Migration has become the defining issue of the upcoming Dutch elections, as politicians from both the right and center-right warn of a growing cultural divide in the Netherlands.
Deputy Prime Minister Mona Keijzer of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) voiced alarm over what she called a decline in freedom, blaming failed migration policies and the expanding influence of Islamic culture.
She proposed changes to the Public Demonstrations Act to ban public street prayers and spoke against the normalization of face coverings and headscarves in education and politics, arguing these are inconsistent with Dutch cultural values.
Meanwhile, Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has dubbed October 29 “D-day for the Netherlands,” vowing to end open-border policies he says have fueled crime and social unrest. Protests against new asylum centers have erupted across the country, with police clashes and arrests reported in Houten.