The US ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, has been accused of election interference by Dutch lawmakers for hosting an event for a political party at the US embassy in Wassenaar.
The event, held on September 10th, was for the right-wing Forum for Democracy party. Some reports say the party was a fundraiser, which would be direct interference in domestic politics and a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations.
In comments defending Hoekstra, the US State Department said on Wednesday that the event was “not a political fundraiser” but a “town hall discussion.” The State Department said the event was just an example of Hoekstra’s engagement with a “range of Dutch political parties.”
The Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer first reported on the event on Monday and said invitations were sent out in the name of “the Forum for Democracy and Pete Hoekstra.” The invitation also had contact details for the party’s head of fundraising.
An unnamed entrepreneur who attended the event told De Groene Amsterdammer that the event was “certainly not a town hall meeting” but more of an “informal kick-off for the election campaign.”
Dutch MP Bram van Ojik from the country’s Greens party said the event should have never happened. “This is interference in our elections,” Bram said. Other Dutch politicians are calling for an investigation into whether or not the event was a fundraiser.
Thierry Baudet, the leader of the Forum for Democracy party, said the idea that the party was a fundraiser is a “conspiracy theory.” Hoekstra, who was appointed by President Trump in 2017, has been affiliated with the party before. Last November, the ambassador spoke at a Forum for Democracy conference.
Arrest Hoekstra ! Better yet, kick the bastard out of the country.
That would be great for the Netherlands, but there’s always the danger he might come back to the US.
There is likely not ONE nation on earth that has not suffered from US government/CIA/NSA election interference….including the US.
Dutch MP Bram van Ojik from the country’s Greens party said the event should have never happened. “This is interference in our elections,” Bram said. Other Dutch politicians are calling for an investigation into whether or not the event was a fundraiser.
No, no Bram, the US doesn’t interfere with elections. We are the beacon….oh fuck it, we’re guilty but you can’t do a damn thing about it.
Bram cannot but the Dutch government and the Dutch King can. It can end with the King calling Mr. Hoekstra to his palace in Den Haag and telling him “Mr. Ambassador, you are now a “persona non grata”. Pack your belongings and go back home.
Then we’ll find another way. My point is that you can’t stop the US from interfering with elections.
Well someday somebody, or rather some other countries, are going to do something about it. I hope I live to see the US get its well-deserved comeuppance.
I have checked their party program. It is an “enrich the rich” party program. Plus Nedexit which will be a disaster for the Dutch economy especially for Rotterdam.
The Benelux will not return.
The US interfering with another country’s elections? Well that’s certainly not a surprise, even though they are constantly accusing other countries of interfering in their elections. The US has been interfering with other countries’ elections for at least the past 80 years.