AP's panties are wadded up, apparently
The result will send shockwaves through Europe, where far-right ideology is on the rise, and puts Wilders in line to lead talks to form the next governing coalition and possibly become the first far-right prime minister of the Netherlands.
With nearly all votes counted, Wilders’ Party for Freedom was forecast to win 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament, two more than predicted by an exit poll when voting finished Wednesday night and more than double the 17 he won at the last election.
"I had to pinch my arm," a jubilant Wilders said.
| Earlier, and using more words: |
[IsraelTimes] Geert Wilders is known as the ‘Dutch Trump’ for his hairstyle and rants against immigrants and Muslims; if elected, he says he would move embassy to Jerusalem to support Israel
The ‘far-right’,
...scare quotes mine...
anti-Islam party of firebrand...
firebrandsare noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments...
politician Geert Wilders
...bleached blond, gay, traditional European Socialist — it’s just that he has seen his country’s welcome of massive numbers of Middle Eastern Moslems as a danger to the culture and lives of the native Dutch ever since he spent time in Israel in his youth. For daring to speak up on the subject the ruling class of the Netherlands have tromped on him, hard. Fortunately, he is irrepressible...
has won the Dutch election, exit polls suggested Wednesday, a political earthquake that will be felt far beyond the country’s borders.Hopefully the polls are accurate, and his opponents aren’t able to cheat their way to victory.
The PVV (Freedom Party) won 35 seats in parliament, according to the Ipsos exit poll, comfortably winning the election, with the center-right bloc on 23 seats and a left-wing bloc on 26.If confirmed in the final results, Wilders’ victory marks a sharp lurch to the right that will be viewed with trepidation in Brussels — the PVV has promised a referendum on Dutch membership of the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
"It might not be what other parties in Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...or in other countries strive for, but, hey, that’s democracy," the 60-year-old told news hounds as he voted.
Immigration was the key topic of the referendum campaign and his hardline stance, including closing the borders and deporting illegal im
Although Wilders appeared to have triumphed in the polls, it is not clear that he will be able to garner the necessary support for a broad enough coalition to form a workable government.
All the leaders of the three other top parties have said they would not serve in a PVV-led coalition.
Kate Parker, from the Economist Intelligence Unit, said it would lead to "constitutional stalemate" in the EU’s fifth-largest economy.
’NEXIT’
Wilders is known as the "Dutch Trump," partly for his swept-back dyed hairstyle that resembles that of the former US president, but also for his rants against im
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 program proposes a ban on Islamic school, Korans and mosques. Headscarves would be banned from government buildings. "The Netherlands is not an Islamic country," it adds.
A "binding referendum" would be held on a "Nexit" — the idea of the Netherlands leaving the EU. The PVV also calls for an "immediate halt" to development aid.
On foreign policy, the parallels to Trump are clear. "Netherlands first," trumpets the manifesto.
The PVV would move the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem to support Israel, a "close friend and the one true democracy in the Middle East."
’I AM UNDER ATTACK’
Wilders has remained defiant despite brushes with the law and death threats that have meant he has been under constant police protection since 2004.
"I don’t regret fighting for freedom," Wilders told AFP, in an interview ahead of elections in 2021. "Of course, I take a stand. I am under attack, my country is under attack."
He was found guilty of discrimination in 2016 over comments he made against Moroccans living in the Netherlands and has previously likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler
...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days as a politician somebody doesn't like...
’s "Mein Kampf," saying both books should be banned.
He was forced to shelve plans for a cartoon competition of the Prophet Mohammed in 2018 after receiving death threats.
Wilders was competing in his sixth election, having come close to pulling off a stunning upset more than once.
"When I left my old party (the VVD)... I said one day we will become the biggest party," Wilders told news hounds while casting his vote.
If the exit polls are confirmed, his decades-old prediction may have just come true.
Related:
Geert Wilders: 2023-08-19 Far-right activist rips up Quran during protest in the Netherlands, In Sweden Koran-burner meets fire extinguisher
Geert Wilders: 2021-10-15 22-year-old man threatened to kill Dutch prime minister — court documents
Geert Wilders: 2019-12-30 Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker ends Mohammad cartoon contest within hours
Geert Wilders: 2023-08-19 Far-right activist rips up Quran during protest in the Netherlands, In Sweden Koran-burner meets fire extinguisher
Geert Wilders: 2021-10-15 22-year-old man threatened to kill Dutch prime minister — court documents
Geert Wilders: 2019-12-30 Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker ends Mohammad cartoon contest within hours