Reuters As the euro zone shudders, Europe's populist politicians are exploiting its woes to build up support and even threaten some governments. Strong smaller economies at the heart of the euro zone, which have benefited significantly from membership, are unlikely to leave the euro unilaterally, as some far-right parties want. However, right-wing groups are playing on public resentment at the cost of bailing out weak euro zone countries such as Greece to gain popularity. In the Netherlands, euroskeptic politician Geert Wilders is staging a campaign which could push the minority government to the brink of collapse after barely a year in power. Last week, Wilders proposed that the Netherlands should hold a referendum on whether to ditch the euro and embrace the Dutch guilder again, pending a study of the long-term economic costs. “The return to the guilder is nonsense, it's a nonsense discussion,” said Sylvester Eijffinger, professor of financial economics at Tilburg University. However, he added: “It's very dangerous for the survival of the cabinet.” The government relies on the support of Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV), even though it is not in the ruling coalition. Wilders denies he wants to bring down the government over the euro but he is playing up a split on a major issue between the coalition and the party on which it relies for survival. By proposing a referendum, Wilders has heightened tensions between his party and the government. The euro zone debt crisis has already toppled several governments and now threatens to engulf Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Rutte has shot down the idea of quitting the euro, saying it would be disastrous for the export-oriented Dutch economy. But his government has been criticized for supporting bailouts of countries such as Ireland and Portugal, and a stability fund intended for future rescues as the euro zone debt crisis spreads like wildfire to bigger economies like Italy. Eijffinger said the cost to the Netherlands of returning to the guilder would be “a multiple of what we give to the stability fund, without any doubt”. For the Netherlands, the EU's internal market has a benefit of around 1,500 to 2,200 euros per citizen per year, and the euro itself bestows a benefit of around 500 euros, economic policy analysis bureau CPB said in a report this week. “The consequences (of leaving the euro) for Dutch citizens, Dutch companies, Dutch banks, the entire system, including the state treasury would be enormous,” said Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager. Yet opinion polls suggest many Dutch still hanker for the guilder, and resent having to pay for Europe's more profligate members, particularly while the Dutch government is cutting spending on healthcare, education, and social security benefits. A poll at the weekend found 32 percent favored quitting the euro, 60 percent were against leaving, and 43 percent wanted a referendum on whether to return to the guilder. Another poll found that a majority wished the country had stuck with the guilder. __
