The EU has only itself to blame for Geert Wilders

On the same day that the Dutch went to the polls my teenage daughter went to Strasbourg on a school trip. Once in the EU parliament she and her classmates were given a guided tour by a French MEP; she was charming, by all account, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

My daughter’s class had their photo taken as a memento of the visit and underneath it was captioned: ‘Europe is important because, together, we can protect our way of life’.

Her class outing was part of an initiative organised by Together.eu, whose slogan is ‘For democracy’. Their mission statement explains that they are ‘dedicated to getting as many people as possible involved in the democratic life of Europe.’

Surely then they would have been satisfied with the turnout in the Dutch elections, where 78 per cent of the electorate cast a vote. Then again, perhaps not, given that the winner in a sensational result was Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom (PVV).