New Delhi: Far-right leader Geert Wilders 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. Wilders party, the 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 said 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-year-old has been a fixture in Dutch politics for decades. He started 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 also noted that Ms Sharma's remarks "ignited emotions across the country".
"The way she has ignited emotions across the country. This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country. She actually has a loose tongue and has made all kinds of irresponsible statements on TV and set the entire country on fire. Yet, she claims to be a lawyer of 10 years standing... She should have immediately apologised for her comments to the whole country," the court said in a ruling.