The whole affair was a political play with wrong roles, wrong arguments and wrong outcomes.

There is "Iron Rita" Verdonk, a right wing minister of the government who was criticised harshly in and out of parliament and had to take back her decision. She looks at the first glance the loser but her popularity ratings have gone up sharply and she seems to be quite happy about the whole affair. She probably will run for prime minister next time for her liberal party. The liberal party, like in so many European countries, is a rightleaning party, not at all liberal in an American sense.

Her approach to the "Muslim problem" (and to immigration in general) is a very uncompromising stance: Rules must be obeyed at all (human) costs. She and Hirsi Ali are soal mates when it comes to criticising Muslim fundamentalism. Foreigners have to adapt to the Dutch way of life or leave. Multiculturalism is not on her agenda.

On the other side was a left wing TV magazine whose journalists don't like Verdonk's way. These journalists have been critical of Verdonk for deeds like deporting a student who had grown up in the Netherlands just a few weeks before her diploma examination. These journalists would prefer Verdonk to change her way of rules must be obeyed at all costs to a more individualised and sensible approach.

Then the TV magazine made a big miscalculation. They thought if they would point publicly (the facts were known already ) to Hirsi Ali as an offender Rita would not act with the same relentlessness, because she knew Hirsi Ali to be on her side in the "fight of cultures" and because she was prominent and in the same party as Verdonk. Had Rita acted as the journalists had thought they would have said can't she be a bit more generous in other cases as well. Their real aim was of course not to get Hirsi Ali out, for they lean much more to the multicultural side. By telling publicly that Hirsi Ali should also be evicted they wanted tio amke the other evictions more difficult.

They had miscalculated, for Rita said "thanks for telling me" and acted as relentless as in all other cases. No wonder her approval ratings went up. Nearly nobody got what they wanted. Verdonk has not changed her policy and still takes the hardline approach. Verdonk has lost an ally (Hirsi Ali). The journalists got what they asked for and not what they really wanted.

But there is one group who is really glad: Friends of the murderer of Van Gogh, Muslim fundamentalists, have sent the journalists a derisive letter of thank you together with a bouquet of flowers (publicly of course) for helping to get rid of Hirsi Ali.

Wolfgang