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Dutch far-right leader, Geert Wilders has won a massive election in the Dutch exit poll setting him on course to form a coalition and become the Netherlands next Prime Minister, leaders from across Europe are congratulating the PPV (Freedom Party) leader.
Wilders has so far won 37 seats in parliament, more than doubling his share from the last election and outstripping opponents, reports France24. A left-wing bloc trailed far behind on 25 seats, with the centre-right VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) on 24, a catastrophic result for the party with the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has served the country since 2010. President of the French National Rally (RN) group in the National Assembly, Marine Le Pen, said on her X, formerly Twitter page, "Congratulations to@geertwilderspvvand the PVV for their spectacular performance in the legislative elections". Le Pen, who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022, also claimed on X that the success of Wilders, "confirms the growing attachment to the defence of national identities. It is because there are people who refuse to see the national torch extinguished that the hope for change remains alive in Europe." Wilders ran on an anti-European Union campaign, which will undoubtedly arouse concern in Brussels, with calls to follow the UK with their Brexit vote, and similarly follow suit with a so-called Nexit (Netherlands's exit) vote, that will remove the country from the European trading bloc. 60-year-old Prime Minister of Hungary, Orban Victor has also congratulated Wilders, who has run on an anti-immigration sentiment. Victor shared his congratulatory thoughts on X stating, "The winds of change are here! Congratulations to@geertwilderspvvon winning the Dutch elections!" Hungary's hardline nationalist leader previously told a crowd that Europeans do not want to mix with people from outside of the continent. He warned that "Islamic civilization" is "constantly moving towards Europe" and that in the future, "those whom we do not want to let in will have to be stopped at [Hungary's] western borders". Wilders was found guilty of discrimination in 2016 after leading a crowd chanting for "fewer" Moroccans in the Netherlands and has previously likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf", saying both books should be banned, reported France24. "We want less Islam in the Netherlands and we will achieve that through less non-Western immigration and the introduction of a general halt to asylum," says the PPV programme. Wilders is likely to become a second far-right leader in a top European GDP country, as the Dutch lurch to the far-right comes after Italy elected Giorgia Meloni as prime minister, France24 reported. Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was also quick to express his support for the Dutch far-right nationalist. Salvini stated on his X page, "Congratulations to our friend@geertwilderspvv, leader of the PVV and historic ally of the League, for this extraordinary electoral victory." The success of Wilder portrays a significantly evolving European political landscape. (ANI)
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