Thierry Baudet

Thierry Henri Philippe Baudet (born 28 January 1983) is a Dutch author and politician. He has been Leader of Forum for Democracy (FvD, Dutch: Forum voor Democratie) since he founded it in 2016. A member of the House of Representatives since 2017, he has also served as the party's parliamentary leader since then.

Thierry Baudet
Baudet in 2018
Leader of Forum for Democracy
Assumed office
22 September 2016
Preceded byPosition established
Leader of Forum for Democracy in the House of Representatives
Assumed office
23 March 2017
Preceded byPosition established
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
23 March 2017
Chair of Forum for Democracy
Assumed office
22 September 2016
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Thierry Henri Philippe Baudet

(1983-01-28) 28 January 1983
Heemstede, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Political partyForum for Democracy (since 2016)
ResidenceAmsterdam, Netherlands
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam (BA, LLM)
Leiden University (PhD)
Occupation
Signature

Biography

Baudet was born in Heemstede to a family of partial Walloon and Indonesian ancestry.[1]

Baudet is a eurosceptic and opposed to multiculturalism. Baudet is an advocate for a return to nation states. In 2014, he gave a speech at the Flemish nationalist event IJzerwake. He also spoke at several Vlaams Belang conferences. Baudet has stated that his conservative political convictions have been largely influenced by two events in his first year as a history undergraduate in Amsterdam: the September 11 attacks and the assassination of Pim Fortuyn.

In 2016, following the parliamentary win of FvD, Baudet gave a controversial speech, expressing his belief that "Europe lives in a cultural and spiritual vacuum", forgetting that the western civilization once "confidently spread to every corner of the world".[2]

Baudet used to have a newspaper column in NRC Handelsblad,[3] and was published in Le Monde, PressEurope and European Ideas. Baudet has called himself "the most important intellectual of the Netherlands".[4][5][6]

Member of the House of Representatives

In the general election of 2017 his newly founded party won two seats in the House of Representatives, Baudet being elected alongside Theo Hiddema.

Political positions and opinions

Baudet is a national conservative and eurosceptic, advocating for both Netherlands' exit from the European Union and its eventual dissolution. He is against unskilled immigration into the Netherlands. In a speech he spoke about immigration causing a homeopathic dilution[7] and in an interview he said he wants to preserve the native cultures and ethnicities of Europe as they are.[8] He is opposed to Ukraine joining the European Union. Forum for Democracy set up the 2016 Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum with the GeenStijl website and the Burgercomité EU association, in which Baudet voted no.[9]

In November 2016 Baudet co-signed a letter initiated by the German journalist Billy Six which requested Donald Trump to press for a new investigation regarding Flight MH17.[10] In 2020 his WhatsApp chats were leaked to media, revealing close contacts with Vladimir Kornilov demonstrating significant influence Kornilov had on Baudet's actions on Ukraine, the referendum and future anti-NATO campaigns. In the chats with his FvD colleagues Baudet also alluded to financial support from Kornilov.[11]

Baudet has a strong opinion on arts, the topic of his book Oikofobie, and considers non-Western art and Western post-1900 modernism in visual arts inferior to Western Realism, encourages education and programmation of tonal music opposed to atonal music and dislikes modern post-1950 architecture. In reaction to this, Musicologist Yuri Landman warned Baudet for approaching the concept of degenerate art with his conservative criticism.[12]

Baudet frequently speaks about the perceived existence of a "party cartel", in which the main ruling parties of the country divide power among themselves and conspire towards the same goals, despite claiming to be competitors.[13] Baudet is not religious, but he is sympathetic to Christian values. In an interview, he called himself an "agnostic cultural Christian."[14]

Baudet is critical of Islam and has expressed concern about both high levels and lack of assimilation of migrants from Islamic societies. He has stated his disagreement with the proposals made by fellow Dutch politician Geert Wilders to ban copies of the Koran whilst also praising Wilders as someone who "has put on the agenda the significant problem that we have with radical Islam in our time and Muslim immigration." Baudet has also called for Islamic schools in the Netherlands to sign up with Western values and has criticised both Dutch and wider European handling of immigration and assimilation, stating "On the one hand you let in untold numbers of people from a completely different culture than your own. And on the other you’re not doing anything to impose your own culture on them. It’s the worst of both worlds." During the 2017 Dutch general election Baudet was one of the few Dutch politicians who said he would form a coalition with Wilders' Party for Freedom.[15]

In February 2018, Baudet was confronted with the question whether there is a relation between IQ and race in a debate with Femke Halsema. Hiddema and the number two on Baudet's party list for the 2018 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam, Yernaz Ramautarsing, stated they believed it to be true while Baudet refused to answer the question. Deputy Prime Minister Kajsa Ollongren stated that Forum for Democracy is a bigger threat than the Party for Freedom and that members have an unhealthy fascination for race differences; Baudet made a complaint for defamation at an Amsterdam police station. Hiddema supported him as his advocate.[16] In a debate a few days later, he no longer refused to answer the question and said he thinks that these sorts of questions are better left to the scientist, and that he is not one and can therefore not answer the question confidently.

Baudet has been in close contact with Theodore Dalrymple,[17] wrote his PhD-thesis with Roger Scruton and Paul Cliteur and frequently visited Douglas Murray, Jeremy Rabkin and Alain Finkielkraut.[18] He has also had contact with Jared Taylor,[19] Milo Yiannopoulos, Jean-Marie Le Pen and Filip Dewinter,[20] sparking accusations of "far right" or "racist" sympathies. In response, Baudet states that he and the Forum for Democracy "stand for an open, tolerant and democratic Netherlands where people are judged by their individual qualities; not by their social class, color of skin, race, or sexual preference."[21] Baudet says that it is his duty as a politician to speak with people on all sides of the political spectrum, "from left to right, from mainstream to less mainstream." [22]

Baudet is an adherent of the 'Cultural Marxism' conspiracy theory[23][24][25] that suggests a calculated effort to destroy western culture by academic and intellectual means.[26][27][28][29] Baudet accuses the European Union of being 'a Cultural Marxist project, with the aim of destroying European Civilization'.[30]

Personal life

Outside of politics, Baudet enjoys playing the piano and had one installed in his parliamentary office in the Hague. In 2018, he was said to be in a relationship with an Iranian born national.[31]

Education

Career

Bibliography
  • 2010: Conservatieve Vooruitgang. De grootste denkers van de 20ste eeuw. (Conservative progress. The greatest thinkers of the 20th century) Ed. with Michiel Visser (Prometheus/Bert Bakker).
  • 2011: Revolutionair Verval en de conservatieve vooruitgang in de 18de en 19de eeuw (Revolutionary decline and conservative progress in the 18th and 19th centuries). Ed. with Michiel Visser (Prometheus/Bert Bakker).
  • 2012: Pro Europa dus tegen de EU (Pro Europe therefore against the EU) (Elsevier)
  • 2012: The Significance of Borders. Why representative government and the rule of law require nation-states. (Brill Academic Publishers). PhD Dissertation
  • 2012: De aanval op de natiestaat (The attack on the nation state) (Prometheus/Bert Bakker).
  • 2013: Oikofobie. De angst voor het eigene (Oikophobia. The fear of home) (Prometheus/Bert Bakker).
  • 2014: Thuis in de Tijd. (A home in time) Ed. with Geert Mak (Prometheus/Bert Bakker).ISBN 9789035141988
  • 2014: Van Bach tot Bernstein. Klassieke muziek voor iedereen. (From Bach to Bernstein. Classical music for everyone). With Arie Boomsma. ISBN 9789044627084
  • 2014: Voorwaardelijke liefde. Roman. (Conditional love. Novel.) Amsterdam: Prometheus/Bert Bakker, ISBN 9789044626810
  • 2017: Breek het partijkartel! De noodzaak van referenda. (Break the Partycartel. The necessity of referendums.) Amsterdam: Prometheus/Bert Bakker, ISBN 9789044633689
  • 2018: Van elk waarheen bevrijd. Roman. (Delivered from all whereto. Novel.) Amsterdam: Prometheus/Bert Bakker, ISBN 9789044637359

References
  1. "De genealogie van Thierry Baudet | NGV". NGV (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  2. de Vries, Joost (3 April 2019). "Meet Thierry Baudet, the suave new face of Dutch rightwing populism". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. "Dr. T.H.Ph. (Thierry) Baudet" (in Dutch). Parlementair Documentatiecentrum (PDC), University of Leiden. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  4. Thijs Niemantsverdriet (7 March 2016). "Ze delen weinig, behalve een diepe afkeer van Europa" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 20 March 2016. dutch original "Hij noemt zichzelf zonder terughoudendheid "de belangrijkste intellectueel van Nederland". "
    English translation: He calls himself without reticence the most important intellectual of the Netherlands.
  5. Joyce Roodnat (17 March 2016). "Pure woede en onversneden lust" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 20 March 2016. Dutch original "Thierry Baudet, de man die zichzelf de belangrijkste Nederlandse intellectueel noemt, "
    English translation: "Thierry Baudet, the man who calls himself the most important Dutch intellectual"
  6. Henk van den Berge en Evert van Dijkhuizen (4 April 2015). "Dr. Thierry Baudet: Vlammend protest tegen islam en Europese dwang" (in Dutch). Reformatorisch Dagblad. Retrieved 20 March 2017. Dutch original "U noemt zichzelf de belangrijkste intellectueel van dit moment. Waarom zou u dat zijn? "Kun je iemand anders noemen die zo doorziet wat de problemen zijn? "
    English translation: "You call yourself the most important intellectual of this moment? Why would you be that? "Can you mention anbody else who understands what the problems are?"
  7. "Baudet snapt ophef om 'homeopatische verdunning' niet - Dit is de Dag". NPO Radio 1.
  8. Allochtoons (22 September 2017). "Thierry Baudet: "Ik wil graag dat Europa dominant blank, en cultureel blijft zoals het is."" – via YouTube.
  9. "Ze delen weinig, behalve een diepe afkeer van Europa" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016. dutch original "De belangrijkste vertegenwoordigers van de andere groep – bovenal een 'nee' – zijn het Burgercomité EU en Forum voor Democratie van opiniemaker Thierry Baudet."
    English translation: The most important representatives of the other group, above all a no are the Civil Committee EU and the Forum for Democracy of opinion maker Thierry Baudet"
  10. Noordaa, Robert van der (31 January 2017). "Baudet vraagt Trump om nieuw onderzoek naar MH17, nabestaanden geschokt". de Volkskrant.
  11. "WhatsApp leak exposes Russia link to Dutch far right". EUobserver. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. Landman, Yuri (27 March 2017). "De Muzikale Dyslexie van Thierry Baudet". frnkfrt.net/.
  13. Joshua Chaffin (14 March 2017). "Populists seize the moment as Dutch fall out of love with EU". Financial Times.
  14. (in Dutch) Thierry Baudet pleit voor herwaardering christendom, cip.nl, 15 February 2017
  15. Slater, Tom (14 March 2017). "The Dutch are sick of being lied to". spiked-online.
  16. Baudet aangifte small en laster (in Dutch), De Telegraaf.
  17. Baudet, Thierry (10 July 2016). "Logeerpartijtje bij Theodore Dalrymple. Puur feest.pic.twitter.com/nkhE5uuLsA".
  18. Baudet, Thierry (18 July 2017). "Bijgepraat met Alain Finkielkraut en plannen gemaakt voor zijn komst naar NL in november voor #fvd event. Top!pic.twitter.com/N8t3YGHagE".
  19. De Correspondent article (in Dutch).
  20. De Correspondent article (in Dutch).
  21. "FVD reageert na ophef over ontmoeting Baudet met racist". De Telegraaf. 20 December 2017.
  22. Route, En (9 June 2018). "In het zomernummer van En Route vertelt schrijver/politicus Thierry Baudet uitgebreid over zijn passie voor Frankrijk en de Franse cultuur. Hier alvast een voorproefje... Het hele interview lezen? Ga naar www.enroute-magazine.nl/losse-verkooppunten/ … voor een verkooppunt in jouw buurt!pic.twitter.com/8daNMF5KEn".
  23. Boekestijn, Arend Jan (29 August 2017). "De term 'Cultureel Marxisme' leidt alleen maar tot verwarring" (in Dutch). NPO Radio 1. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  24. Breebaart, Leonie (1 May 2019). "Met cultuur-marxisme kun je alle kanten op". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  25. Giesen, Peter (1 May 2019). "'Er is een complot tegen de Europese mens gaande'". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  26. "Skidmore College: Column: Force Fields". 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  27. Jackson, Paul; Shekhovtsov, Anton (eds.). The post-war Anglo-American far right : a special relationship of hate. Basingstoke. ISBN 9781137396211. OCLC 890161379.
  28. Copsey, Nigel; Richardson, John E. (eds.). Cultures of Post-War British Fascism. ISBN 9781138846838. OCLC 890758276.
  29. "'Cultural Marxism' Catching On". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  30. Thierry Baudet [@thierrybaudet] (23 April 2018). "Twitter: "Omdat de Europese Unie een cultuurmarxistisch project is dat tot doel heeft de vernietiging van de Europese beschaving.… t.co/viDjPlokSR"" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2019 – via Twitter.
  31. Faber, Sebastiaan (5 April 2018). "Baudet the New Face of the European Alt-Right?". thenation.com.

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