“Ur-Fascism is still around us, sometimes in plainclothes. ... Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances –– every day, in every part of the world.”
Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism (1995)
Introduction
“In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom are the prototypes of contemporary fascism and as such they are nothing but the logical political consequence of a society which we are all responsible for. This contemporary fascism is once again the consequence of political parties that have renounced their own intellectual traditions, intellectuals who have cultivated a pleasure- seeking nihilism, universities not worthy of their description, the greed of the business world and a mass media which would rather be the people’s ventriloquist than a critical mirror. These are the corrupted elites who have cultivated the spiritual vacuum in which fascism can grow large again.”
Rob Riemen, The Eternal Return of Fascism (2010)
On the second morning of November 2010, all Dutch Ministers, Secretaries of State and Members of Parliament found a thin, blue booklet in their pigeon holes. The Eternal Return of Fascism, by Rob Riemen. Sixty-two pages, and generous margins –– so nothing to loose any sleep over. Or was it? According to this thin, blue booklet, MP Geert Wilders and his Party For Freedom are “the prototypes of contemporary fascism.” Slightly disturbing, indeed. A populist, perhaps. But a fascist? In The Hague? In 2010?
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