Partij voor de Vrijheid

Partij voor de Vrijheid Party for Freedom
Party leader	Geert Wilders
Party leader	Geert Wilders
Group Chairman, Second Chamber	Geert Wilders
Chairman of the First Chamber	Marjolein Faber
EP Head of Delegation	Marcel de Graaff
founding	February 22, 2006
Place of foundation	Venlo
Headquarters	The hague
Alignment	Nationalism Right-wing populism National conservatism EU skepticism Islamophobia
Colours)	Blue , white , red
Sit in the First Chamber	5/75
Sit in the second chamber	20/150
Seats in the European Parliament	1/29
Number of members	1
EP Group	Identity and democracy
www.pvv.nl

The Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) , German  party for freedom , is a right-wing populist party in the Netherlands . In the 2006 parliamentary elections, she received 5.9 percent from scratch. In 2010 it rose to 15.5 percent, fell back to 10.1 percent in 2012 and received 13.1 percent of the vote in the last general election in 2017 . This makes the PVV the second largest political force in the Netherlands, just ahead of the Christian Democratic CDA .

The chairman and only member is its founder Geert Wilders , who was previously a member of the conservative-liberal VVD . The party warns of what it sees as the Islamization of the Netherlands and calls for it to be combated. She also advocates restricting immigration, cracking down on criminals and raising the retirement age.

history

After the Second World War there was a brief Partij van de Vrijheid . In January 1948, today's Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), from which Wilders comes, was founded. However, these are either liberal or right-wing liberal parties.

Right-wing populism and expressions of skepticism about immigration had previously been represented by the Boerenpartij since the 1960s and then, in the 1980s, mainly by the Centrum Democrats led by Hans Janmaat , also in parliament, more precisely in the Second Chamber of the States General .

In the 2002 elections, right-wing populist Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) instantly became the second strongest force in parliament. Fortuyn himself had been murdered shortly before the elections; the hastily compiled list included a group with no cohesion or experience. Due to frequent changes in leadership, it soon fell apart. In the new elections of 2003 she was punished for it, in those of 2006 the LPF disappeared from parliament.

Established in 2006

Wilders is considered one of the ideological heirs of the LPF. He was a VVD member of the national parliament. After he left the VVD on September 2, 2004, he remained as a one-man group of Groep Wilders . After a campaign against the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe , which actually failed to win a majority in a referendum, Wilders seized the moment and founded the Partij voor de Vrijheid on February 22, 2006 . The party has two members, Wilders as a person and the Geert Wilders Foundation. In the Dutch parliamentary elections on November 22, 2006 , she ran and achieved 5.9%. That corresponded to nine seats in parliament.

In contrast to the divided LPF, the PVV had a practically incontestable leader in Wilders due to its organizational structure. He had personally selected the members of the parliamentary group who represent his party and prepared them for their tasks.

Development in 2009: headscarf debate, immigration policy

When it first took part in the European elections in June 2009 , the PVV received 17% of the vote, making it the second strongest force in the Netherlands. She sent four MEPs to the European Parliament .

In September 2009, Wilders' contribution to the general debate in parliament attracted attention, in which he called for a kopvoddentaks (literally a "head-rag tax", mostly reproduced in German as a "headscarf tax"). Wearing an “Islamic headscarf ” should be discouraged by the fact that a Muslim woman needs a license to do so. This license should cost one thousand euros a year. The symbol of oppression is a pollution of the political realm and the polluter has to pay for it. The proceeds should, among other things, benefit women's shelters . Wilders' proposal was vehemently rejected by the other parliamentary groups and was temporarily no longer pursued by the party.

In the same general debate, Wilders repeated his request that the government provide information on how much a non-Western immigrant costs. After all, the Muslims did not come to the Netherlands because they liked the land of the infidels, but because they were looking for social benefits . The cabinet replied that they didn't calculate how much senior citizens cost. “Why don't we know how much a senior costs? Someone in the nursing home costs 165 euros a day, a prisoner 192 euros and someone in preventive detention 476 euros. "

According to a survey at the beginning of November 2009, the PVV had 28 mandates (around 18 percent). This gave her a mandate lead over the next best party in the poll, Prime Minister Balkenende's Christian Democrats .

Local and parliamentary elections 2010

In the local elections on March 3, 2010, the PVV only ran in two cities, but achieved excellent results there. In Almere the PVV received the largest share of the votes of all parties (21.6 percent), in The Hague it was the second strongest force (16.9 percent). The local elections were seen as a mood test for the early parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for June 9, 2010. The incumbent Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende from the Christian Democratic CDA has not ruled out a possible coalition with the PVV.

PVV election results by municipalities, 2010

In the parliamentary elections on June 9, 2010 , the PVV was the third largest force behind right-wing liberals (VVD) and social democrats (PvdA). 1.45 million votes (15.5 percent) were enough for 24 parliamentary seats. After long negotiations, the right-wing liberals (VVD) and the Christian Democrats (CDA) reached an agreement in October 2010 on a minority government with the tolerance of the PVV. Together with the PVV, the government only had a slim majority: 76 out of 150 members.

Toleration of the Cabinet Rutte (2010-12)

Before and after the formation of the Rutte I cabinet , it became known that several members of the PVV had been charged with breaking the law: Jhim van Bemmel lost his post as budget spokesman after forging documents, and defense spokesman Eric Lucassen was charged with vandalism and fornication, but was acquitted. In addition, PVV youth leader Hero Brinkman was the only MP to refuse to ask whether he had ever been convicted. Despite these affairs, the level of approval remained undiminished, and the PVV voters' great loyalty to Wilders was particularly noted.

In 2011 the PVV continued to be successful. In the provincial elections ( Provinciale Statenverkiezingen ) on March 2, 2011, they won 69 of the 566 seats straight away. A little later they won the second most seats (14) in the election of the First Chamber (May 23, 2011). In June 2011, the PVV caused a sensation when a bill was passed that banned the slaughter of non-stunning animals. Although this ban mainly affected believing Jews, the PVV, which describes itself as pro-Jewish, surprisingly voted in favor of what was sharply criticized in Israel. The PVV caused a further international stir in February 2012 when it called on the Dutch population on its website to report complaints about citizens of Eastern European origin, be it in their private or professional life, which they would then forward to the Ministry of Social Affairs. As a result, there were sharp diplomatic protests from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. Hero Brinkman resigned from the PVV on March 20, 2012 and accused Wilders of accepting black money and a dictatorial style of leadership that reminded him of the Stasi . As a result, the Rutte cabinet lost its majority, which ultimately led to a break between the VVD, CDA and PVV: after long debates about the 2013 budget ( Catshuisoverleg ), Wilders terminated the cooperation on April 21, 2012 and thus forced new elections.

Chamber election 2012

The PVV election campaign for the Dutch parliamentary elections in 2012 was overshadowed by internal squabbles. On July 6, 2012, Jhim van Bemmel left the PVV after failing to make it onto the state list. Shortly afterwards, his colleagues Wim Kortenoeven and Marcial Hernandez , who accused their party leadership of “ Politburo ” -like paternalism, also left, and Wilders with Kim Jong -Il compared. On election day, the PVV only got 10.1 percent (15 seats).

In the municipal council elections on March 19, 2014, the PVV slightly lost votes in the only two municipalities in which it had nominated candidates, The Hague and Almere. On election night, Wilders asked his supporters if they wanted more or less Moroccans. “Less, less,” replied the hall. "Then we will make this come true," replied Wilders again. This has caused widespread outrage in the Netherlands; Dutch people with a Moroccan background, for example, protested on Twitter with photos of themselves and their Dutch passports. Prime Minister Rutte said that as long as Wilders made such statements, cooperation was out of the question. How Rutte's party friends dealt locally with the PVV, however, is up to them. Wilders' appearance also met with some protests in the PVV. Two PVV members of the Second Chamber have resigned, as well as a MEP, two members of the Estates in Friesland and one of the nine councilors in Almere and a councilor in The Hague. Of the 15 members of the PVV, only 12 remained after being expelled in 2013.

Chamber election 2017

In the run-up to the parliamentary elections for the Second Chamber in March 2017 , it was considered possible that the PVV, with Wilders as the top candidate again, could become the strongest political force in the Netherlands for the first time. At the beginning of 2016, at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe , surveys initially forecast a clear victory for the PVV for a long time. In the course of the election campaign, however, Wilders increasingly fought head-to-head with the incumbent Prime Minister and VVD top candidate Mark Rutte as well as an intense political dispute, in which more and more Ruttes VVD consolidated its top position in the party spectrum. This development was partly facilitated by expressions of sympathy from Wilders to the new US President Donald Trump , who is considered unpopular by a majority of the Dutch. In addition, Rutte's resolute stance against campaign appearances by members of the Turkish government in the Netherlands in the course of the referendum on a Turkish constitutional reform strengthened the popularity of the VVD.

After the election was counted, Wilders PVV lost in the end, despite slight gains to 13.1 percent of the votes (20 seats) against the VVD with 21.3 percent (33 seats). In addition, the PVV only just prevailed as the second strongest political force ahead of the Christian Democratic CDA (12.4 percent, 19 seats) and the left-wing liberal D66 (12.2 percent, 19 seats).

Overall, Wilders' performance was seen as a sign against the continuing success of the right-wing populists (against Brexit and the Trump election ). Wilders' PVV also clearly missed its goal of government participation with the result, as firstly the mandate to form a government as the strongest parliamentary group was clearly missed and, secondly, Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the now election winner VVD, like most parties, already collaborated with the PVV in advance had categorically excluded.

Party organization

Fleur Agema , a member of Lijst Pim Fortuyn until 2004 , has been a member of the PVV since 2006.

With Wilders, the PVV has only one member. People who support him are allowed to register as volunteers, sponsors or supporters. From these groups of people, Wilders recruits the members of parliament who represent his party in parliaments; all candidates are nominated by Wilders prior to the election. Wilders also decides on his election and party program himself. This makes the party the first in the Dutch parliament that is not organized as a member party. According to Wilders' statements, this system is intended to prevent the party from being “taken over by the wrong people”. But he left it open whether the party would open up to members at a later date. Former parliamentary group member Hero Brinkman has publicly spoken out in favor of democratizing the PVV and therefore left it in March 2012.

After Wilders left the VVD, he founded the Stichting Groep Wilders in order to be able to collect donations better. In the Netherlands, the legal form of a registered association is required in order to be able to participate in an election under a certain party name; In addition, a non-party candidacy with a list supported by at least thirty citizens from the respective constituency is possible. Two founders are required to set up a registered association in the Netherlands. Wilders founded the Vereniging Groep Wilders on March 30, 2005 . As a private person, he himself founded the Stichting Groep Wilders , of which he is the only board member. The Vereniging Groep Wilders registered the name PVV (Partij voor de Vrijheid) with the electoral commission ( kiesraad ) in order to be able to take part in elections under this name.

Such a construction would not be possible in Germany, for example, since here only parties can submit state lists for the federal election. Political parties, in turn, must be organized democratically in Germany. The advantage for Wilders is that he has sole say and internal quarrels such as those that led to the downfall of the LPF are less likely. On the other hand, the PVV is not entitled to government party funding , as a minimum of 1000 members is required. In order to do this, the PVV, unlike state co-financed parties, does not have to disclose the origin of its funds. The PVV receives considerable sums from the US and is against tightening the rules for party funding. Regardless of this, the PVV parliamentary group - like all parliamentary groups - is entitled to state subsidies.

Political program

The party sees itself as a national liberal , but is mostly described by the media and political science as right-wing populist . A study by the Anne Frank Foundation in 2008 classified them as “moderate right-wing extremist ”. The party program for the 2009 election includes the following demands:

State and EU

• Strengthening direct democracy and more referendums
• Abolition of the House of Lords , reduction of the number of MPs in the House of Commons from 150 to 100
• Emphasis on Christian, Jewish and humanistic culture in the Dutch constitution
• No state party funding
• Streamlining of public administration, fewer ministries and civil servants
• Reduction of the influence of the European Union, no new European constitution
• No new EU accession, if Turkey joins the Netherlands will leave ( Nexit )
• Withdrawal from the Schengen Agreement
• Abolition of the European Parliament and the European Commission
• Referendum on a nexit , the withdrawal of the Netherlands from the European Union

immigration

• Five-year immigration ban for Muslims
• No medical care for illegal immigrants except for emergencies
• Naturalization only after ten years of residence in which the immigrants worked and were not criminals
• Prohibition of dual citizenships

Dealing with Islam

• Headscarf ban in the civil service
• Burqa ban in public
• Radical mosques closed
• Prohibition of building further mosques and Koran schools
• Prohibition of the Koran

economy

• Tax cuts through fewer taxes to the European Union and cuts in development aid and subsidies
• Construction of new nuclear power plants
• Rejection of wind turbines
• Rejection of climate protection measures
• Abolition of the smoking ban in the catering industry
• Reducing bureaucracy , investing in infrastructure, easing the speed limit

Internal security

• Ethnic registration of everyone. Including " Antillian " information
• Prison terms extended and more police officers recruited
• Introduction of a life sentence after three serious violent crimes ( three strikes )
• Immediate expulsion of criminal immigrants
• Introduction of boot camps (heropvoedingskampen)

Education and miscellaneous

• Conveying values ​​and norms in raising children
• Smaller and safer schools and more teachers
• Dutch flags on all schools and government buildings
• Canon of patriotic history as a compulsory subject in all schools
• Strengthening the efficiency of the military
• Anchoring animal welfare in the constitution
• Termination of the art subsidies, Dutch cultural heritage, museums and libraries except

Election program 2010

For the chamber elections on June 9, 2010, Wilders presented a program in which Islam was given a lot of space. In addition, there was above all criticism of the EU and of “mass immigration” in general. In addition, the topic of strengthening national identity as well as economic and socio-political issues are addressed. It is about the choice between Islam and the Netherlands, between “our flag” and the “flag of the EU salvation state”, he wrote in the foreword.

In the part “Voting for the fight against Islam and against mass immigration” it is stated that Islam is “primarily a political ideology; a totalitarian doctrine geared towards domination, violence and oppression ”. There are moderate Muslims, but no moderate Islam. The Koran divides humanity into Muslims and inferior non-Muslims. Because of the elites and their cultural relativism, especially because of the “Club in Brussels”, Europe will quickly become “ Eurabia ”. The Netherlands would therefore have to withdraw from the Schengen Agreement and again determine its own immigration policy. The Netherlands would be seen by many abroad as an issuer of free social benefits. Therefore, immigrants should be excluded from the social security system for the first ten years. The PVV is against the possibility of dual citizenship and against amnesties for illegals. The aim of the program “work or run away” ( Werken of Wegwezen ) is to say goodbye to immigrants without a job .

As a political ideology, Islam should not be allowed to claim any privileges of any religion, no new mosques should be built, all private schools owned by Islam should be closed, "Islamic media" should not be subsidized, public broadcasting ("the propaganda Department of the Multicultural Netherlands ”) is to be circumcised, if Turkey joins the EU, the Netherlands is to leave, the burqa and the Koran are to be banned, and headscarves are to be taxed. No immigration or naturalization should be possible without a naturalization test; if you are in the Netherlands and fail the test, you should leave the country. Previous dual citizenship should be registered. "And above all: complete immigration ban for people from Islamic countries."

In the part on internal security, the party demands, among other things, the abolition of preventive detention , labor sentences, no early release if well managed, education camps ( heropvoedingscampen ), the deportation of criminal foreigners (and loss of Dutch citizenship in the case of dual citizenship) as well as the ethnic registration of all residents of the Netherlands. It expressly says: "including the information ' Antillians '".

The PVV doubts the existence of man-made climate change . The party dismisses the warnings about global warming as "unproven climate hype" . The PVV calls for the cancellation of all state funding for preventive climate protection . In energy policy, the construction of wind turbines is rejected, which would cloud the "traditional Dutch landscape" . Instead, the PVV is calling for new nuclear power plants to be built .

Overview of election results

year	choice	Share of the vote	Parliament seats	space
2006	General election 2006	5.89%	9/150	5.
2009	European elections 2009	17.00%	4/26	2.
2010	General election 2010	15.45%	24/150	3.
2011	Senate election 2011	13.07%	10/75	4th
2012	General election 2012	10.08%	15/150	3.
2014	European elections 2014	13.32%	4/26	3.
2015	Senate election 2015	11.97%	9/75	4th
2017	General election 2017	13.06%	20/150	2.
2019	European elections 2019	3.53%	0/26	10.
2019	Senate election 2019	6.54%	5/75	7th

literature

• Evelien Gans : Anti-Anti-Semitic Enthusiasm and Selective Philosemitism. Geert Wilders, the PVV and the Jews . In: Stefanie Schüler-Springorum (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Research on Antisemitism , 23rd year (2014), pp. 93-104.
• Paul Lucardie, Gerrit Voerman: Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands: A Political Entrepreneur in the Polder. In: Karsten Grabow , Florian Hartleb (eds.): Exposing the Demagogues. Right-wing and National Populist Parties in Europe. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung / Center for European Studies, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-2-930632-26-1 , pp. 187-203.
• Koen Vossen: The one-man orchestra in the Netherlands: Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom (PW) . In: Ernst Hillebrand (ed.): Right-wing populism in Europe: Danger for democracy? . Dietz, Bonn 2015, ISBN 978-3-8012-0467-9 , p. 48 ff.
• Marcus Wilp: Populism in the Netherlands - Geert Wilders' freedom party . In: Anton Pelinka , Birgitt Haller (Ed.): Populism. A challenge or a threat to democracy? (= Study series conflict research . 27). nap, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-7003-1849-1 , pp. 75–90.

Web links

Commons : Partij voor de Vrijheid  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Dutch)

Notes and evidence

1. ↑ Paul Lucardie, Gerrit Voerman: The Netherlands . In: European Journal of Political Research . tape 45 , no. 7/8 , November 2006, pp. 1201-1206, p. 1203 .
2. ↑ Party for Freedom (PVV) , democratic society, accessed on February 26, 2017.
3. ↑ HP / De Tijd : “De fractie van Wilders”, April 4, 2008 edition.
4. ↑ Wild victory threatens another shift to the right
5. ↑ Trouw: Wilders wil 'kopvoddentaks' ( Memento from September 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) and NOS ( Memento from November 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Both accessed November 10, 2009.
6. ↑ quoted on PVV.nl ( Memento from September 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved on November 10, 2009. Original: “Hoezo weten we niet wat een bejaarde kost? Someone in a verpleeghuis costs 165 euros per day, a given 192 euros and a TBS-er 476 euros. "
7. ↑ In: Trouw: D66 daalt naaar 23 zetels in peiling ( Memento of November 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved November 10, 2009.
8. ↑ Dutch right-wing populists triumph in local elections. In: Spiegel Online , March 4, 2010.
9. ^ Die Presse : The Netherlands: Early elections on June 9th , February 23rd, 2010.
10. ↑ AD: Alle stemmen geteld , accessed on June 11, 2010.
11. ↑ Dutch government is tolerated by Wilders. In: Spiegel Online , September 28, 2010.
12. ↑ Volkskrant: PVV'ers in de fout: een overzicht , accessed on November 17, 2010.
13. ↑ Volkskrant: PVV-Kamerlid beschuldigd van faillissementsfraude , accessed on November 17, 2010.
14. ↑ NRC: PVVer Van Bemmel zes weken op non-actief , accessed on November 25, 2010.
15. ↑ Trouw: Rutte dinsdagavond naar camera om Lucassen ( Memento of 18 November 2010 at the Internet Archive ), polling on November 17 of 2010.
16. ^ Volkskrant: Waar is Eric Lucassen nou precies voor veroordeeld? ( Memento of November 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed November 17, 2010.
17. ↑ NRC: Zeven Tweede Kamerleden ooit veroordeeld , polling on November 25 of 2010.
18. ↑ Trouw: PVV-stemmers houden vertrouwen in Wilders ( memento from November 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 17, 2010.
19. ↑ Nieuw Haags Peil, November 21, 2010 ( Memento of the original from May 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed on November 25, 2010. 
20. ^ Geert Wilders' mistake - Op-ed: By opposing ritual slaughter, Dutch politician risks losing support of pro-Israel groups
21. ↑ orf.at of February 18, 2012
22. ↑ Brinkman stapt uit PVV-fractie , NOS, March 20, 2012
23. ^ Brinkman: 'De PVV is gewoon een soort Stasi' , de Volkskrant , March 26, 2012
24. ↑ PVV-Kamerlid Van Bemmel stapt uit fractie , NU.nl , July 6, 2012
25. ↑ Kortenoeven en Hernandez stappen uit PVV - 'LPF-eight toestanden'
26. ↑ Volkskrant: Timmermans geniet van bornhere-selfies , accessed on March 22, 2014.
27. ↑ NRC: Rutte wil niet meer samenwerken met PVV , accessed on March 22, 2014.
28. ↑ NOS: Wie zijn er vertrokken bij de PVV , accessed on March 22, 2014.
29. ↑ http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/niederlande-163.html
30. ^ Andreas Ross: Verdonk founds political movement , FAZ , October 19, 2007.
31. ↑ Andreas Ross: A weapon in the war of Islamization In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 20, 2009 (interview).
32. ^ Joep Dohmen: Alleen Wilders lid PVV ( Memento of February 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) .
33. ^ Marija Davidović, et al. (Ed.): Het extreemrechtse en discriminatoire gehalte van de PVV , in: J. Donselaar, PR Rodriques (Ed.): Monitor Racisme & Extremisme, eighth rapportage Monitor Racisme , Amsterdam 2008, pp. 167-199.
    “Right-wing extremism” was defined in this study as: “An orientation towards one's own life and a turning away from the foreign as well as a tendency towards authoritarian structures”. This classification of the PVV was criticized for various reasons: University of Münster: Geert Wilders. II. State of research
34. ^ Election program from 2006 (Dutch)
35. ↑ Verkiezingsprogramma PVV (PDF file; 1.93 MB), p. 7, accessed on June 11, 2010.
36. ↑ Verkiezingsprogramma PVV (PDF file; 1.93 MB), p. 13, accessed on June 11, 2010.
37. ↑ Verkiezingsprogramma PVV (PDF file; 1.93 MB), p. 15, accessed on June 11, 2010.
38. ↑ Verkiezingsprogramma PVV (PDF file; 1.93 MB), p. 11, accessed on July 18, 2010.
39. ↑ Verkiezingsprogramma PVV (PDF file; 1.93 MB), p. 7, accessed on June 11, 2010.
40. ↑ See André Krause: Geert Wilders' election program 2010. System question and Kulturkampf. Berlin 2010, p. 101 ff.