A woman who was a child refugee from Turkey has promised to address voter fears over excessive migration if she is elected prime minister of the Netherlands.
Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius has a realistic shot at power after winning the leadership of departing premier Mark Rutte’s centre-right party.
The 46 year old set out her pitch at a party congress in Rotterdam where she said it was not racist to worry whether “the Netherlands will remain the Netherlands”.
She promised a “fair asylum policy” that recognises limited capacity and prioritises “real refugees”, after tension over how to tackle migration brought down Mr Rutte’s four-party coalition.
“People are concerned about the high influx of migrants” Ms Yesilgoz-Zegerius said. "Can we handle them while there are so many problems in the Netherlands?
“Is it fair to people who have been on a waiting list for years to get a home? Is it fair to real refugees for whom there will soon be no space or support? And is it realistic as a small country to accommodate everyone?
“These are real concerns to which politics should not be blind. We cannot continue as we have done in recent years.”
Ms Yesilgoz-Zegerius, who has served as justice minister in Mr Rutte’s cabinet, also highlighted concerns over housing, the cost of living and climate change during her speech.
She was applauded by members of the VVD party who also gave a standing ovation to Mr Rutte, who is stepping down after a 13-year term that made him one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders.
Child of activists
Born in Ankara in 1977, Ms Yesilgoz-Zegerius is the daughter of lawyer Yucel Yesilgoz and activist Fatma Ozgumus. She says their support for minority rights made them unwelcome in Turkey and led her father to flee.
Her mother went into hiding but the family was granted refugee status in the Netherlands and reunited when the young Ms Yesilgoz-Zegerius was eight, she says.
But “if I came to the Netherlands today as a refugee, there is no way that eight-year-old girl would have had the same opportunity to become a minister as I did”, she recently told Bloomberg, citing an overcrowded asylum system.
Her campaign comes as politicians across Europe grapple with discontent over migration. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made tackling illegal English Channel crossings a key election issue, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on the back foot over a rise in asylum claims.
In the Netherlands, ministers have blamed rising crime and budget pressure on the number of asylum seekers. A scandal erupted last year over conditions at reception centres where people were left sleeping outside.
Mr Rutte proposed capping numbers of refugees and limiting family reunions but his coalition could not find common ground and he called for new elections – before his shock announcement he would retire after November’s vote.
Race to replace Rutte
Rival candidates in the running include former EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who swapped his Brussels job to return to domestic politics as head of a left-wing coalition.
Popular conservative MP Pieter Omtzigt formed a party last month called New Social Contract that has taken the lead in polls, although he has said he does not want to lead the country.
Another factor is a movement of angry farmers called BBB that grew out of protests at environmental policies and topped the poll in elections to the Dutch senate in May.
Ms Yesilgoz-Zegerius has distanced herself from broadsides at Moroccan migrants by long-time, far-right standard-bearer Geert Wilders. But she has not ruled out co-operating with him in the event of a messy election result.
“I don’t want to exclude any voters,” she said. “So, I am not starting by excluding parties.”
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
