Geert Milders

He has turned 60, our Geert from Venlo. And nuance has reached him too. That is considered very pleasant by many. Apparently, his ideas have more fans than you would think, but he has not been able to elevate them to generally accepted views because of his sharp wording. The way he talks about the risks of Islam now, even (moderate) Muslims will be willing to listen to him. Then you get into a dialogue and start solving problems together. Geert appeals to his own electorate and they are not exclusively Islam critics. He is a staunch advocate of investment in healthcare, accompanied by the elimination of bureaucracy that has gotten out of control. He believes this could free up 500,000 jobs. That seems very optimistic, but that it makes sense to reduce bureaucracy is clear to everyone.

It is funny that everyone is now saying that, including the parties that created this bureaucracy. Just as Mrs Bikker of the Christian Union pretends she is going to solve the problems of farmers, while on this two CU agriculture ministers have gone completely under. Surely it would be much more credible if she said that it is not up to her to utter big words about this state of affairs.

What is poverty?
Subsistence security is another key issue for Geert Wilders' party. But not only them, practically all parties come up with this. It is even in the constitution. In that context, different figures are constantly being mentioned regarding poverty in the Netherlands. Last I heard, it was 825,000 people, 200,000 of whom were children. And it stops at those figures. My questions are not. What is poverty? How are these people identified? And why not just give them money if you still know who they are, instead of rigging up a jungle of new rules?

Again, we have to make do with examples chosen very subjectively. Journalists should also be held accountable for this for once. If you interview someone on the street, who is that person? And why is that person's opinion illustrative of the issue you are addressing as a journalist. A woman was interviewed who can no longer make ends meet, she told me. Her child next to her at the table, the tears can't be contained. Until I see tattooed arms from top to bottom. A quick look at some tattoo shop websites tells me that this involves several thousand euros.

Fundamental society issues
Let us define poverty and let us distinguish between self-created poverty and poverty from powerlessness. What I have been warning about for years is now coming to the surface. People are incapable of dealing sensibly with the freedoms we give them. The intellectual part of the society talks about our freedoms, but then has no solutions to the degradation of people in our society, of the financial malpractice of households that extends to the higher incomes, of the massive use of drugs, of poverty due to licentious consumption and contracting of debts. I don't visit the city often, but you can't ignore the fact that there are more vagrants. As the temperature drops, these have to seek protection in porches and under bridges. The illegals crawl into the homes of their friends in the AZC. I am reminded of New York in the 1970s. New Yorkers stepped over the bums while shopping; we do the same now.

I am very curious to know the real story. Just pouring €2 billion into the budget to fight poverty is totally irresponsible in my opinion. What is going on in our society? The most basic components of a welfare state are no longer self-evident. An unreliable government, major shortcomings in the care sector, no security regarding energy supply, massive influx of emigrants, poverty, drug abuse, unhealthy food, consuming until we drop. I am glad there are elections and that for the sake of the campaigns, politicians have to answer fundamental questions on these issues. But it runs too deep to expect quick solutions from the incoming government now. Omtzigt also very realistically calls his election programme Time for Recovery. From his burnout, he has learnt that recovery takes as long as the time you've allowed society to fester.

Let's just take stock in 10 years.