The European country with its own 'Trump' set to ban all asylum claims for 4 years

PVV leader Geert Wilder (Image: Getty)

As the vote count from Wednesday's Dutch parliamentary elections continues and two partieses are neck and neck. The far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives, PVV is currently ahead but the centrist liberal party D66 and the far-right PVV are both projected to be the biggest winners in the extremely tight race.

Immigration has been absolutely central to Wilder's campaign, earning him the notorious nickname 'the Dutch Trump'. Last year the Netherlands recorded 33,760 asylum applications, a slight decrease from 2023, with the majority of migrants arriving from Turkey, Syria and Iraq. By the end of 2024, the country of approximately 18 million people was hosting around 260,000 refugees, of which 120,000 were Ukrainians. Mr Wilders has pledged to put an end to this in a country where frustration over migration has grown amid a housing crisis. But his fierce rhetoric and anti-Islam rhetoric made him a target for death threats, putting him under 24-hour armed police protection since 2024.

Mr Wilders has promised banning all asylum claims for four years (Image: Getty)

Some see him as a hero taking on a corrupt establishment trying to block his re-election. Others view the 62-year-old 'Dutch Trump' or 'Dutch Nigel Farage' as a fear-mongering populist, making radical promises like a four-year ban on all asylum claims. The anti-Islam politician has promised to stop all asylum claims in the Netherlands for four years if he wins the general election. He also vowed to close all borders, shut down asylum centres, end family reunification and ditch the UN Refugee Convention. He said that all Ukrainian men would be deported to Ukraine, and Syrians would return to their own or other Arab countries.

The populist called October's snap election after withdrawing his party from the right-wing coalition government, frustrated by the slow progress in implementing what he described as the Netherlands' "strictest-ever" asylum policy. The coalition had been formed just eight months after Mr Wilders' unexpected landslide win in the November 2023 general election.

D66 leader Rob Jetten spoke to reporters this morning as his party and Wilders's PVV appeared neck and neck.

Initial exit polls had put Jetten in the lead. But with about 98% of votes counted, both D66 and Wilders' Freedom Party were heading for 26 seats in the 150-member parliament, a projection from Dutch news agency ANP said

He stressed that it was important who ultimately wins, as the right to take the initiative in forming the new government should rest with the largest party.