The poll is seen as a litmus test for the Netherlands and its democratic ideals, as activists decry a hardening of political discourse driven by Geert Wilders
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he drawing depicted two women; a young blonde with a friendly expression and a scowling older woman wearing a headscarf. On top of the image was a nod to this month’s general election in the Netherlands, along with the phrase “The choice is yours.”
The social media post, made by the far-right, anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders, prompted a record 14,000 complaints to the country’s anti-discrimination hotline. “Many of those who called to report the image compared it to Nazi propaganda from the second world war,” the hotline said in a statement, adding that the 19 anti-discrimination agencies associated with the hotline had flagged the post to police, amid concerns that it could be an incitement to hatred.
It was a glimpse of how the discourse across the Netherlands has hardened in recent years, as politicians disproportionately target Muslims, asylum-seekers and other minority communities in a bid to drum up votes. As polls suggest that Wilders’ party could again emerge with the most votes, the election on 29 October has been recast as a broader litmus test for the country and its democratic ideals.
