Over the years the Netherlands has become the embodiment of Nirvana for liberal politicians and advocates of progressive social ideas. But a recent political earthquake here points to a shift that had been in the works for some time, a political transformation that is not only reshaping the Low Countries, but reaches much of the continent, and has the European left-wing scrambling to regain its footing.
The Dutch still ride to work on their bicycles. Gay marriage is still legal and uncontroversial here, as are coffee shops offering varieties of marijuana on their menus. But multiculturalism and immigration are now becoming dirty words. The country has taken a sharp turn against waves of immigration that make the sound of Arabic speech as common on the streets that line Amsterdam’s canals as the ringing of bicycle bells.
The day the earth shook in Holland came in early May, when maverick politician Pim Fortuyn was killed just two weeks before national elections. The assassination drew the spotlight to Fortuyn’s ideas, which were already making many in the country nod quietly in agreement and murmur, “Something’s got to change.”
Fortuyn’s message, like that of just about any populist politician, appealed to emotions simmering in the nation’s psyche. In neat, easy-to-remember phrases, Fortuyn argued that immigration was hurting the densely populated Netherlands.
The country, he said, “is full.”
But the genius of Fortuyn, a homosexual, was telling this progressive, egalitarian country that its carefully crafted liberal society was threatened by intolerant, bigoted immigrants, whose values were sharply at odds with those of their adoptive country. In essence, he argued, intolerance cannot be tolerated. To protect many of the values of the left, it was now necessary to vote for the right.
On election day, the voters gave the cold shoulder to the ruling Social Democrats, setting the stage for a right-wing coalition in which Fortuyn’s party will wield enormous clout.
Only Holland could have given the world an openly gay right-wing politician, but the experience of the Netherlands reflects a trend found in much of today’s Europe. The backlash against immigration is such that in the latest summit of European leaders in Spain, curbing immigration topped the agenda.
Right-wing parties have made enormous strides in country after country in Europe, and anti-immigrant politics has been their not-so-secret weapon.
The truth about immigration in Europe is hard to come by. Statistics are contradictory, some showing a sharp rise, others showing a decline in the last decade. Illegal immigrants, almost by definition, are virtually impossible to count. The reality, nonetheless, is that Europe, with an aging population, needs immigrants to sustain its economy. But at this moment economic growth is slowing, and immigrants are convenient scapegoats. Immigrants are seen as stealing jobs, increasing crime and exploiting the largesse of Europe’s generous welfare system.
For liberal politicians it has been difficult to make their case that the newcomers are needed. Until now, every effort they’ve made to shield themselves from the issue has proven fruitless.
As Fortuyn pointed out, much of the problem stems from cultural differences between native Europeans and new arrivals. In fact, it is quite possible that the real problem is not so much with new immigrants, as with the European-born children of those who arrived in recent decades. Many of them have held fast to the culture of their parents, maintaining the gulf that separates them from the mainstream of the new land.
Fortuyn, in one of his many politically incorrect moments, called Islam a backward religion. He asked the Dutch to point to a Muslim country where, as in the Netherlands, women enjoy equal rights and homosexuals are not subjected to persecution. The view that immigrants must respect the rules and the values of their adoptive country has become universally accepted in the Netherlands today.
The embattled Muslims were not helped by Sept. 11 or reports that Richard Reid, the alleged shoe bomber, got his infamous shoes in Amsterdam, or that the Netherlands may be a center of operations for Al Qaeda.
Struggling to find a successful response, politicians across Europe are looking closely at the Dutch experience, coming on the heels of right-wing advances in Denmark, France, Portugal and other European countries.
In Britain, Tony Blair has become a champion of immigration reform. When his home secretary remarked that foreigners are “swamping” British schools and then refused to apologize for the statement, Blair expressed his full support for the minister.
As politicians wrestle with the issue, life in Europe is changing for newcomers.
Multiculturalism is now very ’90s. The new watchwords are integration and assimilation. Following the lead from other European countries, the Netherlands is preparing to introduce tough laws limiting welfare benefits for immigrants, making it easier to deport illegal arrivals, and compelling new residents to learn the language and the culture of the progressive country they want to call home.
