Reviewed by Edgard FrederixA book on the crisis of leadership in a civilisation losing confidence in itselfIn ‘What the World Can Learn from the Fall of the West,’ Dutch political philosopher Sid Lukkassen offers a sweeping and provocative diagnosis of our contemporary political and social order. This is not a conventional political book concerned merely with elections, parties, or policy. Lukkassen aims far deeper. His real subject is civilisational decline: the erosion of cultural resilience and cohesion, democratic legitimacy, and the capacity of Western societies to defend themselves, both physically and morally.The title of the book, inspired by Oswald Spengler’s prophetic masterpiece ‘The Decline of the West’, contains a keyword with a double meaning. The ‘fall’ of the West refers not only to collapse but also to autumn – the season in which vitality fades and winter approaches. According to Lukkassen, Europe has entered precisely such a phase of erosion: wealthy and technologically advanced, yet internally exhausted, fragmented, and gradually devoid of purpose and self-confidence.&nbsp;At the centre of his argument lies the idea of&nbsp;metapolitics: the belief that real power does not primarily reside in parliaments but in key institutions which shape perception and define acceptable thought. Universities, media organisations, bureaucracies, NGOs, and cultural organisations constitute what Lukkassen calls ‘the Citadel’ – a largely self-reinforcing network dominated by progressive ideology, unaffected by the outcome of elections. Political debates, in his view, are already framed long before citizens cast their votes.This institutional dominance, he argues, emerged through what Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci once described as ‘the long march through the institutions’. Since the classical proletarian revolution predicted by Karl Marx never materialised, the battlefield shifted from economics to culture. Ideological struggles are therefore no longer centred primarily on class, but on identity, morality, and historical legitimacy.Lukkassen’s critique of what is often labelled ‘Cultural Marxism’ forms a controversial yet central part of the book. He argues that modern Western societies increasingly interpret themselves through categories of oppression and victimhood, leading to tribalism and a permanent deconstruction of their own traditions, identities, and historical narratives. Concepts such as diversity, equity, and inclusion cease to function merely as social ideals and become instruments – even weapons – in a broader struggle over moral legitimacy and cultural power.Whether one fully agrees with this interpretation or not, Lukkassen succeeds in identifying something real about the current climate: many political conflicts today are no longer disputes over policy, but over competing moral universes. Opponents are treated not as people who are mistaken, but as people who are morally reprehensible. That leaves no room whatsoever for compromise and appeasement.&nbsp;One of the strengths of the book is that it reveals a broader cultural framework in which seemingly separate phenomena become connected: the rise of identity politics and declining democratic trust, mass immigration and falling birth rates, ecological alarmism and expanding government control are all presented as interconnected symptoms of a deeper loss of cohesion and confidence. Lukkassen’s reflections on technology and media are particularly compelling. In a world flooded by information, the capacity for sustained attention and independent thought becomes rarer. Citizens are overwhelmed by noise, while large organisations and technology platforms gain unprecedented influence over perception and behaviour. Democracy itself, he argues, becomes a hollow shell when political communication is reduced to spectacle, branding, and emotional manipulation.This concern leads to one of the book’s most intriguing concepts: Caesarism. According to Lukkassen, when democracy loses credibility and appears incapable of decisive action, societies become susceptible to charismatic anti-establishment figures who bypass political norms and govern through personality, symbolism, and direct emotional connection with the public. Donald Trump serves as Lukkassen’s primary example of such a modern-day Caesar.&nbsp;Here, Lukkassen makes an important observation: the rise of populist, disruptive leaders cannot be understood only as a cause of political instability; they are also symptoms of a deeper crisis of representation. When citizens feel that elections change little and that real power resides elsewhere, disruption itself becomes attractive.The style of the book is also intriguing. Lukkassen could be described as an academic activist, which is something relatively common on the political left, but far rarer on the right, where the author himself is situated. The book seems to move between two genres. On the one hand, it presents itself as a broad intellectual and scholarly analysis, supported by extensive references and historical parallels. On the other hand, it increasingly evolves into something closer to a political manifesto, a powerful call to action – an appeal for cultural resistance and economic and social disengagement that echoes Ayn Rand’s idea of withdrawal from a system perceived as irredeemably corrupt.This tension is not necessarily a weakness; indeed, it partly explains the book’s energy and urgency. Yet it also leaves certain questions unresolved. The proposed remedy – the construction of a parallel “breakaway society” outside the dominant institutions – remains largely abstract and difficult to imagine without some form of societal collapse. While the institutional imbalance is scrutinised in considerable detail, the practical mechanics of such an alternative remain far less clear. As a result, Lukkassen’s work is perhaps strongest as a diagnosis of present tensions rather than as a concrete political roadmap.Yet even readers who remain unconvinced by some of his conclusions will find it difficult to dismiss the broader questions he raises about cultural identity, democratic legitimacy, social cohesion, and the future direction of liberal democracies.What makes Lukkassen intellectually interesting is not merely his criticism of the contemporary West, but the uncomfortable questions he forces the reader to confront. Can liberal democracies survive when citizens no longer share a common moral framework and become tribalised? Can democratic systems function when power increasingly migrates toward technocratic, supranational, and digital structures beyond direct public control? And perhaps most importantly: can our way of life survive once it loses belief in its own validity, authority, and destiny?To me, this book illustrates how the decline of leadership can lead to civilisational decline. Many contemporary leaders have lost the confidence of the people because they no longer represent the opinions, interests, and aspirations of the wider population, but primarily those of their own elite bubble, ‘the Citadel’. It is therefore no surprise that the author frequently refers to Christopher Lasch, a left-leaning intellectual whose writings I have always admired, and who warned more than thirty years ago about the growing detachment of elites from society.Ultimately, ‘What the World Can Learn from the Fall of the West’ is less a neutral political analysis than a civilisational warning. It is both provocative and analytical. Lukkassen writes with urgency, conviction, and a willingness to articulate ideas that many mainstream commentators avoid.Whether one sees the book as an insightful diagnosis or excessive pessimism will largely depend on one’s own assumptions about the state of the West itself.But one thing is difficult to deny: it is a book that will certainly challenge you, trigger a reaction, and consequently demand a response, in one way or another. What the book will not do is leave you indifferent.&nbsp;You can get ‘What the World Can Learn from the Fall of the West’ by Sid Lukkassen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/what-the-world-can-learn-from-the-fall-of-the-west/9300000209136647/">here</a>.

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What the World Can Learn from the Fall of the West - by Sid Lukkassen

Lidewij de Vos’ magnificent speech to the Remigration Summit in Oporto is now online. Her message was simple: I am not afraid. She encouraged the attendees to stop living in fear – in fear of being labelled as this or that, in fear of being demonised. Fear, she said, is our opponents’ only weapon. She said she was speaking out for remigration because she wants to protect the future of the baby she is expecting. She regards it as her duty to do this - for herself, for her family and for her country. The British art historian, Kenneth Clarke, famously said that civilisations die when they lose self-confidence. Lidewij de Vos, and FVD generally, embody precisely that fearless self-confidence which is essential for our civilisation’s survival. That, indeed, is FVD’s political goal.Watch Lidewij’s speech&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAt9EUP9CCY">here</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="/uploads/image_4d932f07f3.png">A perfect example of the smear tactics Lidewij said she no longer fears was given after she returned from Oporto. In Parliament, following a speech she delivered, MP after MP lined up to label her views ‘extreme right’, ‘disgusting’ or even ‘filth’. Lidewij batted away these ridiculous attacks effortlessly. She then turned the table on her accusers, who claimed that she condoned or encouraged violence, by repeating that she supports peaceful protest and precisely wants an end to the terrible and repeated acts of violence committed against Europeans by asylum seekers. We have made a compilation of Lidewij’s speech in Parliament, the attacks from her colleagues, and various news reports so that people comprehend the scale of the gulf which separates FVD from the political cartel which is determined to demonise and even destroy the very nation it pretends to represent.Watch the compilation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqIL7GZQjYM">here</a><img src="/uploads/image_1049dfe2d9.png">As a result of all this, Lidewij’s and FVD’s international profile is growing. She was interviewed this week by Junge Freiheit, the well-established conservative newspaper in Germany. We have translated the interview into English. It is a sympathetic portrait in which Lidewij lays out with clarity what FVD is all about.Read Lidewij’s interview&nbsp;<a href="https://fvdinternational.com/article/from-biochemistry-and-music-to-politics">here</a><img src="/uploads/image_60784ff2ac.png">FVD International’s director, John Laughland, was a speaker at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum this year, on a panel discussing whether there is any role for diplomacy in today’s chaotic world. John used the panel to present and develop Emmanuel Todd’s thesis that nihilism is the cause of the defeat of the West. Nihilism is the belief in nothing – the belief that nothing can be something and that reality can be created by thought. It is at the origin of Europe’s systemic politics of illusion – the belief that a man can become a woman, the belief that artificial states like Bosnia or Kosovo, or for that matter Ukraine, can have a genuine autonomous existence. Trapped inside a deeply ideological view of the world, European leaders are essentially incapable of diplomacy, which involves give and take and the language of interests, instead of the moral framing which – see the remarks about Lidewij above – infects all European political activity.Watch John’s speech&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyqTSd6NYAY">here</a><img src="/uploads/image_363823c11f.png">Our guest on The Forum this week was Alex Krainer, the former commodities trader turned geopolitical analyst. Alex is convinced that war is driven by banks seeking out ever new sources of collateral on which to issue ever more stratospheric levels of debt. They seek this collateral mainly in the form of the control over territory and natural resources. Alex is convinced that the West’s defeats in Ukraine and Iran mean that the latest grab by the financial system has failed and the house of cards can only collapse sooner or later. If you missed the show, watch back.Watch The Forum&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opLWs1yQSGw">here</a>

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The Weekly Forum - 11 June 2026

Dutch young politician de Vos: “I saw my homeland disappearing”<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/kategorie/debatte/interview/">Interview</a> with Lidewij de Vos,&nbsp;<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/debatte/interview/2026/niederlaendische-jungpolitikerin-de-vos-ich-sah-meine-heimat-verschwinden/">Junge Freiheit</a>, 7 June 2026 by Curd-Torsten Weick and Mina Buts.Like Germany, the Netherlands is also grappling with the consequences of mass migration. In an interview with the JF, 28-year-old FVD parliamentary group leader Lidewij de Vos reveals what kind of political change is needed in Europe.Dear Ms de Vos, how does a young biochemist and musician end up in politics?<a href="https://x.com/lidewij_devos">Lidewij de Vos</a>: I sometimes ask myself that too. Science and music are two wonderful subjects, and I could happily have devoted my working life to them, had it not been for the political reality that forced itself upon me: mass immigration, which threatens our security, our welfare and, above all, our homeland; the ever-expanding EU, which is eroding our sovereignty; and ideological fallacies such as the climate and ‘woke’ agendas, which increase the state’s influence over us on a daily basis. I saw my homeland disappearing before my very eyes.Why did you join the Forum for Democracy (FVD) party specifically, and not Geert Wilders’ PVV?de Vos: From the outset, the PVV was a&nbsp;<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2026/geert-wilders-pvv-fraktion-zerbricht-nach-streit/">one-man project led by Geert Wilders,</a> who never intended to build an organisation.&nbsp;<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2025/hollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sichhollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sich-sonntag-frei-kont/">Thierry Baudet,</a> however, wanted to do just that. Right from the start, Forum was a movement rather than a party. FVD seeks not only a political but also a cultural shift; one follows from the other. We are not an ‘anti’ party, as the PVV often presents itself, but have a positive vision of the Netherlands which we also want to put into practice.<img src="/uploads/image_0f2426052c.png">We saw this in the previous cabinet with the PVV: even as the largest party, which also provided the Minister for Migration, there was no noticeable change. The driving forces behind the migration agenda are found right down to the lowest levels in ministries and hidden within countless NGOs and other action groups. If we want to combat them, we need our own people: we must nurture talent, create a network and, above all, establish our own institutions.What does that mean?de Vos: We are creating a movement. We organise “Renaissance Academies” for young talent both within and outside politics, we are starting our very first primary school next year, we run a publishing house and many other projects. It may be a long-term process, but it is our only chance.How do you engage with young people in the Netherlands?de Vos: Young people are growing up in a system that does not motivate them or encourage them to make the most of themselves. Mediocrity prevails, partly due to the quality of teaching, where the lowest common denominator counts. There is a strong urge among young people to overcome this mediocrity, but they often don’t know how to go about it. The activities of our youth organisation, JFVD, are designed precisely for this purpose. It is exciting to see how young people are striving to surpass themselves.Whether it is asking a clever question at a reading, presenting a topic to a large group, or testing their mettle in sport and games. It is infectious, motivating and has enormous appeal for young people. Excellence is good, competition is good, but good is not good enough. Those in power only have to manage the status quo; we have to excel in order to eventually overcome them. But in a team of like-minded people, that is also a wonderful task.In the Dutch local elections in mid-March this year, your party achieved the biggest nationwide increase in support. What were the reasons for this? And what impact is this having?de Vos: For one thing, the development of our movement is beginning to bear political fruit. Compared to the last elections four years ago, we stood in twice as many municipalities. This is, of course, due to the expansion of our organisation, but also to the promotion of young talent. We have also always told our story: we want local authorities to belong to the citizens once again and we oppose the intake of asylum seekers, which every local authority in the Netherlands is forced to accept under the Distribution Law. Many Dutch people see it exactly the same way, as the elections have shown. We now have 300 local councillors, six times as many as before. Now we can work for four years as the opposition or even in a coalition.The accommodation of asylum seekers in particular has been a highly contentious issue recently. What is causing the discontent?de Vos: Just like Germany, we have been grappling for decades with the consequences of mass migration, something the population never agreed to. So far, not a single government has listened to this majority; on the contrary. The Netherlands is setting one immigration record after another. Furthermore, the Distrubution Law was adopted in 2023 by the Rutte IV government, which has since been voted out of office.<img src="/uploads/image_34bf073b49.png">With the promise that immigration would decrease, asylum seekers were to be distributed ‘fairly’ across the country. In reality, local authorities were simply forced to take in asylum seekers. The vast majority of Dutch people are against this and want an end to the open-border policy. In recent weeks, the mood has shifted as asylum centres were suddenly announced or set up in numerous municipalities. There have been protests against this across the country.There were numerous protests by local residents against this, during which, however, dozens of demonstrators were sometimes arrested. What went wrong there?de Vos: Most of the people protesting were peaceful. I myself was at the protests in Loosdrecht, where the local council is trying to push through an emergency shelter. I met only ordinary Dutch people: parents, grandparents, young women, ordinary folk who are deeply concerned about the problems associated with migration and who do not want to lose their home.And yet there were arrests?de Vos: Some protests did indeed get out of hand – I do not want to gloss over that. But I think it is terrible that these incidents are now being used to criminalise the vast majority of peaceful demonstrators who have entirely legitimate concerns about asylum centres. The government is now shirking its responsibility and pretending that the violent protests are the problem. In this way, the public’s fears are dismissed and the government can carry on as before.Against this backdrop, the Minister for Asylum and Migration, Bart van den Brink, has launched an investigation by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) to determine whether there is more planning and support behind these disturbances than just concerned citizens who turned up to protest. Who does he have in mind?de Vos: According to its own statement, the intelligence service is now trying to find out whether ‘far-right’ groups are behind these protests. It is the same old strategy: instead of taking the necessary measures to end mass immigration, citizens with genuine concerns are being pushed into the far-right corner.The liberal-conservative minority government led by Rob Jetten, comprising the D66, VVD and CDA parties, has been in office since the end of February. What has it achieved so far?de Vos: Politically speaking: absolutely nothing. Socially speaking, this government has further torn our country apart.&nbsp;<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2025/hollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sichhollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sich-sonntag-frei-kont/">During the election campaign</a>,<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2025/hollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sichhollands-sozialliberale-entdecken-die-nationalflagge-fuer-sich-sonntag-frei-kont/"> Rob Jetten promised</a> to limit immigration and waved the Dutch flag. That’s why many Dutch people fell for his mainstream party once again.&nbsp;<a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2025/schwere-wahlschlappe-fuer-wilders-in-den-niederlanden/">After the elections</a>, he discarded his promises.This government is managing to shake the last shred of trust the Dutch have in politics. I am therefore all the more pleased that more and more people are finding their way to us. Our membership is growing, we were successful in the local council and parliamentary elections, and we are rising in the polls. The mass protests against the asylum centres also show that the government’s half-life has already passed. We need an alternative.

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From biochemistry and music to politics

How can it be that once proud countries now hate themselves and seem to be committing suicide? How is it that European leaders do not represent their countries’ interests and those of their people? FVD MP Milan Schenk asked these questions very firmly in the Chamber this week. The surest proof of this is the housing programme: building twice the number of houses than are needed for Dutch people, solely therefore for immigration and, ultimately, population replacement. 1.3 million migrants have come to live in the Netherlands in the last 15 years. How can a geographically relatively small country sustain such inflows? It can’t. Dutch people are squeezed out of the housing market, they cannot therefore start a family, the birth rate collapses, and the government tries to make up the shortfall by importing Africans and people from the Middle East or further afield. It is a death spiral.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oPyoNsArEM">Watch Milan Schenk’s speech here</a><img src="/uploads/image_e2bda21d4d.png">‘I stand here for the security services,’ said the Dutch Prime Minsiter, Rob Jetten, in a recent debate. He was responding to an MP who said the PM stood for the whole Chamber and for his voters. Jetten’s reply revealed a lot about the current trend towards government by the secret services, which is the truth behind all politics in all European countries. The debate was about what FVD’s parliamentary leader, Lidewij de Vos, had said about violent demonstrations against immigrants. She condemned them unequivocally - but the Prime Minister claimed that she somehow caused or tacitly encouraged that same violence. In other words, he lied. Is this how the security services, who also claim to be fighting disinformation, seek to govern our countries? When pressed, the PM said that even a hint at population replacement would encourage people to be violent, and that such remarks were therefore also condemned by the same security services. So you cannot say something because someone else might use that idea to commit a crime? This is a deranged concept of liability and must be firmly rejected in the name of justice and truth.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPIISCJXAp4">Watch the exchange in Parliament here</a><img src="/uploads/image_8505d32b75.png">Shortly after the debate in Parliament when she was mercilessly attacked, Lidewij de Vos addressed the Remigration summit held in Oporto, Portugal. Her speech was received with great emotion. She talked about the terrible effects of the asylum seeker racket on the lives of ordinary people in the Netherlands and, by implication, all over Europe. She inadvertently anticipated the Prime Minister’s later dishonest response when she explained that the government’s reaction to recent protests against asylum seekers had been to condemn the protesters rather than solve the problem they were protesting against. In other words: shoot the messenger.<a href="https://x.com/FVD_Intl/status/2061897168051474590">See the trailer for her speech here</a><img src="/uploads/image_1c0833d0bd.png">Our guest on The Forum this week was Dr Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia and Europe’ is a centuries-old question and John Laughland discussed it with him in the city which embodies that relationship, St Petersburg.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b5g-fFHlMQ&amp;t=457s">Watch The Forum &amp; Friends here</a>

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The Weekly Forum - 6 June 2026

Lidewij de Vos was ambushed for more than an hour in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament this week, as one MP after another tried to frame her concerns about immigration as racism. People around the country were genuinely shocked by this level of malicious assault. Journalists, too, seem to do little these days other than moral framing. Such framing is a form of denigration and even aggression, however it may cloak itself in questions. It reduces words to an instrument of power, and discussion to a struggle. It also shows the deep complicity between the political majority and the media class. For example, Lidewij was asked about population replacement (‘omvolking’ in Dutch) with the usual innuendos and implicit accusations.&nbsp; Population replacement is an observable phenomenon but it has been made a taboo by the political-media class, allegedly ‘because of the Second World War,’ as if that event had any relevance whatever to today’s migration problems. But the true goal of the taboo is instead to silence critics and to avoid responsibility for promoting migration in the first place.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9_DDuuVN0">Watch Lidewij de Vos’ interview here</a><img src="/uploads/image_2fe7a95b87.png">The desire to deny reality is very powerful. This is because the reality of mass migration is frightening. Crime statistics show clearly what people instinctively know – that migrants commit proportionately more crimes than locals. The figures are particularly terrifying where violent crime is concerned – Somalis are 20 times more likely to be suspected of rape than Dutch people. Street robberies and serious violence are also areas in which young people from migrant backgrounds are significantly over-represented. Sweden is reducing the age of criminal responsibility to 13 so very young people will now be locked up. But this is to attack the symptom rather than the root cause – because even discussing the root is taboo.<a href="https://fvdinternational.com/article/youth-crime-and-migrant-backgrounds-figures-the-hague-would-rather-avoid">Read FVD’s article on migrants and crime here</a><img src="/uploads/image_c24fefe3a9.png">One of the reasons why things keep getting worse is that governments are trapped inside their own ideology. In the Netherlands, instead of concentrating on resolving the problems which affect people’s daily lives, the civil service instead writes reports alleging ‘institutional racism’ within government because there is no (Muslim) prayer room in this or that ministry. This is an example of … institutional madness. FVD’s new MP Milan Schenk detailed this in a recent devastating speech in committee – devastating because he correctly identifies the pursuit of ‘purely symbolic politics’, instead of the pursuit of real improvement, as the root cause of the problem.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLrcHmVqBxE&amp;t=0s">Watch Milan Schenk’s speech here</a><img src="/uploads/image_45ed609759.png">Ideology also trumps reality in the key area of climate policy, otherwise known as energy policy, the basis for the whole economy. The Netherlands is pursuing various crazy climate goals, in addition to those imposed by the EU. Now the IMF has said that they are dragging the already sluggish economy down even further. The body specifically identifies grid congestion and the crazy obsession with nitrogen – unique in Europe - as factors hindering investment and therefore growth. The IMF also concludes that the housing shortage is hampering investment, yet we all know that immigration contributes to that shortage. Milan Schenk MP is on the case and has put down questions to the government.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://fvdinternational.com/article/youth-crime-and-migrant-backgrounds-figures-the-hague-would-rather-avoid">Read Milan Schenk’s questions here</a><img src="/uploads/image_ee63d87304.png">FVD International’s director, John Laughland, was once again a guest on the Australian TV show, The Protagonists, a daily broadcast of The World Today. They discussed the mysterious ‘fog of war’ surrounding the conflict in Iran, the end of the American empire and the true nature of Mr Trump. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eourym1HQrA">Watch John Laughland’s interview here</a><img src="/uploads/image_fc48a050a7.png">Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute and the formidable Alex Krainer were our guests on The Forum this week. In the light of the recent rigged primary in Kentucky, can we still call the USA a democracy? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhjUZ78eQVU">Watch The Forum &amp; Friends here</a>

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The Weekly Forum - 28 May 2026

A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns the Netherlands of slowing economic growth, significant uncertainty regarding economic prospects and structural problems that are putting pressure on investment and competitiveness.According to the IMF, the Netherlands is grappling with serious bottlenecks in areas including grid congestion, nitrogen restrictions, housing shortages and high labour costs. At the same time, the Fund warns of rising climate-related expenditure and an increasingly difficult investment climate.Forum for Democracy sees this as confirmation of what the party has been arguing for years: the Netherlands is destroying itself economically with ideological policies, sky-high costs and stifling regulation.FVD MP Milan Schenk therefore tabled parliamentary questions to the Ministers of Finance, Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, and Social Affairs and Employment the day after he was sworn in as a new Member of Parliament. In his questions, he addresses, among other things, stagnating economic growth, the consequences of grid congestion and nitrogen policy for investment and industry, the role of immigration in the housing shortage, the rising tax burden on labour, and the consequences of climate policy for Dutch competitiveness.The IMF report confirms that the Netherlands is becoming increasingly bogged down by misguided political choices regarding climate, nitrogen, immigration and taxation. Whilst economies outside Europe are investing in growth, industry and affordable energy, the Netherlands and the European Union are increasingly opting for additional regulations, higher burdens and restrictions that hamper economic development. As far as Schenk is concerned, this must change as soon as possible, in the interests of Dutch citizens, entrepreneurs and businesses.Written questions from Member Schenk (FVD) to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment regarding the stagnation of the Dutch economy according to the IMF<ol><li>Are you familiar with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on the Dutch economy dated 13 May 2026?</li><li>How does the government assess the IMF’s conclusion that economic growth in the Netherlands is stagnating at around 1 per cent and that there is considerable uncertainty regarding the economic outlook?</li><li>Does the government acknowledge that the Netherlands is increasingly facing structural problems which are putting pressure on investment, economic growth and competitiveness?</li><li>If the answer to question 3 is no, why not?</li><li>How does the government assess the IMF’s observation that grid congestion, a direct consequence of the energy transition, constitutes a ‘binding constraint’ on investment and economic development in the Netherlands?</li><li>What is the estimated annual economic damage caused by grid congestion, resulting in postponed connections and delayed investments?</li><li>Does the answer to question 6 give the government cause to scale back its climate ambitions and suspend the energy transition for the time being?</li><li>If the answer to question 7 is no, why not?</li><li>How does the government assess the IMF’s observation that nitrogen-related restrictions constitute a major obstacle to investment and economic development in the Netherlands?</li><li>Does the government acknowledge that the current nitrogen policy is leading to serious delays in housing construction, infrastructure projects, industrial expansion and economic development?</li><li>If the answer to question 10 is no, why not?</li><li>If the answer to question 10 is in the affirmative, what concrete steps will the government take to put a stop to these harmful developments?</li><li>How does the government assess the IMF’s conclusion that the housing shortage requires ambitious reforms?</li><li>What role does the government believe population growth resulting from immigration plays in the ongoing pressure on the housing market, infrastructure and amenities?</li><li>Can the Government set out how many additional homes are needed, according to current forecasts, as a result of the expected population growth due to immigration now and over the next ten years?</li><li>Does the Government share the submitter’s analysis that immigration, a major cause of the housing shortage, is holding back the Dutch economy?</li><li>If the answer to question 16 is in the negative, why not?</li><li>Does the Government share the IMF’s analysis that the current coalition plans increase the tax burden on labour, reduce labour participation and raise wage costs?</li><li>If the answer to question 18 is no, why not?</li><li>If the answer to question 18 is yes, what concrete steps will the Government take to change this?</li><li>Why has the government chosen to impose heavier taxes on labour (including through the ‘freedom contribution’) when the IMF specifically warns that higher labour costs lead to fewer hours worked and lower labour participation?</li><li>How does this, in the government’s view, relate to the principle that work must pay?</li><li>Are you aware of the recent statement by Professor of Labour and Macroeconomics Pieter Gautier that approximately a quarter of gross domestic product goes towards benefits and that this makes the tax system unnecessarily complex?</li><li>If the answer to question 23 is in the affirmative, how does the government assess this reality?</li><li>Does the government agree with the analysis that the current tax and benefits system leads to perverse incentives, high administrative costs and reduced transparency for Dutch citizens and businesses?</li><li>What concrete steps will the government take to simplify the tax and benefits system fundamentally?</li><li>How high does the government expect total climate-related expenditure to be by 2030 and 2050, particularly given that the IMF describes rising climate-related expenditure as a risk to the sustainability of public finances?</li><li>How does the government assess the tension between, on the one hand, ever-increasing climate-related costs and, on the other hand, maintaining competitiveness, industry and economic growth?</li><li>Does the government acknowledge that high energy prices and climate-related costs are contributing to a deterioration in the Dutch business and investment climate?</li><li>If the answer to question 29 is no, why not?</li><li>If the answer to question 29 is yes, what specific measures will the government take to improve the Dutch business and investment climate?</li><li>How does the Government assess signals from industry that companies and investments are leaving the Netherlands due to high energy costs, regulatory burdens, uncertain policy and increasing climate obligations?</li><li>Does the Government believe that current economic policy improves the Netherlands’ competitive position relative to countries such as the United States and China?</li><li>If the answer to question 33 is in the negative, what specific measures will the government take to improve the Netherlands’ competitive position?</li><li>What specific measures will the government take to counteract further stagnation of the Dutch economy, declining investment and loss of competitiveness?</li><li>Does the Government share the questioner’s conclusion that the IMF’s findings show that Dutch policy on climate (high costs and investment), nitrogen (stagnation in housing and industrial expansion), immigration (cause of the housing shortage) and taxation (no incentive to work) contributes significantly to the stagnation of the economy?</li><li>If the answer to question 36 is in the negative, why not?</li><li>If the answer to question 36 is in the affirmative, what specific measures will the government take regarding policy on climate, nitrogen, immigration and taxation to improve the Netherlands’ position?</li><li>In general terms, how does the government deal with reports, recommendations and findings from the IMF?</li><li>Could you please answer these questions as soon as possible and separately from one another?</li></ol>

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Another blow for climate fanatics: IMF confirms economic stagnation due to climate and nitrogen policies

The Netherlands has a growing problem with youth crime. Not only on the streets, but also in the classroom, on social media and in statistics. Young people are increasingly suspected of weapons offences, schools are suspending more pupils over weapons, and the police are seizing knives and firearms from minors with increasing frequency. According to<a href="https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/artikel/5593434/jongeren-wapenbezit-hoogste-jaren">&nbsp;RTL Nieuws</a>, the number of minors suspected of weapons offences rose to a record high last year. The number of school suspensions over weapons also reached its highest level in years.At the same time, research into youth crime has for years revealed an uncomfortable reality: young people from migrant backgrounds are over-represented in crime statistics in virtually all European countries. This also applies to the Netherlands. The study ‘Youth Crime among Migrants’ by the<a href="https://www.kis.nl/publicatie/jeugdcriminaliteit-onder-migranten">&nbsp;Knowledge Platform</a> for Integration &amp; Society explicitly states that young people with a migrant background feature more frequently in statistics on youth crime. Furthermore, clear differences are visible between different ethnic groups.Young offenders and migrant backgroundsThe study shows that young migrants in Europe are more frequently involved in offences than young people without a migrant background. It is striking that this is not limited to minor offences. Young migrants score higher across various types of offences, ranging from vandalism to extortion, from street robberies to serious violence.Differences also exist within migrant groups. In the Netherlands, young people of Turkish origin appear to be more frequently involved in violent offences. Young people of Moroccan origin, on the other hand, are more frequently involved in property offences. Furthermore, the study identifies Moroccan-Dutch and Antillean-Dutch young people as groups that have long been overrepresented in crime statistics and in youth detention centres.Moreover, the figures are substantial. Within the international ISRD-2 study, in which over 68,000 young people from 30 countries took part, nearly one in four young people had a migrant background. In the Dutch study group, that proportion stood at 35 per cent, of whom more than three-quarters belonged to the second generation. More importantly, the study shows that first- and second-generation migrant youths are more likely to report offences themselves than youths without a migrant background. Among the first generation, 40 per cent reported having committed a crime at some point; among the second generation, this figure was 42 per cent, compared with 34 per cent among young people without a migrant background. This over-representation applied to both minor and more serious offences, and to both violent and property offences.These figures call for honesty. Anyone who wants to tackle youth crime seriously must dare to identify where the problems are concentrated. Looking the other way helps no one. Not the victims. Not the neighbourhoods. Not the schools. And not the young people themselves either.Migrant groups as a wholeMoreover, this over-representation is not limited to youth crime. We see similar patterns among adults too, including in relation to sexual offences.<a href="https://x.com/demo_demo_nl/status/1959204368110268663">&nbsp;Statistics Netherlands (CBS) data</a> shows that men from various non-Western migrant groups are suspected of sexual offences significantly more often than native Dutch men. Among men of Somali origin, the number of suspects in sexual offences was even more than twenty times (!) higher than among native Dutch men. The figures were also significantly higher among Afghan, Iraqi, Eritrean, Iranian and Syrian men.Furthermore, earlier<a href="https://x.com/demo_demo_nl/status/1959206301164257536">&nbsp;CBS figures</a> show that non-Western men aged between 12 and 45 are systematically more likely to be suspects in sexual offences than native Dutch men. For some groups, this over-representation was several times higher. Men with backgrounds from the former Netherlands Antilles, Morocco and Suriname featured particularly frequently in these figures. According to researcher Jan van de Beek, these differences are particularly relevant because many migrants eventually obtain Dutch nationality, meaning that figures based purely on nationality may ultimately give a distorted picture.Text continues below the image<img src="/uploads/image_19517e719e.png">Figures from Jan van de Beek show the significant over-representation of migrant groups in crimeThese figures show that the problem extends beyond youth crime alone. Among adults too, there are clear differences in crime rates between population groups. This calls for an honest debate and policies that do not turn a blind eye to uncomfortable statistics.The streets are getting tougherConcerns are particularly high due to the rise in gun ownership among young people. According to RTL Nieuws, the figures on gun ownership and gun use are “alarming”. The police have seized a record number of illegal weapons from minors. These are mainly knives, but increasingly also firearms, including converted gas pistols. According to a police firearms expert, these weapons are traded via social media, among other channels, where young people can obtain them anonymously.Such violence is no longer confined to street brawls. Young people are increasingly being recruited into criminal networks and gangs. The situation is spiralling completely out of control, particularly in countries such as Sweden. There, authorities have been grappling for years with explosions, contract killings and young gang members. According to the Swedish government, increasingly younger boys are being recruited because they are easily influenced and, until now, could hardly be prosecutedThe Swedish approach<a href="https://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/knuffel-in-de-cel-hier-sluit-zweden-straks-13-jarige-bendeleden-op/151092936.html">Sweden</a> is therefore lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 this summer. A child found guilty of murder could soon face up to two years in prison, and a 14-year-old even up to four years.The country is now building special youth prisons to house underage gang members. In Rosersberg, north of Stockholm, entire wings are being fitted out for young offenders aged 13 and 14. According to the Swedish government, the situation has become so serious that tough action is necessary.The Swedish approach shows how quickly youth crime can escalate when the government has been too lenient for years. What begins with street terror and gun ownership ultimately ends in gang wars and child soldiers.Campaigns do not workThe Dutch government has been responding for years with campaigns, posters, weapon surrender schemes and well-intentioned slogans. But the results are shockingly poor. The 2020 ‘Weapons and Young People’ action plan aimed to reduce the number of weapon-related incidents by a quarter within two years. The opposite has happened: since 2019, figures for gun-related crimes have not fallen, but risen. The number of under-18 suspects in gun-related crimes increased by 20 per cent.Experts are harsh in their judgement. The policy has failed. According to Ferwerda, the target group laughs at adverts and posters.<a href="https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/artikel/5593434/jongeren-wapenbezit-hoogste-jaren">&nbsp;Researcher</a> Frank Weerman also warns that general public information campaigns and gun-in-exchange schemes have little effect and may even increase the sense of insecurity.Stop looking the other wayForum for Democracy believes that safety begins with acknowledging reality. If certain groups of young people are systematically over-represented in crime statistics, then politicians must address this. Only by facing the facts can we protect the safety of the Dutch people.That means taking a tough stance on youth gangs, weapons and repeat criminal behaviour. It also means that the police, the judiciary and local authorities must no longer pretend that general campaigns are sufficient. The figures show that this approach does not work.Dutch people have a right to safe streets, safe schools and safe neighbourhoods. Parents must be able to send their children to school without fear. Young people must be protected from criminal groups that normalise weapons. And offenders must realise that crime has consequences.FVD’s plans for a safer Netherlands:<ul><li>Always enough prison places:&nbsp;We will expand prisons so that there are always enough cells and sentences can be served in full. We will expand prisons so that there are always enough cells and sentences can be served in full.</li><li>Harsher sentences:&nbsp;Fewer community service orders, more prison sentences. Harsher sentences for serious violent and sexual offences, and locking up repeat offenders sooner, so that criminals know that crime really does have consequences.</li><li>Revocation of citizenship and deportation of criminals:&nbsp;We will revoke the citizenship of dual passport holders who commit serious crimes and immediately deport criminal asylum seekers, so that the Netherlands becomes safer.</li><li>Profiling in investigations:&nbsp;We will allow the police to profile on the basis of statistically relevant categories, so that investigations proceed more quickly and effectively.</li><li>Deporting the families of criminal asylum seekers:&nbsp;We will hold the parents of criminal asylum seekers liable for their children’s misconduct and, where appropriate, terminate their asylum procedures as well, so that they themselves take corrective action.</li></ul>Do you appreciate what we do? Then please consider making a donation to support our work! You can do so by clicking<a href="https://fvd.nl/wordlid">&nbsp;here</a>.

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Youth crime and migrant backgrounds: figures The Hague would rather avoid

Immigration has been on the political agenda – even at the top of it – for decades. You only have to think of the lifelong careers of well-known anti-immigrant opposition politicians in Europe to realise this. Yet nothing is done about it.&nbsp; In the Netherlands, for instance, asylum seekers continue to arrive at the rate of 2,000 or 3,000 every month – 1,000 last week alone - in spite of decades in which governing politicians have promised to reduce or even stop immigration. In an impressive statement in committee, FVD MP Tom Russcher recently recalled these terrible facts. He emphasised that no country can get a handle on this population transfer without leaving the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU means open borders while the ECHR means judges who refuse to allow deportations. Only FVD identifies and goes to the root of the problem. The rest is just noise.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJmQ8Dh4t68">Watch Tom Russcher’s speech here</a><img src="/uploads/image_26a8479fe4.png">In other words, the supranational institutions which are supposed to protect us and make us prosper are, in fact, destroying us. Yet our leaders, who have been moulded by them and cannot think out of the box, hold on to them for dear life.&nbsp; The same goes for Europe’s security architecture. The Americans under Trump have made clear their contempt for NATO and for the Europeans generally. European politicians respond with panic instead of doing what FVD does, which is to see this as an opportunity to exploit foreign policy options which are currently closed off. The Netherlands in particular could revive its old policy of neutrality, profiting from its hugely positive and unthreatening image in the world to carve out new relationships. Ralf Dekker MP laid all this out with admirable clarity in a recent speech to Parliament.<a href="https://fvdinternational.com/article/the-us-national-security-strategy-and-its-implications-for-europe">Read Ralf Dekker’s speech here</a><img src="/uploads/image_5e0f4a6794.png">It’s a sort of Stockholm syndrome, really. Prisoners develop a dependency on those who hold them prisoner. The human mind confuses captivity with protection.&nbsp; Certainly, it is well known that some prisoners, once released, long to be back inside. The outside world can be frightening; prison routine is reassuring. This is what is happening in Britain right now. Ten years after Brexit, and without any public pressure for it, Keir Starmer is talking about aligning the UK more closely with the EU. For the time being, faced with a by-election which might put a future new Prime Minister into the House of Commons, the issue has been hushed up. But people at the top of the Labour Party are clearly plotting it. FVD International’s director, John Laughland, was Ian Proud’s guest on his podcast, The Peacemonger, this week to discuss this and other issues.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgkiIO-LgYo&amp;t=102s">Watch John Laughland’s interview here</a><img src="/uploads/image_3dfdc309d8.png">Our guests on The Forum this week were Professor Edouard Husson, a specialist in German history, and Dr Tarik Cyril Amar, a German academic based in Turkey who specialises in the history of Russia and Ukraine. The subject: German rearmament. If you missed it, listen back.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_FKsaX5_Eg">Listen back to The Forum here</a>

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The Weekly Forum - 22 May 2026

20 May 2026Speech given in the Second Chamber of the States-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch Parliament)Chairman,The National Security Strategy document published by the US government at the end of last year caused quite a stir. The US was set to focus on the Western Hemisphere and the Asia-Pacific region, gradually withdrawing from Europe and the Middle East.&nbsp;The document expresses fundamental criticism of Europe, and particularly of the EU. European countries must stop squandering their greatness; they must take more responsibility for their own affairs; and they must resolve the Ukraine conflict.Today’s headlines – the war with Iran and the ongoing escalation in the conflict with Russia – almost make one forget the National Security Strategy.&nbsp;However, this does seem to be the new undercurrent in US foreign policy: spheres of influence for the major powers, a less prominent role for NATO and a somewhat less secure position for European countries.This is also evident from Trump’s latest conversation with Xi, which focused on sovereignty and spheres of influence.One might view this development as a threat. Who, then, will help Europe in the struggle against Russia?&nbsp;Mr Chairman, Forum for Democracy sees this precisely as an opportunity. The Netherlands can free itself somewhat from American dominance. It can choose its own path.What opportunities this presents for the Netherlands! A subtle Eastern policy towards Russia and China, playing an intelligent, moderating and mediating role whilst maintaining good relations with the US.&nbsp; We can seek new relationships with the warring factions in the Middle East, try to forge connections, find intermediary roles. We can boost trade. All these things we could do - and they are things we have traditionally been good at.But instead European countries, with the Netherlands at the forefront, are pressing ahead with all their might along old Cold War lines.&nbsp;They are taking a hard line where it is not necessary. They are cultivating hostilities, rearming Europe, channelling tens of billions a year into military spending, further escalating tensions with Russia and sidelining, as far as possible, those European countries that are actually seeking peaceful solutions. They are even frustrating peace talks between the US and Russia.&nbsp;At first, the Netherlands was still afraid to join in too conspicuously against the Russians. But these days, the Netherlands is proud of our drone factory in Hengelo, where, together with Ukraine, long-range drones are being built to strike Russia deep inside its own territory.&nbsp; We are doing this out in the open, shamelessly.&nbsp;For someone who lived through the Cold War, all this is incomprehensible. We in Europe and the Netherlands are now doing things that we would never have dreamed of back then. We are challenging the world’s greatest nuclear power – but also its greatest conventional power. Have we lost our minds? What are we actually trying to achieve?Let us be honest, Mr Chairman. The political establishment in the Netherlands and Europe does not want peace with Russia at all. It may want a temporary ceasefire but ultimately it wants to defeat Russia. It wants total capitulation. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, is very clear on that point.&nbsp;And then it wants to bring Putin and his people before a tribunal. The Netherlands is already making preparations for this.Mr Chairman, it would be comical if it were not so sad and dangerous. Although all those long-range attacks are largely pinpricks to the Russians, their patience may also run out. The Eastern Dutch region of Twente is just a push of a button away.It is time we charted a new course. The Netherlands can play an initiating and perhaps even a leading role in this. Within the EU and NATO but if necessary by speaking to the Russians directly. What exactly do they want? And why? What do we actually want? How can we achieve lasting peace?Politicians want to win wars, or at least bring them to an honourable conclusion, whatever the cost.Citizens want the violence and the waste of money to stop. They want people to work together again and act in a way that benefits everyone.Forum for Democracy stands on that side.Thank you very much.

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The US National Security Strategy and its implications for Europe

Forum for Democracy International

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Forum for Democracy

FVD is a anti-globalist political party in the Netherlands founded and led by Thierry Baudet. John Laughland (right) is director of FVD International.

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