Geert Wilders: “All muslims who cause ‘problems’ should be deported”
Far-Right Dutch MP and Controversy-merchant Geert Wilders on Danish TV yesterday launched an attack on Muslims , declaring that ‘most crime in Denmark and the Netherlands is committed by Muslims’ and stating ‘you commit a crime or start thinking about jihad or sharia… we’ll send you away the same way”.
Yes, it seems these fascists love democracy so much they will instantly ’send away’ anyone who starts thinking about something they don’t like.
His Dutch party, the PVV, has become the second-largest Dutch party in the European Parliament, and he said that he could become Prime Minister ‘within two years’. He was speaking at the Danish Parliament, at an event similar to what he wanted to put on in the British Parliament before being refused entry. Seems like we really missed a treat.
Despite his outspoken attitude, Wilders has refused to take part in a face-to-face debate. The Dutch Minister for Integration, Eberhard van de Laan, said “I have never been able to have a debate with him… sometimes I think ‘come on sir, where are you?’ .
I wish our ministers would do the same to Griffin et al.
Don’t Abolish PMQs
Apparently several Speakers candidates have called for the end to Prime Ministers Questions. I believe this would be a mistake.
Sir Alan Beith is right. PMQs is often like a schoolyard, and yes, often worse. Full of jokes Rory Bremner would be embarrassed about, and often not much is revealed. But to abolish it would be to completely go against the grain of the current mood of the time. When there is a tremendous push for accountability, when the public want a more powerful parliament at the expense of a less powerful executive, there would be nothing more counter-productive than getting rid of the ultimate symbol of parliamentary accountability: The ability to question the Head of Government.
I recently spent some time in America, and whenever the subject came up, Americans always respond wistfully at the idea of a similar system of ours. The ability for their Congress to question the President on his actions. Constitutionally that would be questionable, but nevertheless the idea is constant. Without the ability of our representatives to question the Prime Minister, He would become answerable only to the cabinet and the (currently) the voters of Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath. This is can not acceptable in a parliamentary democracy .
If there is a massive movement to end the bearpit that PMQs currently is there is a simple solution, to reduce the amount of questions the Leader of the Opposition can answer to allow more backbench MP questions. However, I can’t imagine there is any great movement outside the Westminster Village to abolish it. PMQs gets by far and away the best ratings, and I shudder to think how knowledge of parliament and politics would suffer if one of the few remaining draws, PMQs, was abolished.
Gordon Brown and David Cameron in the 'bearpit'. All part of a healthy democracy.
In the competition for Speaker, there will be rightly a great push for reform, however we can’t get carried away. There are many aspects that, while perhaps ugly, are all part of a healthy liberal democracy that we can not afford to suffocate.
A New Blog
So many opportunities, I still smell the fresh paint on the wall.. Thank you for visiting this new blog. If you can still see this on page one, then you have stumbled upon a brand new blog. It’s not fantastic at the moment, and I can imagine finding a writing style that suits me will take a while so bear with me, but I swear I want to stay with this one. So let me introduce myself.
My name’s Andrew, I’m a student of Politics at the University of Newcastle (UK), I have just completed my second year. I am three-year member of the Labour Party, and a one month member of the Co-operative Party.
In this blog I hope to report/comment on domestic politics, of the UK and the US principally, but also trying to pay attention to the domestic politics of Europe. I also have an interest in International Affairs and political philosophy.
I want to keep this first post short and sweet. Hopefully in time I will make this blog more suitable and presentable, but until then, enjoy the amateurish nature.
