Would-be Dutch PM Geert Wilders calls for a pro-secular leader in Turkey

Amsterdam: Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders called for a new leader in Turkey elected by the citizens “who support secularism” in a veiled rebuke of the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I won the Dutch elections. And I wish that Turkish citizens who support secularism and Kemalism will elect a new leader who can win the next elections,” Wilders,who delivereda shock election victory on November 22,said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday.

Geert Wilders is negotiating to become the Netherlands’ PM.

Geert Wilders is negotiating to become the Netherlands’ PM.Getty

Wilders,who has long called for limiting immigration of Muslims into the Netherlands and has previously attacked Erdogan,called for a new Turkish leader “who halts the influx of more Arabs in Turkey,protects Turkish women,supports the working class and stops corruption”.

Erdogan defeated Turkey’s pro-secular party earlier this year to take his 20-year rule well into a third decade. The next presidential election there is scheduled for 2028.

Meanwhile,Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party has already picked a new leader ahead of the local elections in March.

Wilders,whose Freedom Party won more seats at the Dutch elections than any polls had predicted,is currently negotiating with three other parties to form a right-wing coalition as the next prime minister.

While the four parties are likely to reach an agreement over a crackdown on migration,topics including aid to Ukraine,co-operation with the European Union and climate policies may complicate the talks.

Still,as coalition talks continue,latest polls indicate growing support for Wilders’ Freedom Party. “Of course I want to become prime minister,” Wilders said on X.

Bloomberg

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