Poll: G. Wilders’ anti-Islam far-right party won the Dutch elections

The victory of G. Wilders would be a political earthquake felt not only in the Netherlands.

According to the results of the Ipsos survey, the PVV received 35 seats in the parliament and won the election confidently. 23 places went to the centre-right wing block, and 26 to the left wing block.

If the final results are confirmed, Wilders’ victory would mean a sharp rightward shift in politics that worries Brussels. The PVV promised to hold a referendum on the Netherlands’ membership in the European Union.

“Perhaps this is not what other parties in Europe or other countries are striving for, but this is democracy after all,” the 60-year-old voter told reporters.

Immigration was a central issue in the referendum campaign, and his tough stance, including closing borders and deporting illegal immigrants, appeared to resonate with Dutch voters.

Reuters/Scanpix photo/Geert Wilders

Although Wilders appeared to have triumphed in the polls, it is not clear who would agree to work in the PVV-led coalition, so it could be difficult for him to form a government.

The leaders of all the other three main parties have declared that they will not join the PVV-led coalition.

Kate Parker, a representative of the research company Economist Intelligence Unit, said that this would create a constitutional deadlock in the EU’s fifth largest economy.

G. WIlders’ victory would change the country’s political landscape after the record-long 13-year reign of Prime Minister Marko Rutte.

“Nexit”

Mr. Wilders is called the “Dutch Trump”, partly because of his hairstyle similar to the former US president, but also because of his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views.

Wilders was accused of inciting racial hatred with his comments about Moroccans living in the Netherlands. He also launched a cartoon contest about the Prophet Muhammad and promised to stop what he called an Islamic invasion of the West.

Mr. Wilders has recently tried to tone down the rhetoric, even saying that there are bigger problems than reducing the number of asylum seekers and that he could “put some of his anti-Islamic views in the freezer.”

He stressed he would be a prime minister for everyone “regardless of their religion, background, gender or whatever” and insisted the cost of living crisis was a higher priority.

However, as his opponents keep pointing out, his party’s election manifesto suggests otherwise.

“Asylum seekers enjoy the excellent free buffets on cruise ships, while Dutch families have to save on groceries,” she said.

The program proposes to ban Islamic schools, the Koran and mosques. Head coverings would be banned in government buildings. “The Netherlands is not an Islamic country,” it added.

The party intends to hold a referendum on Nexit, or the Netherlands’ exit from the European Union, and is calling for an immediate freeze on development aid.

In the field of foreign policy, the parallels with Trump are clear. “The Netherlands first,” the party’s manifesto proclaims.

The PVV would like to move the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem to support Israel, which is “a close friend and the only real democracy in the Middle East”.