The ascent of Geert Wilders has vexed parties struggling with how to work with a far-right leader too popular to shun. It’s a puzzle bigger than the Netherlands.
Centrist and center-right parties long wary of the firebrand have left the door ajar to a possible partnership, giving firebrand Geert Wilders a chance to become the Netherlands’ first far-right prime minister.
The Netherlands, long regarded as one of Europe s most socially liberal countries, woke up to a drastically changed political landscape Thursday after a far-right party swept national elections in a result that has reverberated throughout Europe.
In an election result that sent shock waves across Europe, Geert Wilders, a longtime far-right provocateur, is closer than ever to becoming prime minister.