The prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte (of the supposedly classically liberal VVD party), said in an interview with Dutch website Nu.nl that he realizes signing the EU treaty with Ukraine could cost him votes. Still, he implied that he intends on doing so.
The hypocritical prime minister who, for months, pretended he’d take the referendum results seriously (more than 60 percent of Dutch voters voted against the treaty in a referendum earlier this year) has no actual intent of doing so. Yes, he says, he realizes that it may cost him some votes, but hey, he’s the prime Minister, which means he knows what’s best. Those foolish voters could share their opinion, but there’s nobody to force him to respect their wishes. And so he’ll do what his European paymasters in Brussels want him to do.
I realize that ratifying the treaty will cost me votes. However, that decision is mine to make as a politician. Even if I get legally binding statements that the treaty can’t result in a future EU-membership for the Ukraine, some folks are bound to be angered. At least I did everything I could to take away most of their concerns. Still, I don’t expect every voter who voted against the treaty in the referendum to celebrate my decision.
Oh, how kind of him not to “expect” such a thing! How open-minded! It’s truly impressive and inspiring.
Obviously, when a politician makes such statements, it’s clear that he’s planning to sign the treaty. The people were asked for their opinion, but when they didn’t share his views he simply decided to ignore them.
If you needed more proof that populists like Geert Wilders are set to win the Dutch elections (which will take place in March next year), this should suffice. The establishment doesn’t care about the views of the people. What other recourse do Dutch voters have except for a popular revolt?
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