When the samples were published in Holland, there was probably no happier person in the country than Geert Wilders. "35," he tweeted with six exclamation points, referring to the number of seats his PVV party received in the samples. "We are the largest party," he chanted in response to the achievement that beat all the polls and set a record for the party, which increased its power by more than twice as much as the outgoing parliament (counting the actual votes will show that the actual number is 37 seats).
Dutch elections: Geert Wilders votes surrounded by bodyguards \\ Reuters
But behind the veteran politician's joy there were more than just numbers – there was also a sense that perhaps for the first time in his 34 years in politics he had leaped from the position of perpetual allotment to the position of the most powerful and desirable politician in the Netherlands. The same Wilders, who called Islam a "totalitarian ideology," who demanded the closure of Islamic schools and mosques, who sought to compare the Koran to Mein Kampf and ban it by law, who called Moroccan immigrants "garbage" and who has been walking around with tight security for almost 20 years due to threats – the same Wilders has now become the man who won the greatest trust of Dutch citizens.
It remains unclear whether the 60-year-old politician will be able to form the government. In the Netherlands, it is always based on a coalition, and because of the multiplicity of parties, the process of forming it can take a long time (last time it lasted 271 days), and for most of the political spectrum it is still allocated to one degree or another. But the magnitude of the victory seems to change attitudes. Dylan Yeshilgaz-Zahrios, head of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which led in the polls but finished third with 24 seats, claimed before the election that she would not sit in government under Wilders, but yesterday she no longer ruled out the possibility. Peter Umzicht, the political meteor who founded his party three months ago and finished fourth with 20 seats, has also said in the past that he would not work with Wilders, but on Monday made clear that his party was "ready to translate voter confidence into action."
It is not yet clear whether he will succeed in forming a government. Geert Wilders,
With 24 seats for VVD and 20 seats for Umzicht, Wilders has 81 seats, five more than needed for a majority in parliament. Yesterday, he conveyed a willingness for contacts and compromises. "The number of seats is a huge compliment, but also a great responsibility," he said.
The trump card: immigration
What made the huge victory possible? First, at least on a rhetorical level, Wilders moderated his demands. Although he wants to hold a referendum on the Netherlands' exit from the European Union, he "understands that this is not a burning issue." He still wants to close mosques and Islamic schools, but it is clear to him that there are more urgent issues and therefore Islamic issues need to "go into the refrigerator." Suddenly, at least outwardly, Wilders appeared to be a pragmatic politician rather than a "political pyromaniac," as former Prime Minister Mark Rutte called him.
The second factor was the handling of immigration, the main issue of the election. In the past year, the Netherlands has taken in 220,390 migrants, and although some of them are refugees from Ukraine, the numbers have only exacerbated the country's housing crisis (according to a government survey, the Netherlands is short of <>,<> housing units). And when almost the entire political system switched to talking about immigration, including the largest VVD party, Wilders had an advantage: Who if not he has been talking about ending it for years? According to sociologist Hein de Haas of the University of Amsterdam, making immigration the central issue of the campaign backfired, backfiring on VVD, and indirectly helping to train Wilders.
Third, the election was painted on questions of trust in government institutions, and here, too, Wilders, sometimes referred to as "Dutch Trump," had an advantage as a longtime critic of the establishment.
Geert Wilders, Photo: AP
The Israeli connection?
Finally, it is quite possible that there was also some influence on the Black Sabbath massacre. If there is such a connection, it may yet become clear in studies, but a poll conducted two weeks ago showed that 72% of the Dutch hold Hamas responsible for the war, 58% fear an outbreak of anti-Semitism in their country, and 45% fear that the war will lead to violence in the Netherlands itself. Perhaps something of this sentiment also translated into voices for Wilders, who not only demands the de-Islamization of the Netherlands in particular, and Europe in general, but is also an unqualified supporter of Israel, who has visited Israel dozens of times and supports moving the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem. "Israel is fighting for its existence against the forces of hatred, barbarism and terror," he wrote on November 4. "No Israeli wants unnecessary killing of civilians, but Hamas must be eradicated. We must fully side with Israel and the Jewish people."
How Wilders' achievement will affect Europe's political landscape is too early to tell, but it is likely to give wind to the sails of the populist right. He himself, by the way, wants to call him a right-wing liberal, and at least in the past has declared: "My allies are not Le Pen or Haider. I will never sit with fascists." But yesterday there was not a single politician from the ranks of the populist right between Madrid and Rome and between Paris and Budapest who was in no hurry to congratulate the Dutchman who flew to the top.
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