[News Figures] Geert Wilders, the 'Trump of Europe' Leading the Dutch Far-Right

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"Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party who has been a political outsider for 20 years, is closer to power than ever before." - The Guardian

"Geert Wilders is the European Union's (EU) worst nightmare." - Political media outlet Politico

As the Freedom Party is expected to win a landslide victory in the early Dutch general election held on the 22nd (local time), foreign media are focusing on leader Wilders. Attention is centered on whether the representative far-right politician of the Netherlands, who once emphasized anti-immigration and anti-Islam views and was called the 'Dutch Donald Trump,' can become the next prime minister. Currently, other parties are declaring they will not cooperate with far-right parties, so it is expected that forming a coalition government will face difficulties.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands (center in the photo) [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Expected to secure 35 seats in the House of Representatives... Coalition formation unlikely to be easy

Right after the exit poll results showed that the Freedom Party would secure the largest number of 35 seats out of the total 150 seats in the House of Representatives, leader Wilders reacted by saying, "I had to pinch myself," expressing disbelief at the results. He then interpreted, "We will end the 'tsunami' of asylum and immigration," adding, "Voters are saying, 'We are fed up with (the existing immigration policy).'"

The Freedom Party, led by Wilders, is a far-right party advocating strong anti-Islam policies and a halt to asylum acceptance. In this election, the Freedom Party presented policies stating, "The Netherlands is not an Islamic country. We hope Islam will decline in the Netherlands, reduce immigration from non-Western countries, and generally stop asylum."

This election was held after Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has led the Netherlands for 13 years, announced he would step down, making it an important election where the head of the Dutch government will change. Usually, the leader of the party that wins first place in the general election is recommended as the prime minister candidate. Based on the exit poll results, Wilders is highly likely to be recommended.

However, since the Netherlands operates a polarized multi-party system, forming a coalition is essential to secure a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The problem is that even if the Freedom Party's landslide victory is confirmed, the Green Party-Labor Party alliance, predicted to come in second in the exit polls, has declared it will not form a coalition with the Freedom Party. In the 2021 general election, it took 299 days for Prime Minister Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy to form a coalition, setting a record for the longest period.

Seemingly aware of this situation, Wilders said, "Now is the time for parties to find an agreement," adding, "We (the Freedom Party) can no longer be ignored."

Subject to death threats over anti-immigration and anti-Islam claims

Wilders was born in 1963 to a Dutch father and an Indonesian mother from the former colony. He began his political career in 1998 by joining the current ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy but left the party in 2004 to found the far-right Freedom Party. Since then, advocating anti-immigration and anti-Islam views, he has been subjected to death threats throughout his life and has lived under the protection of armed police for nearly 20 years.

AP reported that Wilders was once called the 'Dutch Trump.' In 2014, ahead of local elections, he made a controversial remark at a caf? asking supporters, "Do you want more Moroccans in the Netherlands?" which led to a conviction for insulting Moroccans. The UK also once banned his entry due to his actions.

He is an experienced senior politician who will become the longest-serving member of the Dutch parliament by the end of this year. Although other far-right politicians have recently emerged in Dutch politics, Wilders has received significant attention this year amid the rise of far-right anti-immigration sentiment in Europe and has achieved a landslide victory in the election.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

However, ahead of this early general election, Wilders reportedly toned down the intensity of his anti-immigration and anti-Islam claims. He hinted at withdrawing calls to ban mosques and the Quran, symbols of Islam, which some criticized as opportunistic. Instead, he focused his campaign on economic issues, promising to address the housing crisis and high inflation.

Closely watching the call for an "EU exit referendum"

As the political landscape in the Netherlands is expected to remain turbulent for some time, the European Union (EU) and member states are likely to monitor the situation closely. Euronews emphasized the importance of this early general election result, stating, "The Netherlands has played a leading role in many issues such as Eurozone bailouts and the Ukraine war."

In particular, the Freedom Party is negative toward the EU, advocating for a referendum on the Netherlands' exit from the EU, known as 'Nexit.' During the election campaign, they emphasized that the Netherlands must regain sovereignty and even called for removing the EU flag from government buildings.

The EU will hold the European Parliament elections for the first time since Brexit (the UK's exit from the EU) in June next year. With far-right and right-wing parties gaining significant support in recent elections in major European countries such as Switzerland, Finland, France, and Sweden, it is expected that the far-right will also take power in the Netherlands and exert influence. Politico predicted, "Even if Wilders withdraws his demand for an EU exit referendum to gain power, he will eventually clash with EU institutions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.