Geert Wilders And Javier Milei May Just Be The Start: Why Major Political Upsets May Become The Norm

Forbes

Steve Forbes explains why the shocking electoral victories of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Javier Milei in Argentina may be the beginning of a massive shift in politics across the world—and why entrenched political leaders need to wake up.

Transcript

00:00 The results of two recent elections on two different continents have shocked observers.

00:05 If current leaders don't listen, expect more trouble for an already dangerously unsettled world.

00:11 [music]

00:13 Hello, I'm Steve Forbes and this is What's Ahead.

00:16 We get the insights you need to better navigate these turbulent times.

00:21 A few days ago, a Dutch right-wing party finished ahead of all others in the election for the

00:26 lower house of the national legislature.

00:29 The results shocked much of Europe.

00:32 The party leader, Piet Wilders, is regarded by many as a fringe figure.

00:37 He gained notoriety for his strong opposition to massive immigration of Muslims, tapping

00:42 into strong feelings that the country is not assimilating them.

00:46 He also hit political pay dirt in attacking the Dutch government's extreme climate change

00:51 policies that are highly unpopular.

00:55 Now he may become the next prime minister of the Netherlands, a prospect that has the

00:59 European Union's establishment in a lather.

01:03 A similar reaction greeted the stunning landslide victory of Javier Mele a couple of weeks ago

01:09 as president of Argentina on the promise of taking a chainsaw to a bloated, corrupt, all-too-powerful

01:16 government that has set off a hyperinflation.

01:20 Key to his platform was deep-sixing the Argentine peso and replacing it with the U.S. dollar

01:26 as the country's legal tender.

01:28 To that end, he would also shut down the central bank.

01:32 Who knows if Mele has the skills and backbone to do as he's promised to do, but his triumph

01:38 and that of Wilders should send other countries, including our own, a big message.

01:43 Voters are disgusted by policies from traditional leaders, political and civic, that are failing.

01:50 In Holland, for example, the government a few years back decided the country's livestock,

01:56 most notably dairy cows, were imperiling the environment because they're responsible for

02:01 emissions of nitrogen and the creation of ammonia.

02:05 Most immediately, the bureaucratics allege they're endangering nearby nature preserves.

02:10 So it was decided from on high that many, if not ultimately all, farms would have to

02:15 be eliminated.

02:17 To start the process, the government has earmarked $1.5 billion to buy out several thousand farms.

02:25 Farmers rose up.

02:26 Angry protests erupted.

02:28 Agriculture is no small matter in that small-sized country of only 18 million people.

02:34 Amazingly, the Netherlands is the world's second-largest exporter of food, exceeding

02:40 only by the U.S.

02:42 It'll surprise no one who knows anything about the incompetence of government that Holland,

02:47 until recently, pursued policy to encourage the agricultural sector.

02:53 Oops!

02:54 Waging war against food production underscores the absurdity of today's climate policies

03:00 that have wasted trillions of dollars, and if President Biden has his way, will waste

03:04 trillions more.

03:06 You have even some climate extremists advocating that we learn to eat insects.

03:12 What's next?

03:13 Going back to living in caves?

03:15 The destructive economic policies of Argentina go without saying.

03:20 Yet too many leaders today obstinately cling to what's not working, opening the way to

03:26 elections like we had in Argentina and Holland.

03:30 Time for all of them to listen up and do what is right.

03:33 I'm Steve Forbes.

03:34 Thanks for listening.

03:36 Do send in your comments and suggestions.

03:37 I look forward to being with you soon again.

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