Dutch Rule of Law Alert - Why Dutch Constitutional Culture Is not Prepared for Geert Wilders' Shock Electoral Win

Abstract

It is never a good sign when Viktor Orbán celebrates the election results of another country. Last Wednesday was one of those days. For the first time in the history of Dutch politics, a far-right party became by far the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. It is bad news in many respects, and even more, because the Dutch constitutional system knows a lack of formal rule of law safeguards. In contrast to countries such as Italy or Germany, the Dutch constitutional system is not prepared for a democratic move to the anti-liberal far right.

Keywords

• Constitutional Court
• Geert Wilders
• Illiberalism
• Militant Democracy
• Netherlands
• Niederlande