deBuren

Geert Wilders has become the cornerstone of the Dutch government and in Belgium it seems there will be no cabinet without De Wever. The traditional political parties are heavily criticized and they paint bleak pictures as populist newcomers are settling down in the centre of power. Former Minister of State Jean-Luc Dehaene: “We must never forget that a democracy can destroy itself.”

Be that as it may, but who’s responsible for this? Why do the PVV and NVA grow so fast and  why do traditional parties have so much trouble keeping their electorate? What is their secret formula of success and what are the others doing wrong? Are the Netherlands and Belgium, the one with a minority-, and the other without a government, at risk of becoming uncontrollable?

Machiavelli in Brussels, in close collaboration with the Flemish-Dutch House deBuren and the Dutch Ambassy, invites you for an evening debate with the following guests:

Annemie NEYTS, president of the European Liberal Party and MEP

Frans TIMMERMANS, Member of the Dutch Parliament of the PvdA

Barry MADLENER, delegation leader of the PVV in the European Parliament

Sarah DE LANGE, Assistant Professor of Qualitative Methodology in the Department of Political Science in Amsterdam, specialized in the rise of populist parties in West European democracies.

Moderator:

Peter VANDERMEERSCH, editor in chief at NRC/Handelsblad, former editor in chief at De Standaard.