You want Nexit, Dutch prime minister Rutte tells anti-migrant rival Wilders
The Dutch war of words with Turkey gave anti-migrant politician Geert Wilders a stick with which to belabour Prime Minister Mark Rutte in their angry TV debate
Rotterdam — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte clashed with his main rival, anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, as they laid out starkly different visions in an election campaign fired up by a hot row with Turkey. Two days before Wednesday’s crucial general election, the Netherlands is mired in a war of words with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, providing fodder for anti-migration Wilders. "You are being taken hostage by Erdogan. Close the Dutch borders," Wilders told Rutte, as tempers flared in the 30-minute head-to-head TV debate on Monday. "That’s a totally fake solution," Rutte shot back "You want Nexit. You want the Netherlands out of Europe. You know what it will cost. Don’t do it." Wilders, crusading against "Islamisation" of the country, promises to shut Dutch borders to Muslim immigrants, close mosques and ban sales of the Koran. He also wants to follow the British and pull the country out of the EU, which it helped found. Polls suggest Wednesday’s results may be close, with ...
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