GEERT WILDERS' ANTI-ISLAM FREEDOM PARTY SURGING

Geert Wilders is best known for his strong words against Islam. In fact, his government has put him on trial. He is facing five criminal counts of defamation and incitement to violence for expressing his thoughts about Islam. As it turns out, the attempts to censor Wilders via prosecution may actually be backfiring.

Already a member of Dutch Parliament, Wilders has created a political party known as the Anti-Islam Freedom Party. Recently, the Dutch Cabinet fell out of power and there were elections held in two municipalities - The Hague and Almere. Unlike the United States, which currently runs on a two-party system, The Netherlands has multiple parties and must rely heavily on party coalitions. Courtesy of the elections just held in those two cities, Wilders' party is now the largest in Almere and the second largest in The Hague.

As Radio Netherlands points out, these elections quite likely could consist of some foreshadowing of the upcoming national elections on June 9th. One might liken it to the U.S. elections of Republican governors in New Jersey and Virginia as well as Scott Brown in Massachusetts - a potential harbinger of much larger defeats for Democrats if Republicans don't fumble between now and November.

Potentially even more stunning for Wilders might just be that if his party ultimately ends up being the largest following the June 9th elections - a distinct possibility when factoring in the results from The Hague and Almere - Wilders could end up as Prime Minister. Via Radio Netherlands:

And, of course, Mr Wilders now has his eye on the larger prize. His Freedom Party has profited more than any other from the fall of the Dutch cabinet ten days ago. The party currently has nine seats in parliament (out of 150).
If voters had elected a new parliament on Wednesday, the Freedom Party would have won between 24 and 27 seats. In one poll, it would be the largest single party. If his party does that well come June, Geert Wilders could become the next prime minister.

Isn't it curious how a man who is on trial for defaming and inciting hatred against Muslims is getting such support from the people within his country?

Not to be too premature - it's what I do - but this entire saga seems to be taking on an almost Churchilian air to it. Winston Churchill was rejected by his country in the 1930's for a variety of reasons, one of which was his saying things about the Nazis that no one wanted to hear. Here is an excerpt from the BBC history page on Churchill talking about Great Britain turning its back on him in the 1930's:

The next decade were his 'wilderness years', in which his opposition to Indian self-rule and his support for Edward VIII during the 'Abdication Crisis' made him unpopular, while his warnings about the rise of Nazi Germany and the need for British rearmament were ignored. When war broke out in 1939, Churchill became first lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister and Churchill took his place. His refusal to surrender to Nazi Germany inspired the country. He worked tirelessly throughout the war, building strong relations with US President Roosevelt while maintaining a sometimes difficult alliance with the Soviet Union.

Incidentally, Winston Churchill wrote about Islam as well, in a book titled, "The River War":

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism[72 virgins, I'm assuming] deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity.

The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities - but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."

Is Geert Wilders going through his wilderness years via the trial designed to silence him? Is June, 2010 in The Netherlands going to see a 180 degree shift in leadership like the spring of 1940 in Great Britain? Are those who are prosecuting Wilders assuming the role of Neville Chamberlain and ultimately going to face a similar legacy? Are the voters in The Netherlands going to quicken that legacy?

Stay tuned. June 9th ain't that far off.

h/t to Jawa Report