Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders is damaging the Netherlands’ reputation abroad, caretaker foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening of a conference on diplomacy, Verhagen said Wilders is spreading hatred and fear.
‘His method is simple: he plays people off against one another – in a highly distasteful fashion,’ Verhagen said. ‘He is not looking to find common ground, uphold shared values or work toward constructive solutions based on these shared values. In fact, his approach is the opposite of constructive: by spreading fear and hatred, he is only destroying, not building.
‘And in the process, he is damaging the interests of the Dutch people and the reputation of the Netherlands in the wider world. If we allow discrimination and hatred to spread, this will only lead to segregation, polarisation, escalation and eventually, confrontation.’
London

According to the Volkskrant, Verhagen was referring to Wilders’ recent news conference in London, during which he described the prophet Mohammed as a ‘barbarian, mass murderer and paedophile’ and said Turkey’s prime minister Erdogan is a ‘total freak’.
The comments shocked international news agency reporters, the Parool reported at the time.
‘Being free to give offence does not mean that it is wise to give offence,’ Verhagen said. ‘Freedom of expression is not a licence to insult other people at will. Everyone has the responsibility to show respect for the rights and reputations of others. It is precisely as The Economist concludes: ‘good manners, please, not censorship.’
Diplomacy
Verhagen said he wanted to improve the image of the Netherlands in the Arabic world and Muslim countries. It is particularly poor in Indonesia, Turkey and Egypt, he said.
As part of this, the Netherlands has established three public diplomacy hubs – in Washington, Beijing and Cairo – which are responsible for shaping a regional approach to public diplomacy.
‘Our primary, short-term goal is to respond to incidents and crises: damage control, if you will. Our secondary goal is to put our policies in context, with a view to building support,’ Verhagen said.

For the full speech, in English, click here