Socialists See Opportunity in Netherlands

A Euroskeptic party with Maoist roots should really inspire confidence

"People used to call us dirty communists," says Filinta Karabulut, a 20-year-old member of the Socialist Party in Diemen, a working-class suburb of Amsterdam. "Now they come up to us and say we're doing good work."

This sea change in the Dutch mood experienced by Karabulut comes after 18 months of conservative government, with austerity policies and the euro-zone crisis driving widespread disaffection.