Staunch anti-Islamic leader Geert Wilders may become the Prime Minister of the Netherlands

There is a rise in number of political parties with extreme nationalism, i.e. right-wing ideology coming in power in Europe

(Geert Wilders, Credit – Times of Israel)

Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Parliamentary elections were held on 22nd November in the Netherlands, Europe’s fifth largest economy. It is being predicted that the Party for Freedom, which is a staunch nationalist party, will get the most votes. If that happens, Geert Wilders, the party’s founder-chairman and staunch anti-Islam leader, will become the prime minister of the Netherlands. Mark Rutte’s party was in power in the Netherlands for almost 13 years, but the European media say that there are clear signs of a change in this election.

Wilders’ party is likely to get 37 seats. The left party may be second with 25 seats, while the centrist party will get 24 seats. A party likely to win 20 seats could give its support to Wilders. This will enable him to form Government.

Since the last decade, Governments of right-wing parties have been coming to power instead of political parties with communist or secularist ideology in many countries. Trump Administration in America, Giorgia Meloni’s Government in Italy, Viktor Orbán’s Government in Hungary, Narendra Modi’s Government in India are some of the prominent examples. Finland and Sweden too have right-wing Governments.

In the elections held in the Netherlands this year, the issues of refugee Muslims affecting the resources there, as well as the rights of native citizens were emphasised. Wilders himself along with his party took up these issues and other political parties also expressed their views on it. Hence, this emerged as one of the important issues in the entire election. Wilders’ party is said to have benefited from it. He has been referred to as the ‘Donald Trump of the Netherlands’ due to his provocative statements.

Geert Wilders’ relationship with India

Geert Wilders is known globally as a leader who criticises Islam. He has been continuously elected as MP since 1998. In 2004, he allegedly made offensive statements about the Prophet Muhammad. Since then, he has been the target of jihadi terrorists around the world. Therefore, he has been protected for the past 20 years. Among world leaders, Wilders was at the forefront of supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma after her statements about the Prophet. He consistently presents his views in favour of Hindus. He always claims that he hates Islam and not Muslims.