Islamophobic fringe politicians have become mainstream coalition power-brokers

Evidence

Founded in 2005, the Party for Freedom has gradually grown into the fourth-largest party in Holland. It is now an unabashed political platform for Islamophobic anti-immigrant sentiment in The Netherlands. Like other right-wingers once relegated to the batshit fringes of society, Wilders is now accepted within mainstream Dutch politics. He carries considerable political sway. During the 2012 national elections in Holland, the ruling coalition actually had to get Geert Wilders’ political support in order to gain power. This would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 519

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the French case where Le Pen sets the agenda and Macron panders — evidence for the mainstreaming mechanism across countries. — connects to: Islamophobic power can deploy oppositional tactics to advance Muslim marginalization; European Islamophobia has moved from the far right into the political mainstream. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 480; Explicit Islamophobia has become an effective electoral strategy — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 508 (+7 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 519

Related

• Anti-Muslim parties now hold significant political weight across European parliaments (similarity 0.83)
• European Islamophobia has moved from the far right into the political mainstream. (similarity 0.81)
• Far-right leaders exploit media-built Islamophobic climate to gain power (similarity 0.81)
• European counter-jihadism spans both populist parties and street movements. (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia spans liberal and conservative mainstreams, not just the fringe right (similarity 0.79)
• A country famed for religious tolerance now leads European Islamophobia (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Right-wing Islamophobes are structurally embedded rather than marginal figures #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 34
• Explicit Islamophobia has become an effective electoral strategy #expands (0.80) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 508
• French mainstream parties mainstreamed fringe Islamophobic rhetoric about the hijab #exemplifies (0.80)
• Anti-Muslim parties now hold significant political weight across European parliaments #corroborates (0.75) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 532
• War on Terror Islamophobia empowered populist demagogues to seize power against Muslims #expands (0.60)