Far-right Wilders woos rivals after monster Dutch vote win

THE HAGUE: Far-right firebrand Geert Wilders faced an uphill struggle Thursday to woo rivals for a coalition government after a “monster victory” in Dutch elections that shook the Netherlands and Europe.

His PVV (Freedom Party) won 37 seats in parliament, more than doubling his share from the last election and outstripping opponents, according to near complete results.

A left-wing bloc trailed far behind on 25 seats, with the centre-right VVD on 24, a catastrophic result for the party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Wilders, 60, now has the daunting task of trying to form a working coalition, courting rivals that categorically ruled out serving in a PVV-led government before the vote.

The unexpected landslide win prompted immediatecongratulations from fellow far-right leaders in France and Hungary but will likely raise fears in Brussels -- Wilders is anti-EU and wants a vote on a “Nexit” to leave the bloc.

Although he softened his anti-Islam rhetoric during the campaign, the PVV programme pledges a ban on the Koran, mosques and Islamic headscarves and Muslim community leaders in the Netherlands were quick to voice concern. “I woke up this morning with an unpleasant feeling. Actually also in shock,” Habib el Kaddouri from the SMN association of Moroccan Dutch, told AFP.

“Some people are scared, others uncertain about their future, about what the result means for their citizenship or place in Dutch society,” he added. Lizette Keyzer, a 60-year-old business manager from Enschede in the east of the Netherlands, said she had “heart palpitations” when the exit poll results came out. The country “is going in a right-wing direction. We hope that this does not completely become the case”, added Keyzer.

Addressing cheering supporters in The Hague after exit polls, Wilders doubled down on his anti-immigrant rhetoric, saying the Dutch had voted to stem the “tsunami” of asylum-seekers.

He later told reporters he wanted to be “prime minister for all Dutch” and would “work hard with other parties” to form a coalition.

But it is not clear how he can scrape together the 76 seats he needs for a majority in the 150-seat parliament.

Former European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, whose Green/Labour bloc came in second, immediately ruled out cooperation, saying it was now their job to “defend democracy” in the country.

Anti-corruption champion Pieter Omtzigt, whose New Social Contract party scored 20 seats, seems certain to play a role and indicated he was “available” for talks, admitting they wouldn’t be easy.

Dilan Yesilgoz, who led the centre-right VVD to a disappointing 24 seats, was coy on election night, saying Wilders would have to see if he can forge a coalition.

The Dutch lurch to the far-right comes after Italy elected Giorgia Meloni as prime minister. Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed “winds of change” after the exit poll, while France´s Marine Le Pen cheered his “spectacular performance.”

And although Wilders pledged he would be prime minister “for all the Dutch”, his anti-Muslim rants in the past have earned him the sobriquet “Dutch Trump” -- also a reference to his dyed, slicked-back hairstyle. He was found guilty of discrimination in 2016 after leading a crowd chanting for “fewer” Moroccans in the Netherlands and has previously likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”, saying both books should be banned.