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A Dutch of Moroccan Origins Aspires to be Next President of the Dutch Green Party

By Loubna Flah

Jun 7, 2012

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, June 7, 2012

Tawfiq Dibi, a young Dutch of Moroccan origins, has asserted himself as a promising politician since his successful entry to the parliament in the Netherlands, besides his bold statements regarding the rights of immigrants. According to Al Jazeera, Mr. Dibi made public in May 2012 his internal candidacy to head the Dutch green party Groenlinks for the September 2012 elections.

Talking about his party, Mr. Dibi said, “The party has not been able to enlarge its popular base among the electorate”. He also leveled sharp criticism against the traditional pattern of thought followed by the green party leadership in dealing with critical issues while asserting that the green party has good prospects in the forthcoming elections. Mr. Dibi will run against the green party’s current president Yolande Saab. A special committee will deliberate about Dibi’s candidacy at the end of June. The same party was previously led by Mohammed Rabbah, also of Moroccan origins. Dibi was the youngest Dutch person to be elected as an MP at the age of 26 in 2006. He was also given the award of the most talented politician in 2008.

Mr.Dibi is known for his opposition to the extreme right propaganda against foreigners. In fact, he has repeatedly confronted his opponent from the extreme right in public debates where he criticized openly the extreme right’s xenophobic statements against immigrants. Dibi displayed audacity and assertiveness in condemning the xenophobic narrative.

Dibi is also credited for exposing right wing militants’ attempts to give an exaggerated estimation of the number of immigrants in Netherlands in order to galvanize public opinion against foreigners and to rally their support for more restrictive policies against immigration. Dibi has also earned the wrath of Islamist activists and a segment of the Muslim community when he expressed approval of the full-face veil ban inside the educational institutions in Netherlands.