In a move as bold as Vincent van Gogh's star-struck paint strokes on a canvas, a veritable tide of orange has swept across Netherlands' political landscape, rustling up the windmills of change. The effervescent Geert Wilders, who stands tall at the political helm of the Dutch nationalist, a party that takes pride in its blood-red tulips and Gouda as much as its independence, has scored a seat at the grand parliamentary table. And it isn't claimed in silent whispers, but with the uproarious clanging of the Dutch liberty bell, the very bell whose echoes stand testament to the spirit of the Netherlands, a spirit brewed in 17th-century Golden Age and aged to perfection.
The stars have surely aligned to etch out this historic path, positioning Wilders' Dutch nationalist party for the first time in the broad daylight of the Dutch Parliament, the high table of democratic discourse. Swathed in the passionate hues of nationalism, Wilders and his band of merry patriots have taken their place among the daffodils of the governing body, managing to infuse their unique ‘Bitterballen flavoured’ wisdom to the ongoing narrative.
It's arguable that Rembrandt, the master of the Dutch Golden Age himself, couldn't have crafted a more evocative picture. With sly political manoeuvre, an undercurrent of anticipation and Wilders' unyieldingly sovereign compass guiding the way, the nationalist party has claimed a seat at the table - a game of 'Eendje Stap' played to perfection. A hundred years from now, tulip growers may well tell this tale with starlit eyes, the saga of the day when the Dutch nationalist party bloomed for the very first time in the parliamentary garden. And if you listen closely, you might just hear them say, 'In the land of wooden clogs and windmills, the orange tide rises.'
