It also advocates the “de-Islamisation” of the Netherlands,although he has been milder about Islam during this election campaign than in the past.
“The Dutch will be No. 1 again,” Wilders said. “The people must get their nation back.”
But the MP,who has in the past been labelled a Dutch version of Donald Trump,first would have to form a coalition government before he can take the reins of power.
That will be tough as mainstream parties are reluctant to join forces with him and his Party for Freedom,but the size of his victory strengthens his hand in any negotiations.
Despite his harsh rhetoric,he was already courting other right parties by saying that whatever he would do,“it would be within the law and constitution”.
The historic victory came one year after the win of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,whose Brothers of Italy’s roots were steeped in nostalgia for fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Meloni has since mellowed her stance on several issues and,as Italy’s leader,has become the acceptable face of the hard right in the EU.
Wilders was long a firebrand lashing out at Islam,at the EU and migrants – a stance which brought him close to power,but never in power in a nation known for compromise politics.
During the final weeks of his campaign,he softened his stance,vowed that he would be a prime minister for all Dutch people,so much so that he gained the moniker Geert “Milders”.
The exit poll was published as voting ended in the general election. It can have a margin of error of up to three seats,but generally is accurate within one or two seats,Ipsos said.
The election was called after the fourth and final coalition of Rutte resigned in July after failing to agree to measures to rein in migration.
Rutte was replaced by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius,a former refugee from Turkey who could have become the country’s first female prime minister had her party won the most votes. Instead,it was forecast to lose 11 seats to end up with 23.
The election had been called a neck-and-neck race,but in the end Wilders handily beat all opponents.
The result is the latest in a series of elections altering the European political landscape.
From Slovakia and Spain,to Germany and Poland,populist and hard-right parties triumphed in some EU member nations and faltered in others.
AP