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Less than two years after the anti-Islamic firestorm geert wilders led my party to a resounding victory dutch Parliamentary elections are taking place again in the Netherlands.
The lawmaker, who has lived under round-the-clock security for more than 20 years amid death threats, kicked ministers from his Party for Freedom out of the four-party ruling coalition on Wednesday, triggering snap elections in June in a dispute over his far-reaching plans to crack down on immigration.
Restrictions on migration again dominate the campaign ahead of the vote for all 150 seats in the Dutch parliament Lok SabhaEven parties that usually occupy the political middle ground have been pulled to the right by the popularity of Wilders’ fiery rhetoric.
But even if Wilders wins again – and polls suggest it would be a knife-edge result – he will struggle to form a majority coalition because the major parties have already refused to join him before election day.
Henri Bontenable, leader of the center-right Christian Democrats, said that Wilder’s party and the far-right Forum for Democracy “do not defend democracy, and it is very important to defend democracy these days.”
The outgoing government led by Dick Schoof, a career civil servant whom Wilders had chosen to become Prime Minister, went down in history as one of the shortest-lived in modern Dutch history and was notorious for infighting among its members.
Wilders, whose party won 37 seats in the last election in late 2023, has no regrets, arguing he was left with no choice but to bring down the government because other coalition parties were reluctant to support his anti-immigration agenda.
big issues
Most parties want to reduce the number of immigrants coming to this crowded country of 18 million people. Other key issues are tackling the shortage of affordable housing and curbing rising health care costs. issues Issues that have been left behind include the climate crisis and defense spending as Europe steps up military preparedness to counter Russian aggression.
Wilders, sometimes referred to as the Dutch Donald Trump, has focused his election campaign on a 10-point plan to impose a complete ban on asylum seekers entering the Netherlands, which also includes sending people back at the borders with Belgium and Germany.
“The Netherlands has become a huge asylum seeker hub,” he said during a televised debate, where he was repeatedly criticized by his political opponents for installing incompetent ministers in the previous government and then toppling it.
The Netherlands is not alone in shifting to the right
Leonie de Jonge, a professor of research on far-right extremism at the University of Tübingen in Germany, said the Dutch shift to the right fits into a worldwide shift.
“We are certainly seeing a steady and global rise of the far right. This is a global phenomenon and the Netherlands is no exception,” De Jonge said in a telephone interview.
Anti-immigrant protests have turned violent, including demonstrations against asylum seeker centers and recent riots in The Hague, where a police car was set on fire and the headquarters of a centrist political party was attacked.
Last month, in a speech written by the outgoing government, Dutch King Willem-Alexander called for a return to the Dutch culture of compromise amid the polarization that led to the fourth general election in less than a decade.
Resurgence of the Christian Democrats
The Christian Democrats were not part of the previous ruling coalition after their vote declined in 2023. But the party is now polling strongly under the leadership of former stability adviser Bontenbal, who is campaigning on a pledge to restore decency to Dutch politics.
“We have seen in two years the politics of division and chaos. What we want… is the politics of hope and responsibility,” Bontenbal told The Associated Press during a campaign rally in his hometown of Rotterdam.
Bontenbal is one of several leaders of mainstream parties who have refused to join Wilder’s party in a coalition government.
Professor Claes de Vriese of the University of Amsterdam said that if Wilders wins the vote and is unable to form a majority coalition, “a minority cabinet could be an option. But this is a construct that hardly exists in the Dutch political tradition.”
If the minority fails to form a coalition, “Historically, the largest party loses the right to form a coalition and it goes to the party in second place.” But, De Vries said, “the process is based more on traditions and history than on any ready-made plan.”
Former vice-president of the European Commission leads the center left
Another strong contender is the centre-left bloc of the Green Left and the Labor Party, led by former European climate commissioner Frans Timmermans. He wants to move beyond the impasse of the Shoof administration.
“The problem with this country is that nothing has happened in the last few years,” he told the AP. “None of the problems were solved, every problem got bigger. So what we need to do is … get this country back to work and get this country on a social path.”
Timmermans’s party is campaigning on a platform of building 100,000 new homes per year to address the chronic shortage of affordable homes.
Elections will likely lead to lengthy coalition talks
Although the outcome of the election is not certain, one thing is certain: another coalition government, and possibly months of negotiations to bring together enough parties to form a majority in the House of Representatives.
Voter Herman de Jong was visiting a market in Rotterdam while Bontenbal was campaigning and was tired of the political infighting.
“We need stability, peace, unity, something like that,” he said. “I think it’s not good for people to have this constant debate between parties.”