Dutch Voters Are Preparing to Vote No to EU Constitution

SARAH SMITH:

Every major political party, government and opposition, out on the street, asking people to vote for a constitution even they admit is already dead, and that Dutch voters never wanted anyway. The distance between Europe's politicians and its people is at its most obvious here.

LOUISWIES VAN DER LAAN:

The rift is already there. The feeling is that the politicians are out of tune, and that's something that we really need to address, and the only way we can do that is by taking people's concerns very seriously.

SARAH SMITH:

And not trying to ram a constitution down their throats?

LOUISWIES VAN DER LAAN:

Precisely. I think that there has been a "No" in France. Regardless of what happens now, this treaty is dead, and we have to make sure that that is the clear message that we give out: The Europeans have the last word, not their political leadership. That's the only way to rebuild the confidence.

SARAH SMITH:

While the "No" camp claims Holland would lose its famous dope-smoking coffee shops and red light districts in a homogenized Europe, the Dutch now want to be distinctive more than they want to be European, even if they cause a crisis in the union they founded.

SARAH SMITH:

Thank you very much.

The Dutch are furious about the Euro. It's cost them a lot of money because it's been very inflationary. The guilder went in at the wrong rate. And of course, the Dutch weren't asked about that at the time. This, in fact, is their first referendum, and many of them will probably use it to protest against not being asked about the Euro in the first place.

They're also angry about the amount of money Europe costs them in general. Holland is a net contributor to the EU, and some people are now saying they want a refund like the British won, and voting "yes" will not help them get their money back.

180 Euros for what?

GEER WILDERS:

Well, this is what the Dutch are paying per capita today to Europe– the most amount of any European country.

SARAH SMITH:

Geert Wilders and his famous hairstyle are the stars of the "No" campaign. His populist anti-immigration stance won many supporters and serious death threats, hence the heavy security. Two other public figures who criticized Islam have already been murdered.

With a large Muslim population, immigration and Islam are unavoidable in Dutch politics. And those who want to close Holland's borders insist the constitution means they'll lose control.

The constitution doesn't actually say anything about immigration, so aren't you just trying to appeal to people's worst fears when you campaign about immigration?

GEERT WILDERS:

I'm not campaigning on fear. And we are in a lot of struggles in Holland today when it comes to immigration, when it comes to integration, even when it comes to terrorism, because we were always too politically correct. We ignored the facts; we put them under the carpet, and we thought that tomorrow the sun would shine again.

Well, unfortunately, the sun might shine, but the problems don't go away. So we should face our problems, and immigration is one of them. And there are major changes that are not in the interest of our kingdom in the constitution.

SARAH SMITH:

Even the cows here say "boo" to the constitution and to today's EU. "Europe can't change without this new constitution," say its leaders, but voters who feel they have been ignored too long aren't listening any more. Popular discontent is sweeping the continent. A French "non" has given the Dutch voters the confidence to say nee in an even louder voice.