THE HAGUE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders fought a fierce verbal battle on Monday over the row with Turkey.
The central message of VVD (Liberals) leader Rutte was that Wilders does not offer solutions, takes no responsibility and that his "negative populism" will plunge the country into chaos.
Meanwhile, the PVV leader called Rutte "unreliable," partly because the PM could not keep his promise to stop payments to Greece in 2015.
In a debate organized by TV news show EenVandaag, Rutte and Wilders discussed the diplomatic row with Turkey, in which the Dutch government prevented Turkish ministers from campaigning in the Netherlands.
There were clashes between Dutch military police and Turkish-Dutch protesters on Saturday in Rotterdam and on Sunday in Amsterdam.
Wilders supported the ban on Turkish ministers, but noted a "bigger" problem: "The protesters who took to the streets proved that they are not Dutch, but Turks."
In the latest poll by Peilingwijzer, the VVD (23-27 seats in parliament) still leads the race to become the biggest party before the PVV (19-23).
During the debate, Rutte repeated that he was not willing to govern in a coalition with the PVV. Wilders said that he did not believe Rutte, adding: "That would be an insult to the Dutch voters."
