The party of Dutch populist Geert Wilders won a landslide victory in an election that is expected to mark a rightward shift for the Netherlands.
With nearly all votes counted on Thursday, Wilders, an anti-Islam politician sometimes compared to former President Donald Trump, and his Party for Freedom were forecast to win 37 seats in the lower house of Parliament, more than double that of the last election, according to the Associated Press.
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Following the victory on Thursday, Wilders told Dutch media that he hopes to become prime minister as his party begins the process of forming a coalition government. He also reiterated that he was in favor of a referendum on whether the Netherlands should leave the European Union.
“But the first thing is a significant restriction on asylum and immigration,” said Wilders, who campaigned on a total halt to admitting asylum-seekers. “We don’t do that for ourselves. We do that for all Dutch people who voted for us.”
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Wilders has advocated the “de-Islamization” of the Netherlands.
“We are going to work hard to put Dutch people first again!” Wilders said Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.
