Demonstrations after Wilders won the elections in the Netherlands

Hundreds demonstrated in the Netherlands yesterday, in protest against the victory of Geert Wilders’ right-wing populist party in the parliamentary elections. In Utrecht, about a thousand people responded to the call of several left-wing parties to demonstrate under the slogan “You are not alone.” A similar protest march took place in Amsterdam.

Organizers of the demonstration in Utrecht said: “We want to show the Dutch that we do not leave anyone alone and that we defend everyone’s rights.”

In the parliamentary elections, Wilders’ party won 37 of the 150 parliamentary seats, thus becoming the strongest force in popular representation. However, the country is likely to face a complex government formation process, as Wilders’ potential coalition partners have so far ruled out becoming his junior partners.

During the Dutch election campaign, Wilders tried to maintain a relatively moderate image. In the Party for Freedom’s election programme, asylum seekers are supposed to, among other things, “feast” for free, while Dutch families have to provide enough food. The Freedom Party is also calling for a ban on Islamic schools, Qur’an schools and mosques, as well as a ban on the hijab in government buildings. Wilders’ party also aims to hold a “mandatory referendum” on the Netherlands’ exit from the European Union.