Dutch Freedom Party: scrap RNW and public TV

The Dutch anti-Islamic Freedom Party, led by opposition MP Geert Wilders, says it wants to cut the number of public broadcast channels.

The three public TV networks should be reduced to one, and Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the country's international broadcaster, should be abolished altogether. The party argues in its election manifesto that these measures are necessary to free up the financial means needed to pay for health care.
Mr Wilders said that commercial broadcasters are facing unfair competition from public broadcasters who receive 700 million euros in subsidies annually. "We'd better economise here rather than in the health and social care sectors," Mr Wilders told the Dutch daily AD on Tuesday.
About 43 million of the government's broadcasting budget goes to Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
Grassroots view differs
Observers say the Freedom Party stance towards public broadcasters is remarkable. TV ratings expert René van Dammen, who researched people's viewing behaviour in relation to their political orientation, found earlier that Freedom Party voters watch more TV than average. Their favourite programmes are broadcast on public channels, and include the Sunday evening sports programme, Studio Sport.
Pre-election polls show falling figures for the Freedom Party, which was sidelined in local coalition talks despite its huge gains in the cities of Almere and The Hague in the March local elections. Other parties declined to cooperate with the Freedom Party because of its 'non-negotiable' demand for a headscarf ban, aimed at Islamic women. National elections have been scheduled for 9 June.
 
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