A Far-Right, Anti-Islam Firebrand Just Won the Dutch Elections

Veteran Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders won a resounding victory in national elections on Wednesday, sending shockwaves across Europe and delighting anti-immigration populists across the continent.

With nearly all the votes counted, Wilders, whose anti-Islam rhetoric has included calling for a ban on mosques and Islamic schools, is projected to win 37 seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament. That's more than double the seats won by his Freedom Party (PVV) in the 2021 election, and far ahead of the second-placed Labour-Green alliance, forecast to win 25 seats, and the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right People's Party for Freedom’s and Democracy of 23.

“The PVV can no longer be ignored,” Wilders said in his victory speech. "We want to govern and... we will govern.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the 60-year-old Wilders said his priority would be slashing immigration into the Netherlands. Immigration was a central issue during the election campaign, which was triggered by the previous government’s collapse in July after its failure to agree on how to limit the number of asylum seekers, following concerns about overcrowded migration centres.

“The first thing is a significant restriction on asylum and immigration,” said Wilders. “We don't do that for ourselves, we do that for all Dutch people who voted for us.”

But to form the next government, Wilders must first persuade other parties to join him in a coalition. While mainstream parties have generally shunned working with Wilders in recent years due to his extremist positions, potential centre-right partners have not ruled out forming a coalition with him since the results were announced. 

“It is up to Wilders to show he can form a majority. I don't see it happening,” said Dilan Yesilgöz, Rutte’s replacement as the leader of the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

With an eye on gaining power this time around, Wilders attempted to present a more palatable side to his politics on the campaign trail, saying he had more pressing priorities than his trademark hardline anti-Islam positions, and that he was prepared to put policies such as a potential ban on mosques “in the fridge” for the time being. 

“I understand very well that parties do not want to be in a government with a party that wants unconstitutional measures,” he said on Wednesday night. “We are not going to talk about mosques, Qur’ans, and Islamic schools.”

The shock victory for Wilders, who also said on Thursday that he is in favour of a Dutch referendum on leaving the European Union, was cheered by fellow anti-immigration, anti-EU populists across the continent. 

“The winds of change are here!” tweeted Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, with a GIF of Scorpions, the German rock band known for their hit song of the same name. (Nevermind that the song was written as an unifying anthem celebrating the fall of authoritarian regimes.) 

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, said Wilders’ “spectacular performance” confirmed “the growing attachment to the defence of national identities” across Europe.

“It is because there are people who refuse to see the national torch extinguished that the hope for change remains alive in Europe,” she tweeted.

Meanwhile Matteo Salvini, a fellow anti-immigration firebrand and leader of Italy’s Lega party, congratulated his “friend” and “historic ally” for an “extraordinary electoral victory.”

“A new Europe is possible,” he tweeted, alongside a photo of himself alongside a smiling Wilders. He later posted another tweet celebrating the result in the Netherlands alongside the recent victory in Argentina’s presidential elections of far-right libertarian Javier Milei, another figurehead for right-wing populists worldwide.

As well as potentially having major ramifications for the Netherlands’ position on immigration, climate change and the EU, Wilders’s win has caused alarm for Dutch Muslims. 

Wilders is notorious for his hardline anti-Islam rhetoric, having called for the Qur’an to be banned from the Netherlands, and having been found guilty in 2016 of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans when he asked a roomful of supporters whether they wanted “more or fewer” of them in the country. His unabashed attacks have made him a target for Islamists, and he has lived under police protection since 2004.

“The distress and fear are enormous,” said Habib el Kaddouri, coordinator of the Partnership of Moroccan Dutch, in response to Wilders’ victory. 

“Wilders is known for his ideas about Muslims and Moroccans. We are afraid that he will portray us as second-class citizens.”