Anti-Islam Wilders continues refugee battle, impeding budget debate

The general debate in the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, on Wednesday started with a heated argument between SP leader Emile Roemer and PVV leader Geert Wilders. Wilders tried to postpone the debate and talk about the refugees instead, once again throwing around words like "asylum tsunami". "More than 3 thousand asylum seekers enter our country per week, and hiding between them are terrorists", Wilders said, according to NOS. The vast majority of the Kamer rejected his proposal and the faction leaders stated that they will pay attention to refugees at some point today. Wilders attacked Roemer at the start of the debate over the SP's support for additional refugee shelter in the Netherlands. According to the PVV leader, Roemer is throwing an "asylum bomb on the Netherlands", AD reports. Roemer retorted by saying that Wilders has always supported war and throwing bombs. "And then you find it surprising that there are mass movements of refugees! What you do is you throw bombs on a powder keg and then look away." On Roemer's statement that he has no intention of leaving refugees in the Netherlands to sleep under bridges, Wilders retorted by saying that Dutchmen in villages are not waiting on "testosterone bombs" among the refugees who come and put the lives of their wives and daughters in danger. The SP leader then accused the PVV leader of sowing hatred and turning people against each other. "These are people." The PVV leader also had a problem with the SP wanting to give asylum seekers priority on rental housing. "You should be ashamed of yourself, the SP voter will deal with you". Roemer reminded Wilders that the reason for the shortage in rental housing is measures implemented during the Rutte I cabinet, measures that the PVV supported. Later in the debate Roemer fiercely criticized the cabinet's budget plans. According to him, those who earn the most are getting the most advantages. He believes that the cabinet's course is in line with "a previously deployed process of privatization, competition and corporatization of the public sector". The SP presented a shadow budget in which 3.2 billion is earmarked for healthcare and social security.