Rotterdam January 31, 2005

I would like to thank you, for letting me speak here. This is my first speech in The Netherlands since the murder of Theo van Gogh. I consider it an honor to make my comeback here in Rotterdam together with you.

I want to use tonight’s speech here, to tell you about my plans for my political movement and most of all, my plans for this nation. The coming months I will go public with more ideas and gradual transform from an independent representative to a large public movement.

It has not been an easy time since I left the Liberal party (VVD). Of course I already was a maverick liberal. Last year I published together with my former colleague Oplaat my ten-point plan. The essence of that plan was that the liberal party (VVD) was too left wing. Leading liberals even want to unite with social-liberals (D66) and socialists (PvdA). Now I left the liberal party (VVD), this seems a good idea to me. The liberal party (VVD) is a very purple party. All major parties in parliament are one of a kind. Let them all merge together.

In the 90’s we thought we where on holiday from History. As if we where done. But September 11th acted for many as a wake up call. Long before 2001, I had already warned against the radical Islam, but the government ignored all warnings.

The Netherlands slept quietly further. The elite refused to see the dangers that threatened us. Also the murder of Theo van Gogh did not bring the moral clarity we need at this moment. Our elite keeps on speaking non-sense about how we should start the dialog. Drinking tea as a remedy against terror.

Now is the moment to act. It will soon be spring, time for spring-cleaning. I do not make a difference between terror against the state and terror on the streets. Who on the street (Lijnbaan in the center of Rotterdam) prevents that medical rescue service workers can do their work, should just be arrested. Is such a person a holder of a foreign passport, makes it easier. Because this person can be send quickly out of the country. Every week airplanes arrive at Schiphol airport coming from Turkey and Morocco with new immigrants with no perspectives. It would be good if the return flights also had some passengers.

Terrorism is not something you solve with a orange bracelet or a binding day. We should give all we have to protect our families.

The government comes with new paper plans, but in the mean time they do practically nothing. There is not a single radical mosque closed, not a single radical imam evicted from the country and not even one of the hundred and fifty terrorists under surveillance by the intelligence service is caught. With intentions and laws only, you will not solve the problem of the radical Islam. What this country needs, are politicians with guts that dare to stick their neck out and act when needed. Regarding the war on terror the gentleman [justice minister] Donner, [Domestic affairs minister] Remkes and [prime minister] Balkenende, bark but don’t bite.

Last week the trial against Mohammed B. [murderer of Theo van Gogh] started. A letter written by him illustrates what kind of emergency we are in. B. hoped that it would not take much longer “before the knights of Allah will march into the Binnenhof [parliament] and in the middle of the square will rise the flag of the Tawheed. The parliament will be renamed Sharia-court and the chairman’s hammer will confirm the Islamic judgments. Out of the tower of Kok [room of prime minister] will sound the praises for Allah.

I often hear a lot of nonsense coming from that tower, but I must say: rather Balkenende than Allah.

My stand on Islam and integration [of immigrants in Dutch society] is well known. Today I also want to talk with you about the economy and Europe. Two important subjects for the time to come.

It’s time for a fresh start for the Netherlands. The re-birth has not only to do with the current war that is going on, but also with the economy. The Netherlands is not doing well. We are satisfied. We have fallen a sleep. There is a slump. We are satisfied with a growth figure between 1% and 1.5%. Our competitive position has eroded. The welfare state becomes too expensive and the pensions are under pressure. Meanwhile China is ready to take over.

This is thus the time to focus more on business. The Netherlands should come in motion again. The Netherlands should get up to speed. What should happen is that our businesses get opportunities to grow. Now the government consumes more than half of our gross national product. Joe average must pay from his salary to many civil servants, to much red tape and squander. And his boss looses even more on useless rules and taxes.

I like to quote Thatcher: “it’s not governments that create jobs, businesses do”

If businesses and people are allowed to keep more money for them selves, then there stays more money to spend and invest. That will create jobs. Thus the government should be smaller, much smaller. And taxes should be lower, much lower. That means less civil servants, less money to the European technocrats and less to development aid.

Between the year 2000 and 2003 the number of civil servants of the local governments grew with nearly 30.000 to a total of 250.000 [on a population of 16 million], and that in a time when jobs at businesses shrink with 1%. We can do without the company of tens of thousands of these civil servants.

With them a third of all our working people in The Netherlands work as a civil servant, that means: nearly not economically productive.
And their salaries don’t get lower, on the contrary. In 2003 the top municipality officials saw their salary rise with 16.2 %. Note, this was in just one year.

Also the welfare state keeps getting more expensive. The Netherlands: as land of plenty. The growth of the WAO [disability benefits] has stopped, but a real decay is still not there. Good social benefits are important, especially if it involves a decent AOW [old age benefits], but a million disabled means there is large scale misuse. When I recently visited the U.S. and told business people that we had 1 million disabled people and that 1 out for 4 people with an age between 15 and 65 is inactive, they asked me if an epidemic had struck our country.

An expanding government is hanging as a drunken man on the neck of our hard working citizens. Growing numbers of bureaucrats, produce a growing number of rules that together cost us more and more. That has to stop. I want to take a stand to change this and choose. Choose for more room for businesses and people in this country and choose for a small government that redraws from unnecessary tasks and concentrates on its main objectives: safety, education and infrastructure. That means choosing to build roads and not to accept the mileage tax. I was just like you shocked when I heard that my colleague Hofstra of the liberal party (VVD) co-signed a proposal of the socialists (PvdA) that asked the government to implement the mileage tax soon.

Main objective of the Group Wilders the coming months is the battle of the referendum. U might know it: in June you may vote before or against the European constitution.

In a way it is good that you finally get an opportunity to voice your opinion directly. The Dutch population is never asked something about the European ‘fusion’. That ‘fusion’ is presented by the political parties elites (CDA, PvdA, VVD, in front) as a natural phenomenon. According to these vested parties, the European ‘fusion’ is an ‘inevitable’ fact, a train that left the station and can’t be stopped anymore. Every European treaty is without worthwhile discussion approved, no European proposal goes our leaders to far.

As a representative I judge all proposals on their merits. If something is in the interest of the Netherlands we should do it, but if it is not, we shouldn’t do it. That’s the way a representative should act: Always in the Dutch national interest. Objective and well considered. Not join none-sense because Brussel [EU headquarter] wants it so badly.

Was the abolishment of the Guilder [Dutch Currency] in the Dutch interest? The price rises caused by the euro? Denhaag gives our monetary and fiscal policies away to anonymous bureaucrats in Frankfurt. Is that really smart? France and Italy break the stability pact, the Greeks and Italians haggled when joining and the German chancellor Schroeder what’s to stretch the criteria even further.

Is it in our national interest to have a joined European refugee policy? Not being allowed to guard our borders? Is it in our national interest to be one of EU largest net contributors?

Is it in our national interest to admit more new, poor countries like Bulgaria and Romania to the union? Strangely these questions are never debated in Den Haag [Dutch parliament]. And now the political elite wants to admin Turkey to the union, a Islamic land of millions, that will have an enormous influence on the federal super state. Because of the new European constitution, Turkey will have more influence on Dutch legislation than The Netherlands it self. It can’t become crazier than this.

A considerable amount of our legislation is already coming from Brussel, most Dutch civil servants carry out European law. European laws and rules now consist of 100.000 pages. Each year that grows with a few thousand new rules. Europe is out of control. Europe is not owned by its citizens but owned by the bureaucrats in Brussel.

The European constitution abolishes the primary principle of sovereign and political independent democratic member states. Both legally as politically The Netherlands will become a province in the European super state. And do you know what socialist (PvdA) spokes person Witteveen, a big supporter of the European constitution, said in the senate during the debate over the EU referendum? He said: “The development of the EU go with little steps, often over obscure dark winding paths, but has now reached the point of no return: Dutch citizens no longer live in a sovereign nation state, the independent kingdom of The Netherlands …”. I could not have said it better than this socialist did. But in contrast to the PvdA, the CDA and the VVD, I will not accept this sell out.

If the new European constitution is accepted, more often decisions will be made by majority rule. The Netherlands looses its veto. We will lose as many as 63 veto rights. Countries with more citizens will get more influence. A country like Turkey with it’s enormous population will have more influence then the small Netherlands. Now there live 68 million people in Turkey. In 2020 there will be 83 million.

Thus the difference gets bigger and with that, Dutch influence gets smaller. Thus, the more Turks there come, the less we have to say about our own country. I hope you will go to the ballot and vote against the European constitution. This way you contribute to make The Netherlands independent again. The elite in Brussel will be disappointed next June.

The Groep Wilders will transform the coming year to a broad movement. In these times of slum, I come with a message of hope and optimism. I think The Netherlands can do better. I think our best days are still ahead. I think there is no reason for pessimism, simple because we have confronted bigger problems in the past. Look around you, and see what the Dutch together have buildup. These same Dutch should be afraid for the challenges ahead? I don’t think so.

Our issue is freedom. I put freedom central. The freedom that your mother can go out in the evenings, the freedom that your grant children are not forced to wear a head scarf, the freedom that you can spend your income on your family, the freedom to say what you want, the freedom you have because your government protects your family against terrorists, the freedom to have a job and a pleasant live, the freedom as a country to decide for our selves independently.

Since today we can add an other freedom to this list: the freedom as a Dutch to wear the Dutch flag. For example on your school bag, as the boys in IJselstijn wanted but where not allowed by their school direction, because it would provoke Moroccan students.

Freedom is the central idea. Now organizing it.

Our organization slowly emerges, with all cost involved. Later we also need extra money for a national election campaign. The existing political parties have doubled their government grants from 7 million in 2001 to 15 million euro in 2004. This way the taxpayer has to pay for commercials the Dutch elite parties make for them selves.

My new party has not yet run in parliamentary elections and that is why it not eligible to claim government grants. That means that I have to organize my finances my self.

But that is not something we are unhappy about. We are not a party that lives of the taxpayer’s money, needlessly parasite ting on the public treasury. We are a citizen’s movement: free people who make their own choices and who are not on addicted to government money.

All small donations are welcome. Because they show that this is a citizens movement. I have enormous energy to create something great. I hope, together with you. Ladies and gentleman, thank you for your attention.