Courtesy of Mish.
Emile Roeme, a socialist running on an anti-Brussels, anti-austerity plan is likely to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands.
On the extreme right, populist Geert Wilders wants the Netherlands to withdraw from the eurozone completely.
The centrists who support the nannyzone feel squeezed in the middle, and their days appear numbered.
In a case of Dutch Discontent, Socialists Ride Wave of Anti-EU Sentiment
The economy is in trouble and unemployment is rising — in the Netherlands as in much of the rest of Europe. Ahead of upcoming elections, the Socialists are riding a wave of euro-skepticism and may emerge as the strongest political force in the country.
According to the polls, [Emile Roeme] the former elementary school teacher could become the next prime minister of the Netherlands.
‘Over My Dead Body’
Roemer owes this popularity to his skepticism about Europe. “Having even more Brussels is not the solution to Europe’s crisis,” he says. The Socialist rails against the European Commission’s austerity targets, under which the Netherlands is supposed to reduce its budget deficit to below the Maastricht Treaty ceiling of 3 percent of GDP by next year.
“Over my dead body,” says Roemer, referring to the possibility of penalties being imposed by the European Commission. It is also a jibe at the German chancellor, who used similar language to express her views on introducing euro bonds. Too much power has been placed into the hands of uncontrollable technocrats, Roemer claims. “The economic policy Brussels wants to dictate to us is downright antisocial.”
If Roemer prevails in the parliamentary election on Sept. 12, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will lose one of the few supporters of her Europe-wide austerity program. The Dutch have stood with the Germans when it comes to imposing strict conditions on countries like Greece.
Now the Socialist leader wants his fellow Dutchmen to vote in a referendum on the fiscal pact, one of Merkel’s pet projects, which aims to impose budgetary discipline on the 25 signatory countries. The government in The Hague, which collapsed in April over a national austerity package, has not ratified the agreement yet.
One Fewer Gold Star…
