Far-right leader Geert Wilders, who had backed former BJP spokesperson
Nupur Sharma, was the surprise victor in the Netherlands elections, after a
late surge that catapulted his anti-EU party to a resounding victory over his
mainstream rivals.
His anti-Islam Party for Freedom now has 37 seats in the Dutch Parliament
and is on course to be the largest party in the House.
But he is still a long way from his dream of becoming the Prime Minister,
for which his party will need to cross the magic number of 76 through a
coalition.
Wilders asserted his focus would be on curbing immigration. During the
campaign, he softened his anti-Islam rhetoric and instead talked about issues
such as the cost of living and immigration, which led to analysts describing
him as “Geert Milders”.
The 60 years’ old has been a fixture in Dutch politics for decades. He began
his career as a member of former Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberal group but
broke away to serve as an Independent lawmaker before setting up the
anti-migrant Freedom Party, known as the PVV in Dutch.
He has been facing death threats because of his anti-Islamic views and
has been under tight police protection since 2004. In 2020, a court found him
guilty on insult charges for comments he made about Moroccan immigrants, but
the judges imposed no penalty.
In 2022, Wilders had also defended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader
Nupur Sharma over her comments on Prophet Muhammad.
“Nupur Sharma is a hero who spoke nothing but the truth. The whole world
should be proud of her. She deserves the Nobel Prize. And India is a Hindu
nation, the Indian Government is obliged to strongly defend Hindus against
Islamic hate and violence,” he had said in a tweet after Nupur Sharma’s remarks
on a TV debate sparked a row.
The government sought to distance itself from the comments by describing
them as “views of fringe elements”. She was also suspended as the BJP
spokesperson.
The Supreme Court noted that Sharma’s remarks “ignited emotions across
the country”.
Agency
