Jouke Huijzer is editor in chief of Jacobin Nederland.
The Dutch elections were a victory for liberal centrists and a defeat for the anti-immigration Geert Wilders. Yet with the overall right-wing vote stronger than ever, there’s little reason for celebration.
Long-standing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is set to be NATO’s next secretary general. To win the role, he had to prove his alignment with Washington — and he did so by repeatedly misleading the public about Israel’s crimes.
Ahead of last week’s Dutch elections, the center-left called on voters to stop far-right leader Geert Wilders — but he won easily anyway. The Left needs to give working-class people a hopeful project to rally behind, not just rhetoric about defending democracy.
Faced with Israel’s collective punishment of Gaza, European leaders have offered unqualified support. Their disinterest in defending international law shows there’s no such thing as “a rules-based order” — just imperial powers, and their chosen allies.