Wilders presents his opinions as facts
Geert Wilders has begun to present his political opinions as facts. This is the conclusion of Maarten van Leeuwen, who recently completed a dissertation on the language use of Wilders, Vogelaar and Pechtold. As part of his investigation he considers an aspect that has thus far received too little attention: grammar.
How Wilders presents his opinions as facts
Wilders’ use of grammar has changed on a very subtle point, concludes Van Leeuwen in his research. Van Leeuwen: ‘You can offer your opinion by combining a main clause and a subordinate clause. In Wilders’ case: ‘I think that Islam is a violent ideology.’ Or you can just use a main clause: ‘Islam is a violent ideology’. The rhetorical effect is that by including ‘I think...’ you indicate that you are expressing your opinion. If you only use a main clause, you present your opinion more as a fact. This leaves less room for discussion.’
Wilders’ radical ideas
Van Leeuwen analysed 47 parliamentary speeches from the period 2004-2009 and he discovered that starting in 2007 Wilders’ use of subordinate clause constructions that start with such statements as ‘I think that…’ has declined significantly. What is remarkable is that this decline corresponds to a time when, according to political experts, Wilders’ political ideas started to become increasingly radical.
Vogelaar's ‘woolly’ language use
In his dissertation, the Leiden language expert focuses on how the style of a speaker contributes to his or her political image. Ella Vogelaar, Labour Party Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration in the Balkenende IV cabinet, was for instance known to be a ‘woolly’ speaker. Van Leeuwen shows that this impression was partially due to her use of words such as ‘as a result of which’ and ‘with which’, in a context where it was unclear what the ‘which’ actually referred to. Vogelaar also constructed complex sentences and she did not provide her audience with illustrative examples.
In 2007 in the course of a parliamentary debate on Islam, PVV Chairman Geert Wilders called the Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration ‘completely nuts’.
Henk and Ingrid
One thing that Wilders, who is known for his very clear use of language, does is to make regular use of examples. ‘He uses concrete examples to illustrate his point. For example, a remark such as “Henk and Ingrid pay for Achmed and Fatima.” This makes it very clear to everyone what he is talking about.’
Use of articles
Another striking difference with Vogelaar is that Wilders speaks of ‘the Dutch’, ‘the Muslims’ and ‘the politicians of The Hague’. Van Leeuwen: ‘By doing so he suggests that these are clear and uniform categories, whereas in reality, there may be a lot of diversity within each of these groups.’ By contrast, Vogelaar used fewer articles, and spoke of ‘people’ or ‘young Muslims’, thereby leaving groups somewhat undefined.
Political outsider
In another analysis, Van Leeuwen compares Wilders’ use of language with that of D66 leader Alexander Pechtold. Wilders has years of experience in parliament, but he gives the impression of being a political outsider. By contrast, Pechtold is portrayed in the media as a political insider. Van Leeuwen shows that this impression is reinforced by the two politician’s use of language. ‘Pechtold more often addresses his colleagues directly as ‘you’, suggesting that he is much more in a dialogue with them than Wilders.’
Pechtold often doesn't explain jargon
The way politicians deal with jargon is also relevant. Van Leeuwen: ‘When Pechtold uses jargon, he does not explain it. After all, insiders do not need this information. Wilders, on the other hand, explains the jargon he uses. In this way, he gives the impression of primarily addressing an audience outside the political apparatus.’
The research by Maarten van Leeuwen forms part of the NWO programme Stylistics of Dutch. For more information on this research project, see stylistics.leidenuniv.nl. Van Leeuwen’s dissertation, entitled Style and Politics, is freely accessible as of 17 April via www.lotpublications.nl.