Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘Nazi’ comments are ‘crazy, out of line’: Dutch PM

Erdogan reacted angrily by likening the ban to Nazism, saying “they are the vestiges of the Nazis, they are fascists”. Rutte said it had been a tough decision given Turkey was “a NATO ally”, but he insisted: “I really think we made the right decision here.” The Dutch move comes after Germany and other European nations saw efforts to block other such campaign events, which are aimed at gathering support for a Turkish referendum which would boost Erdogan’s powers. It was unclear whether the Turkish rally in Rotterdam would still take place.

It would come just four days ahead of high-stakes elections in the Netherlands which have been dominated by a polarising debate over immigration and the role of Muslim citizens. Dutch political leaders hit the campaign trail today, criss-crossing the country to woo voters ahead of next week’s elections now overshadowed by the bitter row with Turkey.