I have no problem with two passports so long as the person is a good law abiding citizen.

By SandraV | October 28, 2010 7:49 AM

I have no problem with dual nationality, however if you wish to hold a position in government, or a senior position in the civil service, then it should be obligatory that you hold only one nationality. No-one can serve two masters... In a position of power and service, there should be no conflict of interest

By jaycee | October 28, 2010 8:48 AM

i feel very bad really, I found that all what we were raised on were lies, I was raised during the 60's/70's to believe that we -after the WWII -which collected 73 Million lives , would get rid of the tribal attitude,, and Humans would be civilized to know they are Humans not called by a racial artificial term , called Nationality,,, It is a bitty to see that all my youth was consumed in immaginary beliefs,, what makes the matter easy for me,, that I do not have enough time-as I am old now- to see more of the stupidity of the humans... Nationalities, borders,,etc,, are tribal attitude,,,I am a human not part of a herd,,

By zoser | October 28, 2010 8:59 AM

'A Swedish passport is not the same as a Turkish one, says PM'.
As far as I know, a passport is a document to identify a person. So Wilders' talking figurehaed (Rutte), really means that for him, there are persons with all their rights, and subspecies with less rights. Depending on where they are born. Fascism of the worst sort. Does anyone remember something about Aryan race and their special rights, in Germany during Nazi regime?

By zenplus | October 28, 2010 9:00 AM

And I have to say, I admire Wilders for saying loud and clear he is against all forms of it. At least, he did not discriminate in this case.

By david | October 28, 2010 9:03 AM

re: Sandra: you say you support Wilders and the PVV, this party clearly is totally against persons holding 2 passports. now you say you have no problem with it under certain conditions - which is it Sandra? please choose once. otherwise your input lacks credibilty I think.

By Bill | October 28, 2010 9:06 AM

I sure hope there isn't a large percentage of Dutch people who agree with this "one nationality" nonsense. There are certainly some situations where a conflict of interest might be a issue for government officials. In this case, they should either be ineligable for the job, or decide to give up dual citizenship. In all other cases ... especially for the general public ... making this an issue stinks of extreme right intolerance fueled by misguided patriotism.

By Rowan | October 28, 2010 9:16 AM

Hi,
A Swedish passport is not the same as a Turkish one, says PM
Such a remark from a European PM is distasteful and Wild(er)
Speculation. Is a Dutch passport the same as an European pass?
Dr. Terence Hale

By Terence Hale | October 28, 2010 9:18 AM

This is totally hypocrit !

Who will produce the list which nationalities are "good" ones and "bad" ones.

Will there be an extra department of civil servants watching the list, i.e. "who is in or out !!!???

By Peter | October 28, 2010 9:55 AM

Who says there is no discrimination in Netherlands?

By Hakan | October 28, 2010 10:13 AM

It is more an emotional issue, not a political one. More and more people have parents with two different nationalities e.g. French father/Dutch mother, Dutch father/Indonesian mother and so on. Having dual nationality does not divide one's loyalty, it retains one's cultural roots. For practical reasons, it is just so much easier to visit relatives without need for visas.

By kalajutu | October 28, 2010 10:24 AM

@SandraV. Nothing to do, one thing with another. Failure to comply with the law, is regulated by the Penal Code, for ALL Dutch people, IN THE SAME CONDITIONS. Cause, justice is supported in a basic principle: same crime, same punishment.
There can not be Dutch people, who can not be deprived of their passport and Dutch subspecies that if you can. Because that leads to differential treatment due to the race, as Nazism practiced with Aryan and Jewish races. Or to differential treatment for the 'ancient Christians with purity of blood' and 'Christians converts' as the old Spanish Inquisition practiced. That is why all civilized people, we agreed that these aberrations should be punished rather than encouraged.

By zenplus | October 28, 2010 11:28 AM

I will not give up my American passport. If the Dutch government does this then thy have gone way too far.

By Ames | October 28, 2010 11:34 AM

A Swedish, Turkish or Somali person have all got the same human rights - or is that a mistake?

By sender | October 28, 2010 11:35 AM

I think this new cabinet should be focused on solving critical issues on ground rather than wasting time on dual nationality subject which is and has been permitted in the Netherlands before now.

By des | October 28, 2010 11:39 AM

sandra V...problem here might be what they call ...conflict of interest. If you are swedish-dutch who do you serve sweden or NL? and maybe with sweden things are OK..but turkey for example interferes alot with immigrants (some of them being immigrants here for 30 yrs and speak only turkish)...so it is not as simple as it seems e.g. minority issues etc.

By kos | October 28, 2010 11:51 AM

I think he has opened a can of worms with this statement ''different attitude to the dual nationality of one of his junior ministers if she had had a Turkish, rather than a Swedish passport as well as a Dutch one.'' is he discriminating against Turks?

Is this Wielder’s influence on him?

By Al | October 28, 2010 12:27 PM

that's not the matter. the point is that this country is getting more and more discriminative towards immigrats etc. This kind of discusses haven't taken place before, as far as I know. The emphasis on integrallity is becoming too much. In my daily life I see people from other countries around me all the time, and I have no problem with it. The dutch know the of how great importance tolerance implies. These days people are getting brainwashed by this kind of policies and media reports. They're only making a much

By student | October 28, 2010 2:14 PM

My only reaction is that I am truly shocked. Everyone has the freedom to speak, but nowadays, they all have seem to crossed the boundaries. In expressing this feeling, I don't think I even need to mention their names.

By student | October 28, 2010 2:29 PM

Totally agree with @Peter. Who will decide which country belongs to the black list and which country belongs to the white list? As a Turkish citizen I feel offended with PM's statement, I feel Turkish people are ranked differently in the eyes of current government.

By Gokhan | October 28, 2010 3:17 PM

What about our future Argentinian Queen, and I seem to remember that Beatrix has in principle also the British nationality.

By vd Brink | October 28, 2010 3:40 PM

What an totally hypocrite man! And tell me...
Princess Maxima IS still Argentinean. She cannot give her nationality. I guess if she
worry about these news...

By Gabriela | October 28, 2010 3:46 PM

this rhetoric is really disturbing, and even more, that 'average' dutch citizens are not challenging these polarizing sentiments...

By hakim | October 28, 2010 3:51 PM

@Zoser
I know what you mean about feeling like you've been fed a bunch of lies growing up, and that the world is actually quite different. The thing to hold onto is that you weren't fed lies, rather society has grasped onto another set of ideas. Right now it feels like to me that we are being forced to identify with something and be scared of the differences between each other. Do I want my child to grow up in a society like that? No I don't, but society is bigger than me and I remain hopeful it will swing back the other way soon.

By Bella99 | October 28, 2010 3:51 PM

Turkish and Swedish, they both pay the same tax to this country (guess Turks pay much more because of their population). If you want to make a differentiation on passport rights, then make it as well on the tax levels, dare you?

I generally tend to put the blame on "being politician" in such cases but I think this one is going far beyond, reaching discrimination (well, they are not sensitive on this obviously). He basically made a mistake by declaring the "hidden thoughts" of the majority of non-muslim Dutch nationals, what a pity.

By ShaNaNa | October 28, 2010 4:01 PM

My my reading about what has been going on 'back home' makes me somewhat ashamed of being Dutch! I left Holland in 1979, we were a tolerant and all inclusive nation then. 30 years later, having watched the UK make massive progress in terms opportunity, fairness, equality, regardless of class, colour or creed,

By Jan Gritter | October 28, 2010 4:03 PM

I feelt so low discussing such ridiculous topic. I am glad that I am finishing my work contract in 4 months time, then I don't have to hear such mundane things. No experience is bad! I have learnt a lot from my stay in NL. Will be heading to US soon and have lots to tell to my Dutch friends, two, in US.

By Mick | October 28, 2010 4:16 PM

There are some facts that Rutte does not know well about Turkish government approach to dual nationality. First of all, Turkey allows dual nationality plus, it allows it's citizens to leave the Turkish nationality by informing the officials. Furthermore, in every platforms, Turkish government supports it's citizens abroad to acquire the citizenship of that country even if it requires to give up the Turkish one. If you need to give up your Turkish nationality due to a restriction of the remote country, you inform the officials, and they give you a special status in their citizen database, which allows you to act and have the rights of a Turkish citizen within Turkish borders (except voting and being elected).

By Oz | October 28, 2010 4:49 PM

What an absolute waste of time - worrying about documents that identify people. My son has a dutch father and I am australian, so he is BOTH these things - you cannot take that away from a person, and trying to do so via means of legal identification is complete fascism. God I thought NL was one of the good countries...guess I was wrong

By seeker | October 28, 2010 4:53 PM

One addition to my comment above, regarding "Turkey calling it's citizens to military service", that is mandatory by constitution. Every healthy Turkish men, over 18 needs to go to military service, if people want to stay in citizenship that's a must. However, Turkish government is also making a big favor in this case as well, they allow you to complete your military service in small city on southern Turkey for 3 weeks only, with people in your situation. You hardly touch a gun and it's more like a boys camp rather than a military service. The highest rank you will see a colonel. How pity and miserable is that a person governing a country does not even know basic facts.

By Oz | October 28, 2010 4:54 PM

It is interesting to see people like Kos above commenting but just repeating words of Rutte like a parrot without a knowledge behind. Have you ever seen a Turkish officer commenting or approaching Turks and telling them not to learn a language? In opposite, they declare their support of learning the local language and acquiring the passport of that country in every platform. Speak if you know something, otherwise silence is sometime wiser. Btw, Wilders deserves an applouse here by sitcking to his principle, as being against dual nationality regardless of the nation.

By Oz | October 28, 2010 4:59 PM

What is lost here is the key element--should a national representative have two nationalities? I think the answer is no. For regular citizens, it is not as pressing an issue, but for national representatives--is is essential to be committed exclusively to the nation which you represent.

It would be much better to have an impartial policy which applies to all nationalities--however, let's not fool ourselves into believing that there is no difference between Sweden and Turkey politically, socially, or culturally. Pretending that all nations are equal is a lie, but honestly grading each nation upon its political, social and cultural compatibility is a slippery slope, best avoided by having one clear unambigous and impartial policy which rejects dual nationality.

By Jim | October 28, 2010 5:14 PM

It's amazing how PM is putting up shocking reasonings for this discrimination! Is this an starting point for running various types of discrimination based on this kind of reasons?

By Roy | October 28, 2010 5:15 PM

> they all have seem to crossed the boundaries

Dear student, I hope you do not pretend to PUT boundaries? Or you do?

P.S. I agree to david and jaycee, but in respect to any civil or military positions.

PPS. There is some difference between Sweden and Turkey. These countries have different probability of a conflict with The Netherlands and UN, especially after mr. Erdogan got power.

By Peter N | October 28, 2010 5:21 PM

By the way, the poll on this site was totally biased regarding dual nationality. A poll should have clear yes, no, or undecided answers, otherwise, what do we learn that is useful. As pollsters know very well, the answers depend very much on the questions asked.

The questions should have been:

Do you approve of dual nationality for national representatives?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Undecided/I don't care

Do you approve of dual nationality for regular Dutch citizens?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Undecided/I don't care

By Jim | October 28, 2010 5:27 PM

I came from Argentina to the Netherlands a so called, "developed country".Well…2010 and I am shocked to see how much people in Holland supports Mr. Wilders and it's nazi thinking.

By Leandro | October 28, 2010 5:31 PM

A passport has many practical aspects and personal rights attached to it, but nationality is closely tied to one's identity, which is an emotional issue. One usually bonds with the country one lives in at the age of 12. Forcing a person to choose Dutch nationality will not change that person's identity nor his/her loyalty, Mr Wilders. At best you create a pragmatic hypocryt.

By Frans | October 28, 2010 5:35 PM

The principle that members of parliament and ministers should be required to give up a second nationality (whatever that nationality might be) makes sense. An elected politician should be beholden to the national interest of the country in which he has been elected and no other. But the debate around this type of issue is one that requires a tact and reasonableness currently absent from Dutch politics.

By Harry | October 28, 2010 6:21 PM

I see two options: 1. this is just an episode from a soap opera having the Turkish as a scape goat, to take the focus away from all the social and cultural cuts and benefits to corporations. 2. They are teasing the Muslims waiting for some "wrong" answer to be able to apply their racist cleaning.
The thing is, once the government starts with one group, in one way or another, all the other immigrant groups will be targets after.

By hugo | October 28, 2010 6:52 PM

Dear Bill, just because I support PVV does not mean I have to agree with every word Wilders says. Nor does he expect his supporters to do so. The Swedish MP with two passports is a PVV member, obviously she can also think for herself.

By SandraV | October 28, 2010 7:27 PM

The prime minister's point is that Turkish-Dutch citizens deserve to be protected from the Turkish government, which can force them to serve in the Turkish military. So it sounds like he is a supporter of Turks!

By Shane | October 28, 2010 11:08 PM

I think it is hard manage with 2. Especially the problem is to hold 2 passports out of legal issues. People who work in some authority should hold just one citizenship. Turkey is military based State and people forget that in the light of their religiouse secularity after loyality to the State pushed religione out of centrum.I cannot position myself on loyality issue.I like RS but I would not betray Sweden.RS does not ask such things might Turkey asks.

By Goggy | October 29, 2010 12:05 AM

I have been reading this debate with great interest. As a child of parents who migrated to Australia in the 1950's I was always told that Holland was a freethinking and liberal country. I have to say I can't see that as being the case. I am proud of my Dutch heritage even though I was not born there, but I am finding these attitudes are not what I was brought up to believe.

By Marianne Lloyd | October 29, 2010 1:05 AM

I am not so sure about this. If two nationalities are OK, why stop there?

I was born in Friesland in the Netherlands of a Frisian mother and a foreign father, and I emigrated to Canada. So, I could legitimately ask for four passports (hold your tongue, Dutchies!:) to maintain my cultural identity.

Personally I believe, if a passport is for id purposes, then you only need one.
You only have one identity. If you are one person one day and another person another day, you're suspect. Preferably, for your own interest, the passport should be from the country where you live the greatest amount of time.

By KenM | October 29, 2010 1:44 AM

The Prime Minister has got a very important
point and all Native Dutch should keep this
in mind.For dual nationality,he'll have a different attitude if it's with Turkey as Turkey calls up Dutch Turks to do their military service.Why Why Why ?

By ericrufinosiah | October 29, 2010 3:33 AM

I know many first, second, and third generation Dutch in the USA who have dual nationality. I don´t think they will take too kindly to being asked to give up one of their passports. Being that the younger generation grew up in USA, they certainly would never choose the Dutch passport over the American one with the unpredictable laws and attitudes going on in Holland in the last 8 years. As a matter of fact, I find this whole discussion pathetic over passports. The only pure Dutch in Holland seems to come from Friesland, look around you here, most Dutch are mixed of another nationality from another European country or Indonesia. I myself am half Dutch half Greek.

By SandraV | October 29, 2010 6:08 AM

Sure KenM. I should have a different nationality than my only (college-aged) child? If he gets sick or injured, then what?

The day the Netherlands allows him to live here, maybe I'd consider it. But probably not. I paid into the Canadian system for 40 years, and I won't give up the rights I built up. And I'm paying into the Dutch system now without having a say on election day.

I won't deny anyone the choice of giving up a passport because situations are different for everyone. But don't force me to fit into yours. My family comes before any country.

By CW | October 29, 2010 7:32 AM

A quick question: if the problem is that Turkey calls up Dutch Turks to do their military service, and in Turkey only men have to do military service, would it be OK for Turkish women to can keep Turkish and Dutch passports? We need to make a very elaborate new book of discriminations here, based on several aspects.

By David | October 29, 2010 7:46 AM

These are very dangerous turns that the Dutch government is taking. It is clear discrimination and at the highest levels of the country's leadership. It is scary to think that the prime minister does not think that all men are created equal.

By Jakc | October 29, 2010 8:40 AM

@ΟΖ...yes i have seen turkish officials approaching goverments..e.g. P.M. Erdogan last year DEMANDING the turkish language to be taught in german public schools with teachers coming from turkey (where the turkish population is high). Why the heck? a german citizen (even turks born in germany) should pay taxes for that? As space is limited go and check what MINORITIES (and what the legal nature of this word means) turkish officials discover.

By kos | October 29, 2010 9:03 AM

@ericrufinosiah Countries like Denmark, Austria and Finland also have compulsory military service, AFAIK. Should their citizens also be denied to have double citizenships? @KenM Passport here is used synonymous to citizenship. Not an arbitrary identification document. Double citizenship means that you have certain rights in two countries.

By puskul | October 29, 2010 12:52 PM

@ericrufinosiah. "Turkey calls up Dutch Turks to do their military service.Why Why Why ?" May be because Turkey provides over 60% of NATO troops?

By zenplus | October 29, 2010 1:34 PM

I agree with Kenm ....and Jan "having watched the UK make massive progress in terms opportunity, fairness, equality, regardless of class, colour or creed"

I don't know UK you’re living in, you obviously not poor or disadvantaged where Iraqi’s et al get ahead of you in the housing list, or where 6 Polish people sharing a house out prices you of the rental market, or where immigrant workers push down wage costs due to the lower cost of living.

By jos | October 29, 2010 1:58 PM

@Jim. Why do not you make your own poll for yourself. May be a good solution. Sure you feel comfortable with it, and is cheap.

By zenplus | October 29, 2010 2:23 PM

Thanks puskul, for clarifying that for me re: certain rights. I never looked at it that way. When I emigrated to Canada, I assumed that I would give up my Dutch rights. What rights are we talking about here? Voting rights? Why would I want to vote in a Dutch election? Pension rights? OK, I agree (if that's what they offer-otherwise I lose them when I leave). Rights to serve in Dutch military-No thanks.

To CW:Sorry, I don't understand your rant. Can you clarify? Not sure where you live now. It sounds like you may have moved back to Holland after 40 years in Canada. (?)

By KenM | November 1, 2010 6:41 PM

In any case, excuse supplied by Wilders figurehead (Rutte), is so weak than it does not resist any test. "Turkey calls up Dutch Turks to do their military service". And for that reason, we must supplant the person's individual decision, about what to choose, is not it?
I remember Rutte saying something about, authentic liberalism, from now on each person may do whatever he wants with his life, and another empty words. Unless he was talking about 'North Korean liberalism'... nobody knows.

By zenplus | November 2, 2010 8:05 PM