No one, and I mean no one, saw this coming:
Beating all predictions, the Ipsos exit poll put Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) at 35 out of 150 seats, 9 seats ahead of the closest rival, former EU commissioner Frans Timmermans' Labour/Green Left combination. That margin was far greater than expected.
The party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the conservative VVD, was in third place at 23 seats, the exit poll showed.
Known as the "Dutch Trump" both for his bouffant dyed hair and firebrand rhetoric, Wilders' anti-Islam, anti-immigrant and anti-EU message appeared to have finally swept him to first place in the 2023 Dutch parliamentary elections.
In a video clip posted on social media shortly after the publication of the exit poll, Wilders was seen celebrating the PVV's performance.
[…]
Wilders is known as the "Dutch Trump", partly for his swept-back dyed hairstyle that resembles the former US president, but also for his rants against immigrants and Muslims.
From calling Moroccans "scum" to holding competitions for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Wilders has built a career from his self-appointed mission to stop an "Islamic invasion" of the West.
During the campaign, he sought to tone down his message, saying he could put some of his more strident views on Islam "in the freezer".
He stressed he would be prime minister for everyone "regardless of their religion, background, sex or whatever", insisting the cost-of-living crisis was a bigger priority.
But as his opponents never tired of pointing out, his PVV manifesto tells a different story.
With hallmark Wilders rhetoric, the manifesto says: "Asylum-seekers feast on delightful free cruise-ship buffets while Dutch families have to cut back on groceries."
The programme proposes a ban on Islamic schools, Korans and mosques. Headscarves would be banned from government buildings. "The Netherlands is not an Islamic country," it adds.
Something for Americans to feel thankful for today: if (gulp) Trump is re-elected in 2024, at least people from one Western European country shouldn’t be quite so smug about it.
It’s actually a little misleading to say Wilders “won” the election when his party won’t win anything close to a majority of seats in the Dutch Parliament. In contrast to the United States, where you have two major parties and you’ll like it, the Dutch register you and your friends as a new political party whenever you meet up to play Super Smash Bros.
With the Dutch Parliament so fractured, Wilders may not be able to form a government in the first place:
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