By Grace Rita Srinivasan
DOI: 10.57912/25452523
On November 22nd, 2023, the PVV (Party for Freedom) won 37 seats in the Netherlands House of Representatives and finished first in the general election. These results show a turning point in the Netherlands’ political environment, which was previously known for its progressive ideals. Geert Wilders, the PVV’s leader, used the party’s campaign to promote anti-Muslim rhetoric and to suggest limits on religious freedoms for certain cultures. However, his views are not unique; Wilder's policies are parallel to the rest of far-right movements across Europe, which fuel their rhetoric from cultural and economic anxieties surrounding migration.
Geert Wilders became a member of the Dutch Parliament in 1998 as a member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Yet in 2006, he started his own party, the PVV, due to concerns the VVD had too much “softness towards Islam.” To address its immigration “problem”, the PVV intends to ban mosques and the Koran in addition to a tax on Muslims who wear hijabs. Wilder's policies are further encouraged by far-right politicians and individuals who believe that Muslim culture will dominate over that of the Dutch, but these claims ignore the fact that the Netherlands’ Muslim population is less than 5%.
Wilders’ PVV also calls for reduced support of the European Union and, in the future, hopes the country will adopt a full-on “Nexit.” Wilders and the right believe the European Union has not done its due diligence when it comes to collaborating with countries outside of the EU and argue the union also fails to send adequate assistance to countries taking in significant numbers of migrants. Therefore, the vote for Wilders in the Dutch Parliament can be seen as an act of protest against the EU, especially after incidents such as the 2015 Migration Crisis, during which over 1.3 million migrants entered the region.
The influx of migrants into Europe has frustrated several EU member state leaders, including the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. Both Orbán and Wilders argue the increase in migrants tanks their economies and ruins their national welfare systems. These claims are used to promote far-right solidarity throughout the EU and fuel their plan to change EU migration policy for all member states. Orbán called Wilders the minute after the PVV won the election to celebrate the win and stated on social media that “The winds of change are here”. With this development of far-right solidarity between the two leaders, there is a higher chance for more stringent supranational migration policies. The statement from Orbán to Wilders and their alliance is only a small part of the far-right uprising in Europe, with countries such as Italy electing neo-fascist, far-right politicians. The far-right uprising in European countries could hurt the EU’s standing in Europe, as parties such as the PVV have created further division among members. The EU is already addressing crises such as the Ukraine War and the Israel-Palestine Conflict, making it hard for the Union to respond to its current internal issues. Geert Wilders's win in the Netherlands will only change the dynamics of the European Union further, adding to the other far-right and nationalist leaders such as Orbán who continue to promote Euroscepticism.
The Netherlands’ diplomatic ties will also be affected by the right-wing wave, given that Wilders plans to rely less on the European Union and dramatically decrease the number of migrants entering the country. More recently he even suggested that refugees from the European Union ally of Ukraine were using the Netherlands for free housing and healthcare instead of trying to escape the war. In the past couple of months, immigrants from countries such as Morocco, Turkey, and Tunisia have been scared due to Wilder’s push for a complete ban on immigration and a push for the Netherlands for the dutch. Migrants coming in from South America could possibly have to rely even more on non-EU countries such as Turkey, which has already taken a large influx of migrants, and the United States, which also has stricter border policies.
Wilder's government would also promote a “stricter line” when it comes to debt and deficits. Yet, this opposes the EU’s future plans to invest more money in defense and renewable energy. Above that, a Wilders government would allow the Netherlands to partner with other far-right governments such as Italy and Hungary to promote conservative policies across the EU and halt the Union's ambitious plans regarding the environment and migration.
Although a government led by Geert Wilders in the Netherlands is a cause for concern, it is unlikely that he will be able to promote all his far-right views in the Dutch government. In order to directly govern the Netherlands, his party would have to gain support from the center-right section of the VVD and from an additional party called the New Social Contract, both of which have said they cannot support some of the PVV's views. Thus, Wilders would have to become far less radical to get a higher approval rate from the Dutch government and its citizens. Regardless, this does not mean that his party doesn’t currently hold much power, as it still did win the elections. Geert Wilders' party win signals a significant change in European politics as a whole and verifies the continuation of Euroscepticism among several member states.
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