Thierry Baudet: Difference between revisions

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Baudet attended a [[Haarlem]] [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]], a college preparatory school with compulsory [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek]].<ref name=nation>{{cite web|last=Faber|first=Sebastiaan|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/is-dutch-bad-boy-thierry-baudet-the-new-face-of-the-european-alt-right/|title=Baudet the New Face of the European Alt-Right?|date=5 April 2018|website=thenation.com|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=15 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515114009/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/is-dutch-bad-boy-thierry-baudet-the-new-face-of-the-european-alt-right/|url-status=live}}</ref> His first degree, from the [[University of Amsterdam]], was in history, and from 2007 to 2012 he was a PhD student at [[Leiden University]], where in 2012 he graduated as a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] with a thesis on national identity, European identity, and [[multiculturalism]].<ref name="parlement.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vjuuhtscjwpn/t_h_ph_thierry_baudet|title=Dr. T.H.Ph. (Thierry) Baudet|access-date=1 March 2017|date=2 March 2016|publisher=Parlementair Documentatiecentrum (PDC), University of Leiden|language=nl|archive-date=2 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302030218/https://www.parlement.com/id/vjuuhtscjwpn/t_h_ph_thierry_baudet|url-status=live}}</ref> The dissertation was directed by Leiden professor [[Paul Cliteur]]<ref name=winterman>{{cite news |url=https://www.parool.nl/nederland/leegloop-bij-forum-voor-democratie-ook-paul-cliteur-stapt-op~b019ae70/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |newspaper=[[Het Parool]] |accessdate=31 July 2022 |date=24 November 2020 |title=Leegloop bij Forum voor Democratie: ook Paul Cliteur stapt op |first=Peter |last=Winterman |language=nl }}</ref> and the British philosopher [[Roger Scruton]] and was published in Dutch as ''De aanval op de natiestaat'' (''The Attack on the Nation-State''). An English translation was also published, called ''The Significance of Borders''.<ref name=nation/>

On 26 October 2023, Baudet was assaulted with an umbrella upon his arrival at [[Ghent University]].<ref>{{cite news|date=26 October 2023|title=Thierry Baudet op hoofd geslagen bij ingang Universiteit Gent, lezing doorgegaan|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2495501-thierry-baudet-op-hoofd-geslagen-bij-ingang-universiteit-gent-lezing-doorgegaan|publisher=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]]|language=nl|access-date=26 October 2023|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027015116/https://nos.nl/artikel/2495501-thierry-baudet-op-hoofd-geslagen-bij-ingang-universiteit-gent-lezing-doorgegaan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=26 October 2023|title=Nederlandse politicus Thierry Baudet krijgt klap op het hoofd net voor lezing aan UGent|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/10/26/thierry-baudet-aangevallen-bij-aankomst-ugent/|publisher=[[VRT (broadcaster)|VRT]]|language=nl|access-date=26 October 2023|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026193256/https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/10/26/thierry-baudet-aangevallen-bij-aankomst-ugent/|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the start of his political career, Baudet was a [[National conservatism|national conservative]] and [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]], advocating for both the Netherlands' [[Dutch withdrawal from the European Union|exit]] from the [[European Union]] (EU) and the eventual dissolution of the EU, as well as campaigingcampaigning against unskilled [[immigration]] into the Netherlands. In a speech he described immigration as causing a "[[Homeopathy|homeopathic]] [[Dilution (equation)|dilution]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/dit-is-de-dag/419075af-6edd-42a5-a6c8-2b00bd949d6d/2017-03-17-baudet-snapt-ophef-om-homeopatische-verdunning-niet|title=Baudet snapt ophef om 'homeopatische verdunning' niet - Dit is de Dag|website=NPO Radio 1|access-date=18 October 2022|archive-date=18 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018153607/https://www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/dit-is-de-dag/419075af-6edd-42a5-a6c8-2b00bd949d6d/2017-03-17-baudet-snapt-ophef-om-homeopatische-verdunning-niet|url-status=live}}</ref> of the Dutch culture, and in an interview said he wants to preserve the native cultures and ethnicities of Europe as they are.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBzt9PyU5w|title=Thierry Baudet: "Ik wil graag dat Europa dominant blank, en cultureel blijft zoals het is."|last=Allochtoons|date=22 September 2017|via=YouTube|access-date=30 January 2018|archive-date=9 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109015205/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBzt9PyU5w|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, Baudet expressed admiration for murdered Dutch politician [[Pim Fortuyn]], and both ideological and personality comparisons between the two men were made by both Dutch and overseas media.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lanni |first=Alessandro |title=The Dandy Thierry Baudet and the new Dutch Populism. An Interview with Sarah de Lange |url=https://www.resetdoc.org/story/dandy-thierry-baudet-new-dutch-populism-interview-sarah-de-lange/ |website=[[ResetDOC]] |date=28 April 2019 |access-date=24 November 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408222231/https://www.resetdoc.org/story/dandy-thierry-baudet-new-dutch-populism-interview-sarah-de-lange/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/thierry-baudet-the-new-face-of-the-euroskeptic-dutch-right/a-48012429|title=Thierry Baudet: The new face of the euroskeptic Dutch right|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=24 November 2020|archive-date=26 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226035841/https://www.dw.com/en/thierry-baudet-the-new-face-of-the-euroskeptic-dutch-right/a-48012429|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the start of his career, Baudet held strongly pro-Israel views.; Howeverhowever, these changed after [[2023 Israel-Hamas war]], with BaudentBaudet praising [[DENK (political party)|DENK]]'s (a party accused of Islamist and Turkish nationalist sympathies) views on the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|work=CIDI|title=FVD wederom kritisch op Nederlandse waarschuwingen aan Israel|date=6 May 2020|url=https://www.cidi.nl/fvd-wederom-kritisch-op-nederlandse-waarschuwingen-aan-israel/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=NRC|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/10/11/baudet-steunt-israel-niet-meer-en-hij-is-niet-de-enige-er-is-een-vibe-op-rechts-gaande-a4176933|title=Baudet steunt Israël niet meer, en dat is exemplarisch voor een kentering op de radicaal-rechtse flank|date=11 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Nieuwneuws|title=Video: Baudet schaart zich achter Israël-standpunt DENK: 'Inspirerend verhaal'|date=11 October 2023|url=https://www.nieuwnieuws.nl/artikel/politiek/video-baudet-schaart-zich-achter-israel-standpunt-denk-inspirerend-verhaal/36013}}</ref>

Baudet has been critical of [[Islam]] and expressed concern about both high levels and lack of assimilation of migrants from Islamic societies. In a 2017 interview, he expressed disagreement with the proposals made by another Dutch politician, [[Geert Wilders]], to ban copies of the [[Quran]]. Meanwhile, he also praised Wilders as someone who "has put on the agenda the significant problem that we have with radical Islam in our time and Muslim immigration".{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} Baudet has called for Islamic schools in the Netherlands to subscribe to Western values. He has criticised both Dutch and wider European handling of immigration and assimilation. 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]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Slater |first=Tom |title='The Dutch are sick of being lied to': Meet the man hoping to be kingmaker in the Dutch elections |url=https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/03/14/the-dutch-are-sick-of-being-lied-to/ |newspaper=[[Spiked (magazine)|Spiked]] |date=14 March 2017 |access-date=19 April 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706223033/https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/03/14/the-dutch-are-sick-of-being-lied-to/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Baudet and Members of Parliament of his party have repeatedly compared measures to combat the spread of [[COVID-19]] to the [[Anti-Jewish legislation in pre-war Nazi Germany|persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany]]. In May 2021, this led to another split in the party.<ref>{{cite news |last1=De Witt Wijnen |first1=Philip |last2=Rutten |first2=Rik |title=Thierry Baudet zorgt met zijn ophef en provocaties opnieuw voor een breuk in zijn partij |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/05/13/thierry-baudet-zorgt-met-zijn-ophef-en-provocaties-opnieuw-voor-een-breuk-in-zijn-partij-a4043496 |newspaper=NRC |date=13 May 2021 |access-date=24 September 2021 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133236/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/05/13/thierry-baudet-zorgt-met-zijn-ophef-en-provocaties-opnieuw-voor-een-breuk-in-zijn-partij-a4043496 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2021, Baudet attended a protest against the measures to combat [[COVID-19]], in which several protesters wore [[Yellow badge|Jewish badges]], which drew condemnation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2396802-halsema-jodensterren-bij-coronaprotest-dieptriest|title=Halsema: Jodensterren bij coronaprotest dieptriest|first=|last=|date=6 September 2021|website=nos.nl/|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133237/https://nos.nl/artikel/2396802-halsema-jodensterren-bij-coronaprotest-dieptriest|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/09/05/overheid-wil-totale-controle-a4057187|title=Afkeer tegen coronabeleid brengt betogers op de Dam bijeen, ondanks hun verschillen|first=Chris|last=Hensen|date=5 September 2021|newspaper=NRC|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133236/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/09/05/overheid-wil-totale-controle-a4057187|url-status=live}}</ref> This led five Jewish organisations to ask parliament to explicitly distance itself from comparisons of the measures with the persecution of Jews and [[the Holocaust]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2398368-joodse-organisaties-kamer-moet-zich-uitspreken-tegen-vergelijking-holocaust-en-corona|title=Joodse organisaties: Kamer moet zich uitspreken tegen vergelijking Holocaust en corona|first=|last=|date=19 September 2021|website=nos.nl/|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133235/https://nos.nl/artikel/2398368-joodse-organisaties-kamer-moet-zich-uitspreken-tegen-vergelijking-holocaust-en-corona|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, Baudet issued a tweet in which he stated that Jewish organisations "do not own the war", and wrote the word ''[[Holocaust]]'' within quotation marks, which was interpreted as an [[antisemitic]] [[Dog whistle (politics)|dog whistle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2399000-joodse-organisaties-nare-smaak-door-suggestie-baudet-over-claimen-woii|title=Joodse organisaties: 'Nare smaak' door suggestie Baudet over 'claimen' WOII|first=|last=|date=23 September 2021|website=nos.nl/|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133238/https://nos.nl/artikel/2399000-joodse-organisaties-nare-smaak-door-suggestie-baudet-over-claimen-woii|url-status=live}}</ref> Baudet was widely condemned by other politicians and Jewish organisations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/09/22/jetten-eist-excuses-van-baudet-om-holocaust-tweet-a4059380|title=Jetten (D66) eist excuses van Baudet om Holocaust-tweet|first=Pim|last=van den Dool|date=22 September 2021|newspaper=NRC|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133235/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/09/22/jetten-eist-excuses-van-baudet-om-holocaust-tweet-a4059380|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2398933-rutte-kritisch-op-onnadenkend-aanhalen-jodenvervolging-door-baudet|title=Rutte kritisch op 'onnadenkend' aanhalen Jodenvervolging door Baudet|first=|last=|date=23 September 2021|website=nos.nl/|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924133236/https://nos.nl/artikel/2398933-rutte-kritisch-op-onnadenkend-aanhalen-jodenvervolging-door-baudet|url-status=live}}</ref> He is pro-Russian, and has said that the [[2022Russian warinvasion inof Ukraine]] is the fault of the West.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 February 2022|url=https://nltimes.nl/2022/02/28/dutch-parliament-returns-recess-debate-russia-ukraine-war|title=Dutch parliament returns from recess to debate Russia-Ukraine war|website=NL Times|access-date=17 March 2022|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408222238/https://nltimes.nl/2022/02/28/dutch-parliament-returns-recess-debate-russia-ukraine-war|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ex-Baudet colleague calls far-right leader "Manchurian candidate" for Putin support|url=https://nltimes.nl/2022/02/27/ex-baudet-colleague-calls-far-right-leader-manchurian-candidate-putin-support|date=27 February 2022|website=NL Times|access-date=17 March 2022|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408222201/https://nltimes.nl/2022/02/27/ex-baudet-colleague-calls-far-right-leader-manchurian-candidate-putin-support|url-status=live}}</ref> He also stated that the [[September 11 attacks]] were [[9/11 conspiracy theories|false flag operations]] and insinuated that the [[Apollo 11|Apollo 11 Moon landing]] was [[Moon landing conspiracy theories|staged]], both implemented by the United States government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-04 |title=Thierry Baudet grossiert in complotten over 9/11 en Rusland |url=https://www.ewmagazine.nl/nederland/achtergrond/2022/02/thierry-baudet-grossiert-in-complotten-over-9-11-en-rusland-868690/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=EWmagazine.nl |language=nl |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018185830/https://www.ewmagazine.nl/nederland/achtergrond/2022/02/thierry-baudet-grossiert-in-complotten-over-9-11-en-rusland-868690/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-20| title=Wilders tegen Baudet : u bent al vrij ver op weg naar de maan|url=https://nos.nl/video/2491218-wilders-tegen-baudet-u-bent-al-vrij-ver-op-weg-naar-de-maan |access-date=2023-09-21|website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS.nl]] |language=nl|archive-date=2023-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921194304/https://nos.nl/video/2491218-wilders-tegen-baudet-u-bent-al-vrij-ver-op-weg-naar-de-maan |url-status=live}}</ref>

! scope="col" rowspan=2 class="unsortable" |{{abbr|2=References|Ref}}.

| style=text-align:right | [[List of Forum for Democracy candidates in the 2023 Dutch general election|1]]