‘Czech Donald Trump’ Set to Win Parliamentary Elections – Polls

Europe - Lurching to Starboard

The populist Czech ANO movement led by billionaire Andrej Babis, dubbed ‘the Czech Donald Trump,’ is poised to win the eastern European country’s elections by a wide margin, according to the exit polls. The center-right, euroskeptic ODS came in second.

ANO, which means ‘Yes’ in Czech and also stands as an acronym for the ‘Action of Dissatisfied Citizens’, has taken a clear lead in the election with more than 30 percent of the vote, beating its closest rivals by around 20 percentage points, according to exit polls cited by the Czech media.

The center-right, euroskeptic Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has come in second, securing about 11 percent backing. The third and fourth places were taken by the Czech Pirate Party and the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam far-right populist Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD), which both gained slightly more than 10 percent with the difference between them amounting to several hundredths of a percent.

The polls also show that five more parties have cleared the 5 percent hurdle to get into parliament, including the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, the Social Democrats, the Christian Democratic Union and the TOP 09 movement, as well as the movement of Czech mayors and independents.

The exit polls’ results demonstrate a significant shift to euroskepticism in the Czech Republic as all the three leading parties represent anti-establishment forces in one way or another. Babis, who leads the ANO movement, is particularly known for his skepticism about the euro and severe criticism of the EU’s immigration policies, including the refugee quota system.

The SPD also actively opposes immigration and calls Islam an ideology rather than a religion while the Civic Democrats are critical towards the EU and advocate permanent exception from euro adoption for the Czech Republic.

The pro-EU Social Democrats (CSSD) received only 7.7 percent of the votes, according to the exit polls, while the liberal TOP 09 movement, considered to be the strongest supporter of further European integration and adopting the euro currency, barely managed to clear the election hurdle as it gained only slightly more than 5 percent of the vote.

Babis, who is poised to become the new Czech prime minister as his party’s electoral victory is almost certain, is, however, a controversial figure. The Czech Republic’s second richest man and a billionaire, who owns one of the Czech biggest private employers – the agricultural giant Agrofert – as well as a media empire, he has already served as finance minister and deputy prime minister, but was dismissed due to allegations of financial misconduct.

Babis was sacked from the government in May after a months-long coalition crisis that started with allegations that he dodged taxes as Agrofert CEO back in 2012. He was separately charged over allegedly misusing EU subsidies. Babis dismissed all the allegations, calling them “politically motivated.”

Despite his issues with the law, Babis remains one of the most popular Czech politicians. In September, the Czech President Milos Zeman told the local media that he would name Babis the new prime minister in the event of his party’s victory, even if he were in police custody.

The two-day vote was held on October 20 and 21 to fill 200 seats in the Czech parliament’s lower house – the Chamber of Deputies. The voting ended at 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT) on Saturday with most ballots being expected to have been counted by the end of the day. However, the official results are scheduled to be announced no sooner than next week.

The results of the Czech elections have become just the latest episode of what seems to be the onward march of the right across Europe. Just a week ago, two anti-migrant parties gained the lead in the Austrian parliamentary elections and are now expected to form the ruling coalition.

Earlier, the right-wing anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party enjoyed what was called a historic success while Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and perforce the Social Democrats suffered their worst results in more than half a century at the September parliamentary elections in Germany.

In the French presidential elections in spring 2017, Marine le Pen, the head of the right-wing National Front party made it into the run-off, beating candidates from such major establishment parties as the Republicans and the Socialists.

And in the Netherlands, Geert Wilder’s ultra-nationalist Party of Freedom came second in this year’s parliamentary elections.

Favourite to be Next Dutch PM Vows to Ban the Koran and Close All Mosques

Basically, Wilders wants to rid the Netherlands of Islam altogether. This might be 

the only strategy that will ensure the survival of European culture. Other countries 

will come to realize this, but it may be too late when they do.

The promise will not come without great resistance from Muslims, short-sighted leftists,

courts, and from the EU. It will be tantamount to a declaration of war which will radicalize more

Muslims and result in extraordinary chaos in the streets. But if Europe is going to survive,

it has to happen and the sooner the better. It will not get easier as Muslim populations increase.

The front-runner to become the next Dutch Prime Minister has vowed to ban the Koran and to close all mosques in the country.

By TOM PARFITT


Geert Wilders has vowed to ban the Koran if he becomes Dutch PM - Getty

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), called for the total "de-Islamification" in a controversial manifesto posted online.

The far-right MP, who has previously compared the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, also vowed to put an end to immigration from Islamic countries.

He would also close all Islamic schools and asylum centres, and ban Muslim women from wearing the headscarf in public, if elected prime minister next year.

If the current levels of immigration continue for just a few more decades, all women will be wearing headscarves in public and burkinis will be the minimum requirement on beaches. This will happen in the lifespan of our children and grandchildren.

Mr Wilders unveiled the manifesto ahead of the Netherlands' parliamentarian elections in March.

The PVV currently leads the pack in almost every opinion poll amid growing anger at the Dutch government’s handling of the refugee crisis.

It is on course to take 35 seats in the 150-seat Dutch Parliament, about 10 seats more than the ruling Liberal party, led by prime minister Mark Rutte.

Mr Wilders also promised to do all he can to hold a referendum on Netherlands' membership of the EU following June's historic Brexit vote.

Sybrand van Haersma Buma, leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, branded Mr Wilders' plans "utterly bizarre and unbelievable".

He added: "The programme will further polarise Dutch society."

Mr Wilders last month said he was "proud" of his tough stance on Islam after claiming the Netherlands "can't take any more" refugees from Syria and Iraq.

The outspoken leader added: "I also don't have a problem with people from Slovakia and Lithuania. But I do have a problem with immigration from Islamic countries.

"The EU leaves us no freedom to determine our own immigration and asylum laws. That's why leaving the EU is necessary."


The MP has said the Netherlands 'can't take any more' refugees - Getty

The PVV was unofficially part of the first Rutte cabinet from October 2010 until November 2012.

It gave critical parliamentarian support to help the Liberal and CDA coalition get a majority in the House of Representatives.

But the PVV could struggle to form a coalition if it wins next year's election because other parties are currently reluctant to work with Mr Wilders.

Far Right MP Geert Wilders Voted Top Dutch Politician Again

'Islamic invasion'-touting, Koran-Mein Kampf-equating MP Wilders scoops top Dutch Politician gong

Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders.
 © Mike Stone / Reuters

Right-wing populist Geert Wilders has been named Dutch Politician of the Year for the third time. The anti-immigration and anti-Islam MP likens the Koran to Hitler's ‘Mein Kampf’ and wants to close national borders to stop an “Islamic invasion.”

Never before has a politician won the award on three occasions. The Dutch Politician of the Year award is nominated annually by EenVandaag, a news program on public television, following a poll.

“It is great to be chosen by the public as Politician of the Year. It is a huge honor. And an encouragement to fight even harder for the interests of the Netherlands and the Dutch people in 2016,” the leader of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) said.

Wilders, who had previously scooped the coveted title in 2010 and 2013, garnered a quarter of the more-than-37,000 votes. During a debate on the migrant crisis shortly before the announcement of the result, he shouted that all refugees must leave the country, Dutch website AD.nl reported.

The PVV is currently the leading party in the Dutch polls, more popular than the two governing coalition parties. The next challenge for Wilders is to become the next prime minister in the 2017 elections.

Wilders, 52, has a reputation for his hardline right-wing views and confrontational style. Last year he asked his supporters whether they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?” When the crowd cried “Fewer! Fewer!” Wilders replied: “We’re going to organize that,” prompting over 6,000 complaints.

Last month he said that the best way to deal with Europe’s growing refugee crisis is to close national borders and stop what Wilders called an “Islamic invasion.”

“The only way to deal with it [the refugee crisis] is to regain our national sovereignty and close our national borders,” Wilders told AFP in an exclusive interview.

“I’m not asking for anything strange, I am asking that our government close its doors as Hungary did …that we close our borders to those we consider to be migrants, not refugees,” he added.

Europe currently faces its biggest refugee crisis since the World War II, with almost a million new migrants and refugees being registered this year, more than twice as many as last year, according to the UN statistics. The Netherlands (home to 17 million) is expected to take in about 60,000 asylum seekers by the end of the year.  

Support for Europe's right-wing movements skyrocketed following the Paris attacks of November 13, in which Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people and injured 352. Far-right groups seized the opportunity presented by the terrorists, castigating Islam, as well as thousands of Muslim refugees and migrants fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Dutch political activist Pierre Schweitzer told RT that the ongoing refugee crisis has triggered “the new rise of terrorism” in a certain way, boosting the popularity of Europe's far-right movements.

“The parties that are anti-Islamic are the same that have rightful arguments on the failure of other political parties. So it's a really bad situation here, because the only people that still have [a] little credit because they haven't been in power so far are the ones that have these xenophobic and anti-Islamic views.”

Fears escalated after reports that several of the IS attackers had actually slipped into the EU along with the crowds of asylum seekers fleeing unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. This reinforced the mounting criticism of the reckless EU policy of welcoming migrants and refugees.

“People are angry, they are afraid, they want a different policy and the political elite is not listening to them,” Wilders told AFP.

“That’s why parties like mine all over Europe are getting very strong,” he added.

His Party for Freedom currently has 12 seats in the Dutch Parliament.

“The larger we become, the more difficult it will be to ignore us and I’m sure we have a chance to govern,” Wilders noted.

He also has big plans for pulling the Netherlands out of EU, arguing that countries will be better off without the organization.

“At a supernational level in Brussels, we never had a democracy. The European Commission, nobody elected them,” he said, urging Britons to vote for a ‘Brexit’ (British exit from the EU) in next year’s referendum, according to AFP.

Wilders took the chance to slam German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her open-door policy towards refugees.

“I think it was very unprofessional and even irresponsible,” he told AFP, adding: “We should not have to pay for the stupidity of Angela Merkel.”

Last month Sweden became the fourth country to re-establish border controls since the start of the migrant crisis this summer. In September, Germany, Austria and Slovenia temporarily limited the free movement policy within the EU.