We’ve got troubles of our own…

And at the same time that I’m shaking my head in despair over Brexit, here in the Netherlands, we’ve just had elections for the Provinces. And it appears as though populism is rearing its ugly head here as well. The Forum for Democracy (FvD) party has (according to the exit polls) made substantial gains.

While it wears a gentler face than Geert Wilders’ PVV party, at its heart it seems to embrace the same sort of worrying ideals. As Wikipedia says:

The party opposes the European Union and campaigns for a referendum on Dutch EU membership. It also adopts a nationalist viewpoint in which the Dutch culture should be protected; the party is in favor of reinstating border controls and ending what it perceives as mass immigration. It campaigns against unchecked immigration, and says it would introduce a “Dutch Values Protection Act” and wants to ban Islamic face veils and other face coverings.

A Dutch Values Protection Act… Oh dear. I’m reminded of the song and the scene in Cabaret: “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”.