It was only his third day in office, however, parliament showed no mercy for Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. In a tumultuous session, the opposition let it rip, leaving Mr Schoof gasping for air amid a veritable assault on his cabinet. The leaders of the opposition, acting in concert, demanded to know what the prime minister thinks of two of his cabinet members who have expressed concerns over ‘population replacement’ (‘omvolking), a supposedly deliberate policy to replace the native Dutch with immigrants. The term is historically laden and was used by Nazi Germany (‘Umvolkung’) for the policy that sought to settle ethnic Germans in the newly conquered lebensraum to the east and cleanse those areas of its indigenous population.

The Dutch use the term, abhorred in civilised discourse, in reverse to protest mass immigration with some seeing a sinister masterplan in this. They point to big cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam where native-born Dutch already are a minority.

Two members of the Schoof cabinet that was installed on Tuesday apparently adhere to the population replacement theory: Minister for Immigration Marjolein Faber and Reinette Clever, Minister for Trade and Development aid, have no qualms about expressing their displeasure with the ‘demographic changes’ (the new euphemism) taking place in the Netherlands. Mrs Faber, a former senator, merrily poured more oil on the fire during a meet-and-greet with reporters on Wednesday, by admitting she has ‘an issue’ with islamic women donning headscarfs in public.

Lahlah’s Demogoguery

During yesterday’s acerbic debate, Frans Timmermans, leader of the Green-Labour alliance, pointed demonstratively to Esmah Lahlah and asked Mr Schoof if he had a problem with the lawmaker’s attire, forcing the prime minister to assure all and sundry that he did not. Mrs Lahlah came to the fore to explain that her use of the offending headgear was a personal choice freely made. She then descended into unbecoming demagoguery and called upon ‘all those girls’ to not feel ashamed and realise that the sky remains the limit.

Alas, Mrs Lahlah, however laudable her intentions, is dead wrong. Time and again, research shows that people with islamic-sounding surnames and sporting apparel inspired by that religion, fail to secure job interviews and are generally shunned by employers.

What Green-Labour and other more progressive parties fail to grasp is that many voters fear the loss of national identity due to mass immigration. That is not just the case in the Netherlands, but in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, and the UK as well.

Whilst the trend by no means justifies racism or the peddling of esoteric conspiracy theories, it is undeniable that poorly controlled immigration has overwhelmed many voters who feel strangers in their own land as they stroll High Streets where exotic garb often is ‘de rigueur’. Of course, these and other concerns may not be openly expressed on pains of banishment from civil society. However, the mood is changing and many no longer fear censure for speaking up and out.

It is an issue that needs to be addressed, something most progressive parties have promised but failed to do. Those broken promises have been justified by blaming the European Union or international treaty obligations for imposing limits on national governments’ ability to get a grip on the issue. However, most voters do not care for any of this and demand a simple solution to a complex problem.

Progressives Provoked

Populist parties such as Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party – the clear winner of the late-November Dutch election – have pledged to provide such a simple solution and that job now falls to Mrs Faber who is not known for her subtle approach and relishes poking and provoking progressives into a hissy fit. They seldom fail to oblige with Mr Timmermans merrily showcasing his impeccable woke-credentials and pontificating at length on the many horrors promoted by the ‘far-right’ – the new catch-all honorific employed by progressives of all stripes to address anyone outside their holier-than-thou bubble.

How Mrs Faber is going to push down immigration remains a big unknown. She and her benefactor Geert Wilders promised to implement the ‘strictest immigration policy ever’ but what that looks like is not yet clear. If the UK may serve as a model, failure is definitely an option. There, the Tories have just been unceremoniously ejected from power over the issue. Though they promised to drive down immigration post-Brexit, the opposite happened and a surge of newcomers followed. While in power, the Tories saw net-immigration rise from about 200,000 per year in 2010 to well over 620,000 last year. Nasty policies pursued by the Home Office, including confinement on prison barges, a tightening of visa rules, and the threat of removal to Rwanda did not stop immigrants from coming.

All Alone

During yesterday’s parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Schoof was driven to near desperation by the onslaught. He received no support from any quarter, not even from the parties represented in his cabinet. Geert Wilders, his main sponsor, accused the prime minister of failing to stand up for members of his cabinet who were being dismissed as ‘racists’. Mr Wilders described the prime minister’s attitude as ‘mushy squash’ and then went on to pick a fight with his liberal quasi-coalition partner Dilan Yeşilgöz over a controversial tweet she attributed to him regarding, again, headscarfs. Mr Wilders denied having provided the inspiration for the tweet. It was sent by Minister of Public Health, Fleur Agema and caused such commotion that the proceedings had to be momentarily halted. Mrs Agema later expressed regret over her tweet and promised to keep off X during debates.

Two motions of no-confidence entered by the opposition predictably failed to pass. Prime Minister Schoof now has almost two months to grow into his job, assert his authority, and call his supporting parties to order whilst parliament is on summer recess. It reconvenes on September 2.

Cover photo: Former spy chief Dick Schoof, the new Dutch prime minister.

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© 2018 photo by AIVD