Wilders left the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD in Dutch), having been a member since 1989, to form his own political party, Groep Wilders, later renamed Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV or Party for Freedom). He left the liberal party, over a dispute within the VVD in late August 2004 about, among other things, his refusal to share the party's position that EU-accession negotiations must be started with Turkey. Geert Wilders has been in the Tweede Kamer since 1998.
His party program states that Wilders' party is committed to freedom of the individual; Wilders believes that the Netherlands has been held hostage by elitist (mostly social democrat and left-wing liberal) politicians for decades. He claims to want to give it "back to the people", and in this respect he can be seen as a populist.
His political views (and so the ones of the PVV as well) often overlap those of the murdered Pim Fortuyn and his List Pim Fortuyn. There are strong resemblances, certainly on socio-economic issues, to libertarianism. Wilders wants to lower taxes, decrease most welfare, raise highway speed limits and cut state regulations by making it mandatory to scrap two legal rules for every new one to be instated. On the crime issue he has supported a U.S.-style three strikes law with mandatory life sentences after three separate acts of violent crime.
A few weeks after the assassination, Geert Wilders stayed away from regular meetings in parliament for several weeks. Even though a member's presence is not mandatory, it is uncommon not to show up for weeks on end. Wilders has stated that he did this out of concern for his personal security. Having been assigned a new seating position in the parliamentary meeting hall (one further away from the public observation area), he has once again started to attend meetings.
Wilders is under constant security protection because of frequent threats to his life. On 10 November 2004, two suspected terrorists were captured after an hour-long siege of a building in The Hague. They had three grenades and have been accused of planning to murder Geert Wilders as well as then fellow MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The men in question were presumed members of what the Dutch intelligence agency, the AIVD, has termed the Hofstadgroep.
In September 2007, a Dutch woman was sentenced a 1-year prison term for sending out more than 100 threatening emails to Wilders. In recent interviews Geert Wilders more than once indicated that the Dutch constitution and European Convention on Human Rights should be changed or temporarily revoked if necessary to better protect the Dutch people from Islamic extremism. He is in favor of stripping criminals with dual nationality of their Dutch citizenship and deporting them to their country of origin. This has led to considerable criticism. The Muhammad cartoons controversy Wilders published the specific set of cartoons on his website (1 February 2006), purportedly in support of the Danish cartoonists and freedom of speech. Following his publication, Wilders stated he had received more than 40 death threats in just two days.
The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported in May 2007 that Geert Wilders had been shadowed by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service for years, when he was foreign affairs spokesman for the VVD. During that time, Wilders regularly visited with the Israeli embassy in The Hague. [4] Sources in the security service said that the service would have liked to eavesdrop on the conversations between Wilders and the Israeli personnel. [5] The security service denied the allegations, saying it never shadowed or eavesdropped on Wilders.
On 15 December 2007, Wilders was declared politician of the year by NOS-radio, a mainstream Dutch radio station. The parliamentary press praised his ability to dominate political discussion and to attract the debate and to get into publicity with his well-timed one-liners. [7] The editors eventually gave the title to Wilders because he was the only one who scored high both among the press as well as the general public. [8] [9]
In response to Wilders' outspoken statements and his Position on Islam is referring to the increased population of Muslims in the Netherlands, Wilders has said "Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country. There is a battle going on and we have to defend ourselves. Before you know it there will be more mosques than churches!" [11]
Later, Wilders suggested that Muslims should 'tear out half of the Koran if they wished to stay in the Netherlands' because it contained 'terrible things' and that Muhammad would 'in these days be hunted down as a terrorist'. These statements caused strong reactions in Muslim countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. On 8 August 2007, Wilders opined in a letter [14] to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the Koran, which he called a "fascist book", should be outlawed in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. [15] He stated that: "The book incites hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order." On 15 August 2007, a representative of the Prosecutors' Office in Amsterdam declared that "dozens of reports" against Wilders had been filed, and that they were all being considered. Due to this position on Islam, the rapper Appa said he did not care if Wilders would be shot in the head. Wilders then charged him with threatening with death. The rapper Appa denied actual threatening, claiming he just wouldn't care and accusing Wilders of doing the same to Muslims.
Movie on Koran, Wilders is said to publish a movie on the Koran in early 2008. It is unclear who will broadcast the item, but Wilders will also put a copy on the internet site Youtube. In a recent poll 65% of Dutch citizens believe the movie should be broadcast on TV, in particular on the government-funded public broadcasting channels. [18]The Dutch government has already made evacuation plans for Dutch embassies abroad in the case the planned movie would lead to mob violence.
I admire this man because he states the obvious in the Netherlands. I to do not consider then Koran a holy book. I find that the book is absurd, corrupt, debasing,and its an epitaph that is contrary to my very existance and life as I know it. I predict in the coming decades there will be many more people holding this view. Especially as we tire of dodging missiles, bombs, bullets, and other mayhem in the coming years. I know many are getting worn out tolerating these people who have no regard for human life and want us all dead. I hav had enough of muslims and there idiocy.
