Periscope: The Dutch Have Become More Conservative. Is Europe Next?

Progressive Dutch social attitudes on hot-button issues like drug legalization, euthanasia and gay rights may seem quirky to foreigners. But where the Dutch have boldly gone, other European countries seem to follow. Britain, Italy and Spain have all decriminalized the personal use of marijuana, and, like the Dutch, the Swiss have set up needle exchanges for heroin addicts. Spain now allows same-sex marriage. Berlin and Paris both have gay mayors. Doctor-assisted suicide is legal in Belgium.

But now the Dutch have turned to the right, making one wonder where Europe is headed. For years, authorities have been cracking down on the nation's famed "coffee shops," where the purchase and use of small amounts of marijuana is permitted. But two weeks ago the government also banned hallucinogenic mushrooms. Beyond that, while euthanasia is allowed (though tightly regulated), abortion, legal since 1984, is now coming under scrutiny. In February, a new, more socially conservative government led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced it would review abortion's social consequences, raising the possibility of future restriction. The nation also has the dubious distinction of being at the forefront of anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly against Muslims. A month before 9/11 made such ideas fashionable elsewhere, populist politician Pim Fortuyn called for a "cold war" against Islam. The Dutch, among the staunchest supporters of European integration, were ahead of the curve yet again in 2005, when they overwhelmingly rejected a proposed European constitution.

Why the change in attitudes? Simon Kuper, a British journalist who spent his youth in the Netherlands and has written extensively on the country, says the Dutch public is more receptive than ever to law-and-order policies. The murders of Fortuyn in 2002 and Theo van Gogh, a controversial filmmaker in 2004, left the Dutch with a profound fear of chaos and disorder, and a negative self-image. "The Dutch always used to bang the drums about the alleged superiority of their liberal values," says Kuper. "Now that they're no longer happy with the state of their country, that habit has ceased—at least for the moment." James Kennedy, professor of Dutch history at the University of Amsterdam, says the Dutch may have become neoconservatives in the original sense of the word: "Namely," he says, "liberals mugged by reality." Could the Dutch turn Europe into a continent of neocons? Now that would put the Netherlands ahead of the curve.
—Thijs Niemantsverdriet

New Sharif In Town
The Saudis took in Pakistan's ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif after he was ousted eight years ago. They welcomed him back last month, after a failed attempt to return to Islamabad. Now they are said to be pressing beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf to let Sharif go home, ahead of January's elections. Speaking on condition of anonymity, highly placed Pakistani sources say Saudi King Abdullah urged Musharraf to let Sharif back out of respect for "the wishes of the Pakistani people" and a ruling by Pakistan's Supreme Court. NEWSWEEK's source says that Musharraf is refusing, but he may permit Sharif's wife, Kulsoom, to return.

Why the Saudis changed their minds isn't clear, but it may be another sign of Riyadh's newly assertive diplomacy. Like recent attempts to mediate peace deals between Israel and the Palestinians, the Sharif case reflects Abdullah's hopes to become a regional power broker and to offset Iran's rising influence.
—Fasih Ahmed

Europe Thinks Different
If Europe continues to underwhelm in high-tech innovation, it's not for lack of brains. Two Germans and a Frenchman won Nobel Prizes for chemistry and physics last month. The problem is turning that research into private-sector innovation and start-ups. Now, however, a change is underway. According to an OECD report released last week, European countries are shifting research on public projects (think the struggling Galileo satellite project or the Franco-German Internet search engine Quaero) to the private sector. Universities across the continent, from Germany's Munich Tech to Sweden's Chalmers University in Goteborg, are pushing ties to industry and promoting spinoffs, ? la America's Stanford University. Already, these have helped give Europe a lead in environment and renewable-energy technology. L'Oreal and BMW have stepped up their funding for university science. SAP founder Hasso Plattner has funded a new software design center for Potsdam University. The German government's Excellence Initiative--a contest for ?1.9 billion in university research funding--has helped spark competition in bureaucratic academia. "The mind-set has changed completely," says David Audretsch, economist at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. How long until we see Europe's first Genentech or Google? "Give it five years," says Audretsch. "Things are finally falling into place."
—Stefan Theil