According to an initial projection, the right-wing populist Geert Wilders is the big winner of the parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. According to the projection published by the ANP news agency on Thursday night, Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) are likely to win 36 of the 150 seats in the second chamber of parliament. That would be more than twice as many seats as in the previous election in 2021.
According to the projection, the alliance of Social Democrats and Greens has 25 seats, eight more than in 2021. The right-wing liberal ruling party VVD of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte lost ten mandates and now has 24. The new center party NSC is allowed 20 seats straight away calculate.
Wilders now wants to become prime minister. “The voter has now spoken,” Wilders said on television. “I think we all have to jump over our shadows now.” Under no circumstances should the will of the voters be ignored. “The Netherlands has spoken and – as far as I’m concerned – that has to be implemented.” A preliminary result is expected early Thursday morning.
Wilders tried to allay fears that his Party for Freedom (PVV) would take too radical action. He assured that the forced closure of mosques that he was seeking was not currently an issue. The priority now is to limit the “asylum tsunami”.
AfD leader Alice Weidel congratulated Wilders on X: “Congratulations on this great success. The whole of Europe wants the political change!
Wilders as the next Prime Minister?
The right-winger Wilders announced that he now also wanted to govern. But for a majority he needs at least two parties – and it is questionable whether he can actually find partners for a coalition. It is completely unclear whether Wilders can actually form the next government. Omtzigt had ruled out working with him in the election campaign because he represented anti-constitutional positions. Yesilgöz did not explicitly rule out collaboration, but said she did not want to join a government under Wilders as prime minister.
The early parliamentary election became necessary after Rutte’s center-right coalition collapsed in the summer after just 18 months in office. The reason for this was a dispute over migration policy. Rutte, the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history, then announced his departure from national politics; he now wants to become NATO Secretary General. However, he will remain in office until a new government takes office.
Mixture of right-wing slogans and classic left-wing demands
In the Netherlands, right-wing populism established itself as an integral part of the political landscape more than 20 years ago. The first successful right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn was murdered by a militant animal protection activist in 2002 a few days before the parliamentary elections. Wilders inherited his legacy and made much more radical demands, such as a ban on the Koran. The political scientist and Wilders biographer Meindert Fennema (1946-2023) warned in an interview with the German Press Agency in 2017: “He is someone who wants to abolish the rule of law through democratic means.”
Surveys have repeatedly shown that Wilders voters tend to be pessimistic about their future and are afraid of change. They often live in stagnating industrial areas or in the countryside where the young are moving away.
Wilder’s slogans include not only “Islam does not belong in the Netherlands”, but also “More staff in care” and “Lower rents and taxes”. Political scientists see this mixture of right-wing slogans and classic left-wing demands as his recipe for success. Another special feature: Wilders’ party only has one member – himself. In this way, he wants to prevent others from overruling him and taking over the reins themselves.
