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Who is Geert Wilders? Meet the 'Trump of the Netherlands' who could win the Dutch election
GEERT Wilders is the favourite to win the 2017 Dutch election after his anti-Islam and anti-EU policies earned him comparisons to Donald Trump.
Who is Geert Wilders?
Geert Wilders is the founder and leader of Party For Freedom (PVV), and one of the most controversial politicians in Europe.
He was recently convicted of inciting discrimination and insulting a group, after he asked a crowd whether they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans in the Netherlands” at a rally in 2014.
He was given no sentence for his crime and was acquitted of inciting hate.
Mr Wilders has said that he will appeal the verdict, and tweeted shortly after the ruling: “Three PVV hating judges declare that Moroccans are a race and convict me and half of the Netherlands. Madness.”
Previously, he has claimed: “Millions of Dutch citizens – 43% of the population – want fewer Moroccans.
“Not because they despise all Moroccans or want all Moroccans out of the country, but because they are sick and tired of the nuisance and terror caused by so many Moroccans.
“If speaking about this is punishable, then the Netherlands is no longer a free country but a dictatorship.”
His party is on course to win the most seats in the upcoming Dutch parliamentary election.
If elected, Mr Wilders has promised to deliver a total "de-Islamification" of the Netherlands.
He has vowed to end immigration from Islamic countries, ban the Koran – which he has called “the Mein Kampf of today”, and close down every mosque in the country.
The Euroscpetic politician has also pledged to give the Dutch people a referendum on EU membership.
Following the UK’s Brexit victory, Mr Wilders said: “The Dutch population deserves a referendum as well.”
Originally from Venlo in the south-eastern Netherlands, Mr Wilders moved to Israel in 1981 after graduating from secondary school.
Over two years he travelled around the Middle East and began to form the anti-Islamic views that have defined his political career.
Upon returning to the Netherlands in 1983 he began working in the health insurance industry.
He was first voted into public office in 1997 when he was elected to the Utrecht city council as a member of the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
The following year he was elected to national parliament, where he soon became known for his extreme views on Islam.
n 2004, Mr Wilders left the VVD after the party declared its support for Turkey’s accession to the EU.
He founded the PVV two years later, winning nine seats in the 2006 general election. It has since grown to hold 24 seats, making it the third largest force in the house.
The controversial MP found himself in trouble in 2008 after he produced a short film called Fitna which mixed passages from the Koran with clips of Islamist terror attacks.
As a result of the film he was banned from entering the UK and charged with inciting hatred towards Muslims by a Dutch court.
He was cleared of all charges after a lengthy trial and his UK travel ban was withdrawn.
In 2010, his name was published on an Al-Qaeda hit list and he has received multiple death threats from Islamist extremists.
Mr Wilders was banned from the UK after releasing an anti-Islam short film
Will Geert Wilders win?
Mr Wilders’ Party For Freedom (PVV) is on course to win the most parliamentary seats in the upcoming election, with an opinion poll from Peil predicting that it will win 32 out of 150 seats.
Bookmakers Betfair has made PVV the favourite to take the most seats with odds of 1/4, with VDD behind them at 5/2.
However this does not necessarily mean that Mr Wilders will become the next Prime Minister.
The Dutch parliament relies on coalition governments, and so far none of the main political groups have expressed an interest in working with the anti-EU party.
Incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said there is “zero” chance that he will work with Mr Wilders. His People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is on course to come in second in the election.
There is a chance that the winning party could be excluded from government and a coalition formed from the remaining parties, as happened in 1971, 1977 and 1882.
ING economists Martin van Vliet and Dimitry Fleming have predicted: “The most likely outcome of the elections is for a coalition of four or five centre-right and centre-left parties
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...ch-netherlands
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