Thierry Baudet, leader of the populist party Forum for Democracy, casts his ballot for the European elections in Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 23, 2019 (AP photo by Peter Dejong).
With the FvD’s Collapse, the Dutch Far Right Veers in Uglier Directions
Frida Ghitis Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020
Early last year, after the Netherlands was stunned by the victory of an upstart far-right party in provincial elections, I wondered whether the Forum for Democracy and its flamboyant 37-year-old leader, Thierry Baudet, would survive the inevitable scrutiny of their newfound prominence. Now we know, as the FvD is collapsing in spectacular fashion.
But just like the FvD’s victory did not mean that the Netherlands was taking a sharp rightward turn, the party’s dramatic demise does not bring an end to the country’s far right. As it crumbles, it is revealing the stubborn ideological ugliness that lies partly hidden in the Netherlands. ...