Controversial far-right politician Geert Wilders could be on course to become the next Dutch prime minister after a surprise victory in the general election overnight.
Preliminary figures show Wilder’s right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) won 37 seats, ahead of the GroenLinks-PvdA (GL/Pvda) alliance with 25 seats and the liberal-conservative Freedom and Democracy Party (VVD) with 25 seats. 25 seats.
The result marks a dramatic turnaround in the political fortunes of Wilders, whose PVV party won just 17 seats in a snap election in 2021 following the collapse of a coalition government led by Mark Rutte.
Wilders’ controversial policies include extreme immigration restrictions; a referendum on the Netherlands’ exit from the European Union, or “Next”, and anti-Islamic measures, including the suppression of Islamic schools, the Koran and mosques, although he does not initiate the latter goal under Dutch laws restricting religious freedom. and expression can.
Wilders made it clear in his victory speech that he expects his party to play a key role in the country’s governance, although it is uncertain whether he will be able to build the 76-seat coalition needed to win 150 seats to win the to take power in the parliament. .
“The PVV can no longer be ignored… We will govern,” Wilders said in his victory speech, adding: “The Netherlands has hope… the Dutch people will get their land back and the tsunami of refugees and immigrants will be . limited.”
Wilders founded his right-wing PVV party in 2006. His extreme views on current issues such as immigration have led him to be dismissed as a provocative fringe politician with little real political influence.
His rhetoric led to several assassination attempts on him and since 2004, after a failed attack in The Hague, he has been armed 24 hours a day by the police.
The victory sent shock waves across the Netherlands and Europe.
Right-wing leaders and politicians rushed to congratulate Wilders.
Populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on X: “The wind of change is here”; Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said the victory was a sign that “a new Europe is possible,” and far-right French politician Marine Le Pen said the victory was “a sign of a growing commitment to defense of national identity”. shown.
Few mainstream politicians have commented on this.
Bruno Le Maire, finance minister in President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government, told news channel France Info that Wilders’ victory “is the result of all the fears and concerns that have been manifesting in Europe for several years”.
“Fear of war in Ukraine, fear of the risk of decline of European economies compared to China and the United States and fear of migration flows are leading to extremist outbreaks across Europe,” he said.
He rejected suggestions that France could see a similar shift to the right in future elections, saying: “The Netherlands is not France.”
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
