'Don't pay any attention to those unelected bureaucrats at the Council of State.' Geert Wilders tweeted this week in response to the negative advice from the Council of State on the Emergency Measures Act. The sentence is exemplary of ...See more'Don't pay any attention to those unelected bureaucrats at the Council of State.' Geert Wilders tweeted this week in response to the negative advice from the Council of State on the Emergency Measures Act. The sentence is exemplary of Wilders' rhetoric: succinct and with a straight leg, multiple parties are challenged to respond. Reason enough to analyse the language of Wilders further. The PVV leader introduced terms such as 'kopvoddentaks' (head-tape tax) and called journalists 'tuig van de richel' (scum of the earth). He made the debate in the Lower House more aggressive and was even condemned for his 'fewer Moroccans' statement. For Radio Rewind from HUMAN, Nathan de Vries speaks with Dutch language expert Robbert Wigt, who is writing a book about Wilders' language. He concludes, among other things, that Wilders is a star in the use of vague language for which he cannot be held accountable.
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