Demagogue

Well, it doesn't say that in so many words, but newly proposed legislation does provide for sending videos that depict topless women and the bond between same-sex couples, so I think we can all read between the lines.

Does a car have two or four wheels? Is it OK to sunbathe topless on the North Sea beaches along the Dutch coast? [APC note: Legal? Yes. But for about 350 days per year, you run a serious risk of freezing your ***s off]

These are just two of the questions would-be immigrants may be asked as part of the new inburgeringsexamen, or integration exam, included in draft legislation that was unveiled by Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk on Thursday.

The exam is intended for immigrants, who will have to take it in their home country prior to coming to the Netherlands, to test their ability to speak Dutch and to gauge their understanding of Dutch culture.

A video accompanies the exam material to give candidates insight into life in the Netherlands. It includes images of women sunbathing topless on the beach and of gay marriage — two examples of accepted behaviour in the Netherlands....

"As integration into Dutch society is a long-term process it is important that newcomers before arrival to the Netherlands have a command of the Dutch language at a basic level and developed an understanding of the society into which they are coming," Verdonk says.

The obligation to undertake an integration course will mainly apply, Verdonk says, to people who come here to form a family by marrying a Dutch person, for example, or who want to be re-united with family members already in the Netherlands.

The inistry estimates 14,000 people a year will apply to take the exam. And given that most family-reunification migrants come from Turkey, Morocco and Suriname, Verdonk says, the majority of applications will be dealt with in the capital cities Ankara, Rabat and Paramaribo.

As regular readers know, I'm pretty much OK with same-sex marriage. I'm also very enthusiastic about topless bathing. I must be quite well integrated into Dutch society.

By the way, I think the question about how many wheels a car has is about language comprehension; I don't think the Netherlands gets a lot of immigrants who have never seen a car before.