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Poll favourite may put anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders in Cabinet

08 June 2010 02:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician who wants to tax Muslim headscarves and ban mosque building, could join the next government, the leader of the countryâ€™s biggest party said, APA reports quoting â€œTimes Onlineâ€.
Mark Rutte, who is tipped to be the next Prime Minister after Wednesdayâ€™s vote, told The Times that he was prepared to share power with the anti-Islamic MP in a new coalition.
Mr Rutteâ€™s right-wing Liberal Party (VVD) is expected to win the largest number of seats in the general election and polls suggest that it could form a majority with the Christian Democrats and Mr Wildersâ€™ Freedom Party.
Mr Wilders, 46, was prohibited from visiting Britain last year by Jacqui Smith, the then Home Secretary, because of his inflammatory views but managed to overturn the ban. His party is in fourth place after briefly topping opinion polls this year.
Mr Rutte dismissed suggestions that his country could suffer an international backlash if he offered a Cabinet post to Mr Wilders. He said that he saw the Freedom Party as â€œjust another partyâ€, and disagreed with its policies on headscarves and mosques. He and Mr Wilders agreed however that the Netherlands should restrict immigration and cut benefits to recent arrivals.
Speaking to The Times during a break in campaigning in The Hague, Mr Rutte, 43, said that he was open to forming a coalition with Mr Wilders, just as he was with the Labour Party led by Job Cohen, the former Mayor of Amsterdam, which is second in the polls. â€œFor me, the Wilders party and the social democratic Labour Party â€” we do not rule out a coalition with any of the two,â€ he said. â€œWith both of them, we have many points of difference. But I am not distancing myself from Wilders on the basis of morality, like the Labour Party leader Job Cohen. He is saying Wildersâ€™ party is wrong.
â€œThe problem with Wilders is that he is quite left-wing on the economy . . . while at the same time we agree with some of the measures we could take on immigration in the Netherlands. We disagree on this issue of Islam.â€
Asked if he thought that the Netherlands would suffer from problems in the Islamic world if Mr Wilders were part of the government, he said: â€œI donâ€™t think so. For me it is just another party.â€
Latest polls for the 150-seat Parliament put the VVD on 36 seats, Labour on 29, the Christian Democrats on 24, the Freedom Party on 18 â€” double its current number of MPs â€” and the Socialist Party on 12.
Dutch commentators believe that Mr Rutte is keeping open the possibility of coalitions involving Mr Wilders and Mr Cohen to try to attract their voters.
Dutch party leaders
Jan Peter Balkenende, Christian Democrats (CDA), 54
Prime Minister four times since 2002 without completing a full term due to crises that have broken up his coalitions.
A doctor in law, married with a daughter, likened to Harry Potter because of his round glasses and boyish looks.
Supported intervention in Afghanistan, the issue which brought down his fourth government when Labour walked out over his plans to extend Dutch troopsâ€™ mission.
Hit controversy in the election campaign for evading a female TV presenterâ€™s questions and explaining that she was â€œlooking so sweetlyâ€ at him.
Mark Rutte, Peopleâ€™s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), 43
Beat more prominent MPs to become leader in 2006, served as a minister in the first two Balkenende governments from 2002-06.
Referred to as the most eligible bachelor in Dutch politics, he was a senior executive at Unilever in Rotterdam before entering full-time politics.
Characterised by opponents as â€œWilders liteâ€ for his tough stance on restricting immigration, but is careful never to attack Islam.
Same age as David Cameron and Nick Clegg and knows both, saying that his policies are closer to Mr Cameronâ€™s.
Job Cohen, Labour Party (PVDA), 62
Made his name as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001, quitting in March to lead Labour into the election.
Married with two children, a former academic at Maastricht University whose Jewish grandparents were victims of the Holocaust. Describes himself as throughly secular.
Conducted the first gay wedding ceremony in Amsterdam and has led a crackdown on the cityâ€™s red light district.
Geert Wilders, Freedom Party (PVV), 46
Instantly recognisable from his bouffant dyed blonde hair, he was forced to leave the VVD in 2004 for refusing to follow the party line of support for EU membership for Turkey.
Lives under constant armed guard with his wife after receiving numerous death threats for hardline anti-Islamic views, which include a headscarf tax and a ban on building mosques. Has likened the Koran to Hitlerâ€™s Mein Kampf and produced a controversial film called Fitna (Strife) which juxtaposed images of the Koran with the 9/11 attacks, beheadings and anti-western demonstrations.