Geert Wilders: Let the Dutch Vote on Immigration Policy

[rmstock]

Matt Chase [some grandson of J.P. Morgan Chase?]


The Opinion Pages | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Geert Wilders: Let the Dutch Vote on Immigration Policy
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/opinion/geert-wilders-the-dutch-deserve-to-vote-on-immigration-policy.html?_r=1

"The Hague — The first thing France did after last Friday's terrorist
   attacks in Paris was to temporarily close its borders. It was a wise
   move. The attacks showed just how unsafe Europe has become as a result
   of the European Union's open border policies and decades of foolish
   decisions by governments across the Continent to open their doors to
   mass immigration from Islamic countries.
   
   Mass immigration changes countries beyond recognition. Ordinary people
   are well aware of that. In 2008, before the current crisis, a poll in
   the Netherlands already showed that a majority of Dutch citizens
   considered the importation of huge numbers of immigrants to be the
   biggest mistake in their country's postwar history.
   
   Related in Opinion
   Editorial: Refugees From War Aren't the Enemy  NOV. 18, 2015
   Op-Ed Columnist: They Are Us NOV. 19, 2015
   Op-Ed Contributor: Europe's Welcome Sign to Terrorists  NOV. 19, 2015
   Letters: Grappling With ISIS and the Refugees  NOV. 19, 2015
   
   Unfortunately, there is a tendency among political elites to distrust
   the opinions of ordinary people. They are perceived to base their views
   on dark instincts and unjustified fears, rather than on rational
   choices. European voters, however, are highly educated, and it is
   ridiculous to suppose they can be easily fooled or manipulated
   
   We should respond to the current migration crisis by relying on the
   wisdom of the people and putting crucial national policies to a vote in
   binding referendums. This is an existential crisis that is leading to
   the dilution of national identity and the loss of security at a moment
   when the European Union has also robbed member nations of their
   sovereignty and the right to conduct their own asylum policies.
   
   Europe's political elite has lost touch with the people. Citizens no
   longer feel represented by their national governments and parliaments.
   
   That's why there has been growing support for parties like my own Party
   for Freedom in the Netherlands. Polls indicate that if elections were
   held today, we would be the largest party in the country.
   
   We oppose a centralized Europe, because we realize the importance of
   national sovereignty and controlling our own borders. Without
   sovereignty, a nation cannot exist. Without borders, it can't be
   defined or protected. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany gave people
   in the Middle East the impression that they were welcome in Germany.
   This was foolish, because millions now want to come to Western Europe.
   But other European countries should not be the victims of Ms. Merkel's
   policies. Nor should they be forced to help Germany. The Poles,
   Hungarians, Slovaks and Czechs are entitled to have different
   priorities. And so are we. Our political and moral compass is not the
   Bundeskanzlei in Berlin, or the European Commission in Brussels.
   
   There is a perfectly good alternative to the European Union — it is
   called the European Free Trade Association, founded in 1960.
   Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are members. E.F.T.A.
   stands for friendship and cooperation through free trade. It does not
   rob anyone of sovereignty, it doesn't aim for the political unification
   of its member states, but members do have access to the internal
   European market.
   
   Leaving the European Union would, according to one expert study, be
   economically beneficial for the Netherlands; it would also allow our
   country to adopt its own asylum policies. We do not want to jeopardize
   our values by bringing in large numbers of people from a less liberal
   and less secular culture. Nor do we want to fall victim to increasing
   terrorism. Of course, genuine refugees are entitled to a safe haven.
   But we believe that they should be accommodated in their own region.
   It's a disgrace that there are no resettlement schemes in the immensely
   rich Persian Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. These countries have a moral
   obligation to take in their fellow Muslims.
   
   Many Dutch voters are finally waking up to what we have been saying for
   years. Unfortunately, Dutch political elites suffer from the fatal
   arrogance of thinking they know better than the people. The democratic
   deficit in our society isn't caused only by the transfer of sovereignty
   to Brussels but also by the lack of ways in which citizens can correct
   their elected representatives and governments at the national level. To
   avoid what Thomas Jefferson called "elective despotism," we need to
   introduce direct democracy.
   
   We need a system like Switzerland's, in which people have the
   opportunity to hold regular binding referendums whenever they feel that
   elected representatives are acting against the people's will. It's no
   coincidence that the Swiss never sold out their interests to Brussels.
   In a direct democracy, citizens exercise sovereignty directly and
   without mediation.
   
   Dutch law actually allows consultative referendums. Next April, we will
   vote on the Association Agreement between the European Union and
   Ukraine. But the conditions for holding referendums are very rigid.
   Opponents of a bill accepted in Parliament have to collect 10,000 valid
   signatures in 28 days after the acceptance of the bill, followed by
   300,000 more within the next 42 days (that's about 2 percent of all
   Dutch citizens). Moreover, the referendum is valid only if 30 percent
   of the electorate votes, and even then it will not be binding.
   
   In Switzerland, any law passed by Parliament can be overruled if
   opponents manage to collect 50,000 valid signatures within 100 days and
   then vote. Voters can also propose new legislation, if they succeed in
   collecting 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months. And the outcome
   is always binding, no matter how high or low the turnout.
   
   The Netherlands would benefit from direct democracy. In a time of
   crisis, we need the wisdom of the people.
       
   Geert Wilders is a member of the Dutch Parliament and leader of the
   Party for Freedom.
   
  A version of this op-ed appears in print on November 20, 2015, on page
   A31 of the New York edition with the headline: Let My People Vote.
   Today's Paper|Subscribe "

[MikeWB]

Of course they won't allow it.


Speaking of insanity, Canada's new PM seems insane as well. As crazy as Merkel.