceries and their gas bills, … And that, they no longer have.
Yes, we have many parties, and I cannot change this situation. I can only fight, as the leader of the main opposition party, the government to try to change the situation.
Breizh-info.com: About your safety, are you still under permanent police protection?
Geert Wilders: Yes, I am under crazy protection, and I am incredibly happy that this one is there. It is always present, everywhere. I have lived in a government safe house for 18 years. Currently, I cannot check my mailbox myself. I cannot do anything without the presence of the police. This is the price to pay for speaking out against political elites and being critical of immigration, or Islam, or Muhammad who is an example for so many Muslims. If you dare to speak, you may encounter a lot of problems. This makes it unattractive to resist and speak out, especially when it comes to talking about the negative side of immigration and Islamization. We do not have problems with Muslims, but with totalitarian Islamist ideology, which is very dangerous. Only one solution exists: we must continue to talk about this subject and never stop.
Breizh-info.com: The Netherlands has a housing problem because the country is small in area compared to the number of inhabitants. Do you have any solutions?
Geert Wilders: Yes, of course we have solutions. The Netherlands is the only country in Europe in which asylum seekers, when they are recognised, obtain priority for housing. If two people are looking for a house, and one is a Dutch citizen who wants to start a family and receive accommodation and the other is an asylum seeker who has obtained a permit, the accommodation will be given priority to the asylum seeker who has a permit. This is what happens in more than 90% of Dutch municipalities.
Stopping immigration will be a huge help. Of course, we also have to build houses. We are overcrowded. We are a small country. We have seventeen million inhabitants. For this reason, immigration is bad for the Netherlands. And we do not have immigration that comes from Australia or Canada, but from Muslim countries whose nationals do not contribute to our society and bring a culture that is not really the one we want. Yes, houses are one of the biggest problems, but immigration has a huge influence these days. Inviting people from elsewhere to settle in your country, when you cannot house your own population, is stupid. I think that 300,000 or 400,000 houses must be missing compared to the needs of the inhabitants, during this time, people continue to arrive. As a result, people have to wait 10 or 15 years. It is like in Moldova! It is incredible!
Breizh-info.com: The Dutch Christian Democrat Minister Karien van Gennip has declared that she wants to attract unemployed people from the French suburbs to the Netherlands in order to make them work in the Netherlands.
Geert Wilders: Yes, I told Parliament that she will probably receive high awards from the French government, such as the Légion d’honneur, while she will take all Algerians and Moroccans from the French suburbs to the Netherlands. This idea is completely crazy and was killed in one day.
Everyone, even within the parties of the government coalition, thought that this idea was delusional. This is an example of an ideologically inspired person who is not really aware of reality. We have so many problems in the Netherlands with our own immigrants, who are overrepresented in crime and among the recipients of social benefits. We have all these problems and this lady, minister, says: “Let us take the people from the suburbs! It is good for them and for their education. She is totally on another planet, totally crazy! And these are the people who run the Netherlands! Can you imagine how badly the Netherlands are governed these days.
Not only should we not take these people from France, but we should ship the inhabitants of our own suburbs to Paris. That is a better idea!