Dutch election: Far-right’s Wilders aims to be PM after shock win

Geert Wilders, a populist from the far right who won a historic election that will have implications in the Netherlands and Europe, has stated that he is interested in being the next prime minister of the Netherlands and that, if elected, he will concentrate his efforts on reducing immigration.

Wilders, vehemently anti-Islam and anti-EU, is an admirer of the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the eurosceptic Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. Wilders has also threatened to cut Dutch contributions to the European Union and oppose the accession of any new members, including Ukraine.

While other parties that he must collaborate with to form a coalition government will reject Wilders’ most radical proposals, fellow populists like Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League, have praised his success as proof that “a new Europe is possible.”

On Wednesday, Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) gained 37 seats out of 150, easily beating all projections. This put them comfortably ahead of a joint Labour/Green ticket, which got 25 seats, and the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, won 24 seats.

Wilders stated on Thursday to the Dutch media that he aspired to hold the position of prime minister and that he supported a referendum on whether the Netherlands should exit the EU.

“But the first thing is a significant restriction on asylum and immigration,” according to Wilders. “We don’t do that for ourselves; we do that for all the Dutch people who voted for us.”

Although Wilders’ party will hold roughly a quarter of the seats in parliament, he will need to tone down some of his more extreme positions to form a coalition with more established parties and assume the leadership role.

Even though none of the parties with whom Wilders might form a government would be ready to quit the EU or breach constitutional provisions on freedom of religion in the Netherlands, Wilders has stated that he is optimistic that a compromise can be achieved.

Pieter Omtzigt, a moderate politician who leads the Freedom Party, the VVD, and the NSC party, would control 81 legislative seats if they joined forces. This would make it the most apparent combination. Because leaders of the VVD and NSC have voiced qualms about cooperating with Wilders, coalition discussions are anticipated to take many months to complete.

The victory of Geert Wilders should serve as a wake-up call to mainstream parties across Europe in front of the elections for the European Parliament in June 2019, which are expected to be fought over the same concerns as the election in the Netherlands, including immigration, the cost of living, and climate change.

Herman Borcher, a voter in the town of Enschede in the east of the country, expressed his satisfaction with the election outcome by saying, “We had it with the old politicians.”

Voter Sabine Schoppen agreed that “the Netherlands needed change,” She smiled, “Rutte, see you later.” The pleasure is all mine, Geert Wilders.”

‘NEW EUROPE,’ you say?
The election in Poland a month ago, won by a coalition of pro-European parties over the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, demonstrated that not all countries in the region are moving to the right.

“The Netherlands are not France,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promptly commented, conceding that the Dutch election demonstrated “the fears emerging in Europe” about immigration and the economy. “The fears that are emerging in Europe” refer to concerns about the economy and immigration.

But Wilders’ win comes just two months after the return to power in Slovakia of another anti-EU populist, Robert Fico, who has vowed to stop providing military aid to Ukraine and limit immigration.

“The winds of change are here!,” Orban of Hungary said.

Wilders has stated on many occasions that the Netherlands needs to cease supplying arms to Ukraine because he believes that the nation requires weapons to be able to protect itself. He is an ardent supporter of Israel.

BE FEARFUL
Following Wilders’ election, some rights organizations—including Islamic, Moroccan, and other rights organizations—expressed concern. About five percent of the whole population identifies as Muslim.

“These election results are shocking for Dutch Muslims,” said Muhsin Koktas of the Dutch Muslim organization CMO. “This election result is shocking for Dutch Muslims.” “We have great concerns about the future of Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands.”

Amnesty International issued the following statement: “Yesterday, human rights were lost.”

suddenly that Wilders has won, all eyes will be on the possible government partners who had strong reservations about working with him throughout the campaign but are suddenly being less vociferous about those reservations following his victory.

“We are available to govern,” Omtzigt of the NSC party declared. “This is an unfortunate turn of events. On Thursday, we will discuss how we might be able to participate most effectively.

The leader of the VVD, Dilan Yesilgoz, declared earlier this week that her party would not take part in a Geert Wilders-led administration. However, she stated that the winner was responsible for demonstrating that he could obtain a majority.

On Friday, the heads of the parties will get together to select an “explorer,” a political outsider who will listen to each party’s perspective on the potential outcomes of coalition discussions and the options they like.