From immigration to “Nexit”: How Wilders became the first party in the Netherlands for 20 years

These days, Geert Wilders has become the great hope of all European Eurosceptic and Europhobic parties, who greeted with enthusiasm his victory in last Wednesday’s elections in the Netherlands.

He was born on September 6, 1963 in Venlo in the province of Limburg near Germany and is the youngest of four brothers in a Catholic family. He defines himself as an agnostic, although he is a defender of European Christian roots. His father was Dutch, while his mother grew up in Indonesia, although he is often criticized for not talking much about this last aspect of his biography. His father was hidden from the Nazis during World War II and refused to visit Germany for the rest of his life.

After completing secondary school, the young Wilders wanted to see the world and decided to travel to Israel, where he worked as a volunteer in a moshav, a type of rural Israeli community similar to a kibbutz, consisting of individual farms. He later took advantage of his stay to travel through Arab countries, where, he says, he was shocked by the lack of democracy. His great admiration for the State of Israel also dates from this time.

After returning to the Netherlands, he began working in the health insurance industry and soon showed an interest in politics. His first job in this field was as a speechwriter for the Liberal-Conservative Party and later he was appointed city councilor in Utrecht. It seems that the turning point in his political thinking came when, from 1990 to 1998, he began working as a parliamentary adviser to MP Frits Bolkestein, who was the first Dutch politician to give a speech in favor of limiting immigration, especially those of Muslim origin. Wilders not only shares these ideas, but also learns how to defend them from his mentor. According to his older brother, with whom he does not speak, the young Wilders in the ’80s was “neither clearly left nor right, nor was he xenophobic.” But I was fascinated by the political game, the struggle for power and influence.

After this phase Wilders won a seat with the Liberals’ initials in 1998 and even became the spokesman for this party, but due to disagreements over Turkey’s membership in the European Union, he decided to leave this formation and founded his own political force, the Freedom Party (PVV), in 2004. At this point his figure began to become known in Dutch politics and began to openly defend their opposition to the Islamization of Europe. They say he is shocked by the murders of the far-right leader Pim Fortuyn in 2002, whose thinking may have greatly influenced Wilders and the filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004, known for his anti-Islam parodies. In 2006, his party gained parliamentary representation with 9 seats and became the fifth force in the country, later reaching third and even second place. But no one predicted that it would double its seats in these elections and become the country’s most elected political party with 37 MPs, while the Social Democrats and the Greens, the second largest force, had to settle for 25.

In 2010, he supported the Liberals, his former party, in the era’s first term Mark Rutte, although it was not part of the governing coalition. It was precisely his vote against the 2012 budget that led to the fall of the government and the calling of early elections. Since then, the Liberals led by Rutte have refused to negotiate with him and a cordon sanitaire has been established. After his victory last Wednesday, his former party is not ready to form a coalition, although it will vote for him as a tolerant partner in a conservative government. A position that could delay talks to form the executive branch for months and infuriate Wilders.

His speech with xenophobic and Eurosceptic statements is accompanied by a personality with certain eccentric undertones. His dark brown hair turned blonde when he entered politics and the Dutch media began comparing him to Marilyn Monroe until his hair turned gray. This flashy and unconventional image makes him similar to other populist politicians. like Donald Trump or Boris Johnson, which strengthens his role as an “outsider,” although he has always rejected such comparisons. Furthermore, he always refuses to be called “extreme right” and describes himself as a right-wing liberal who opposes fascism. Nevertheless, in recent years it has strengthened its ties with other parties that are also considered far-right, such as Le Pen’s National Assembly, the Italian League, the Belgian Vlaams Belang and the Austrian Freedom Party. His victory was also greeted with euphoria by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been accused by the European Commission of the authoritarian drift in which the country is mired.

Although Wilders has toned down many of his ideas in this election, in what seems like an attempt to seduce large numbers of voters and join other political forces, his statements have always been controversial. He defended the ban on hosting mosques or reading the Koran in the Netherlands and compared the Muslim holy book to Hitler’s work Mein Kampf. In addition, he advocates that women should not be allowed to cover their faces with Islamic scarves in public buildings. He was also convicted by the courts of insulting Muslims, but without a fine. Although he is willing to “put many of these ideas regarding Islam in the freezer,” after his election victory he continues to support limits on immigration and a referendum on remaining in the EU. Despite these ideas associated with the extreme right, he is a defender of the rights of the LGTBIQ collective.

In 2004, two suspects were arrested for attempted murder of him, which has meant that he has had to provide security and his freedom of movement has been severely restricted ever since. Something difficult to digest in a country where, despite the rise of the Mocro, the Prime Minister until recently cycled. The Mafia of Moroccan origin has forced numerous public figures to provide security, and even the heir to the throne, Princess Amalia of Holland, has faced kidnapping threats. Nothing strange for Wilders, who has had to endure this situation for decades and assures that he would not wish it even on his worst enemy.

Not much is known about his private life, but he has been married to his wife Krisztina, a former Hungarian diplomat of Jewish origin, since 1992. The big question now is whether Wilders will become prime minister after 13 years of the Rutte era. If the Dutch tradition is fulfilled that the leader of the executive is the party with the most votes, he would have to agree with the Liberals and the centrist party of Pieter Omtzigt called “New Social Contract”, which would mean 81 votes or even more than 88 if joins the farmers’ movement. -Ciudadano, a force that won seven seats and that shares with Wilders its rejection of climate change policies dictated by Brussels. After the Liberals’ refusal to form a government, that possibility becomes complicated, but one thing is clear Wilders’ speech will continue to shape Dutch politics.

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