She is called a dissident, has been accused of political murder and treason, and has been threatened to be thrown out of the Parliament Fraction if she doesn’t follow party rules. Dutch Member of Parliament Kathleen Ferrier has been under fire ever since she and an other Member of Parliament told their party leader that they are against any deal with the far-right party of Geert Wilders because of his strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigration views.
Ferrier is a black Dutch Surinamese woman and Member of Parliament for the Christian Democrats (CDA) in the Netherlands. She is also the daughter of the late first president of Suriname. Suriname is a former colony of the Netherlands which gained independence in 1975.
Ferrier is being pressured by the party leaders to give up her seat in Parliament because her protest may cause majority problems in the future. But untill now she had refused to step down.
After the elections the party of Wilders has become third-largest party in Holland, and has been part of the negotiations between Ferrier’s party (CDA) and the centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) to form a new Government.
Ferrier said in an interview that the views of Wilders of the multicultural society are not the ones that she has been brought up with. Important aspects of Surinamese culture are cultural and religious tolerance. Suriname is the only country in the world where are an Islamic mosque and a Jewish synagogue reside next to each other.
Geert Wilders will not be a part of any government, he will just tolerate a government that is willing to support his views about immigration and Islam. He has been part of the negotiations to set the terms.
The next few days will be crucial for Ferrier. The political parties just recently reached a final agreement and this weekend it will be up to the Congress of her party to decide whether or not they will to block the political agreement. There is a lot of opposition within her party and one prominent party member has already left the party.
The other colleague in Parliament who is also against a deal with the PVV has said today that he will accept the decision of the Congress.
Ferrier is now the only "dissident" left. She has told the media that she will take the mood and voting of the Congress into consideration.
Whether tax or headscarf ban Koran: With radical statements Geert Wilders success. For their anti-Islamic views have been the right-wing populist and his "Freedom Party" known far beyond the borders of the Netherlands also. It remains to be seen whether Geert Wilders, a statesman or just a provocative strategist.
ReplyDeleteebook leser thanks for your comments. I believe in Freedom of speech, but the problem with Wilders is that it looks as if he is only trying to insult people just to get more votes.
ReplyDeleteBesides, most things he wants have already been implemented. The Netherlands have the toughest immigration laws of Europe after Denmark.
It's not correct to call Kathleen Ferrier a dissident. Both Ad Koppejan and Kathleen Ferrier have twittered that they see the outcome of the congress as support for their position and that they have not made up their mind yet.
ReplyDeleteColoredOpinions, I don't consider them 'dissidents' either. Since 32 percent of the voters of the Party Congress voted against a coalition with Geert Wilders, Ferrier and Ad Koppejan should be called the 'The Moral Minority'.
ReplyDeleteWell, the CDA chose to go with the coalition.
ReplyDeleteYes BWE, you're right there is a majority, and it was expected. But in this case the margin was also very important.
ReplyDeleteWilders is in the best political position one can imagine. While he can pressure CDA and VVD to do as he likes, he frees himself of any responsablilty for the consequences. Everything which turns 'fine' will be 'thanks to him' and for everything which turns wrong he will blame the CDA-VVD governement. This man, if playing it smart, is Holland's next prime minister. Not in a coalition, but with his own majority.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime the political representatives of 2 main Belgian tribes are making a fool of Europe,... Am I wrong to be pessimistic about our future?
Unfortunately you're right. But according to a survey most people don't see Wilders as a prime minister, they seem to like him more as an anti-Islam activist who is voicing their opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone knows you that the Netherlands would make a complete fool of itself if Wilders would become prime minister. But I admit he is very popular, even among some black people here.
And Belgium, this language thing runs deep. I was near ‘Gant’ this summer. We went into a gas station and asked in Dutch: do you speak Dutch. The woman behind the counter replied “ Nee” . When we spoke French she began to smile.