Netherlands

The diplomatic scandal between Turkey and the Netherlands continued for a fourth day on Tuesday, just hours ahead of the Dutch general election on Wednesday, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again accused the Netherlands of state terrorism and having a “rotten” character as the diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens, adding he would mobilize the Islamic world to fight xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia.

Turkey has threatened to flood Europe with millions of potential terrorists following an escalation in tensions between Turkish and European authorities.  Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Netherlands have reached a new low, with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus claiming that politicians in Europe live under a “facist, neo nazi influence.” This comes after the Dutch government banned Turkish ministers from campaigning in the country.

With less than 48 hours until polling begins in the first major European election of the year, Bloomberg reports that snap polls show support for the anti-Islam, euroskeptic Freedom Party of populist Geert Wilders being re-energized after the last few days chaotic events surrounding Turkey.

The bizarre diplomatic scandal that erupted over the weekend, after the Netherlands banned several prominent Turkish politicians from organizing and participating in pro-Erdogan rallies just days ahead of the Dutch general election where immigration will be perhaps the most important topic, and which prompted numerous accusations of "nazism" and "fascism" by Turkey's president Erdogan, appeared set to escalate further on Monday when the Turkish cabinet is expected to consider imposing sanctions on the Netherlands in a deepening row with the country's NATO ally.

Geert Wilders is the favorite to win the elections in the Netherlands in about 3 days and may one day become their new leader -- running on a blatant anti-Islam platform -- pushing forth the narrative that Islam is anti-human rights, anti-democratic, and invokes violence amongst ardent followers of the faith.