Wilders dominates Dutch election campaign

The local elections in the Netherlands taking place today, Wednesday, are seen as a test run for the early parliamentary elections called after the collapse of the country's grand coalition government. The traditional parties have allowed right-wing populist Geert Wilders' favourite themes to dominate the campaign, the Belgian daily De Standaard writes: "The debate was mainly about the subjects of security, migration and the position of Muslims within society. ... But the Netherlands, like most other EU countries, is facing huge economic and social challenges. The voters of the Christian Democrat CDA, the social democratic PvdA and the liberal VVD heard little about structural solutions and measures aimed at securing future prosperity. ... They never managed to put the subject of the economy at the top of the agenda but instead allowed Wilders to drag them on to his turf. The traditional parties have thus moved into territory where they can only lose."

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