How the Party for Freedom became a wake-up call for moderates

It has now been 186 days since cabinet Schoof I has sat down in the seat of government under the leadership of Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom. To say their time has been tumultuous would be an understatement given the political climate in the Hague. After the most recent cabinet crisis with state secretary Achahbar and her problems with the cabinet’s rhetoric, it is difficult not to wonder how things might have looked if someone like Frans Timmermans took the reins of power and had a chance to become Prime Minister. After 14 years of Mark Rutte and his VVD party, people finally wanted a big shift in the political landscape of the Netherlands. And a major part of their concerns were two things: migrants, and housing. People were scared. The government felt like they were not giving support to their own people and putting migrants ahead of the needs of residents when it came to necessities like housing. 

Geert capitalized on the frustration with two key voters: the now voting-eligible Gen-Z and moderates of the older generations. While the Party for Freedom saw most gains come from the younger generation, voters such as parents that cannot afford an apartment for themselves and their children. A voter group that was uniquely frustrated and made sure that it was seen in the polling numbers. Those disproportionately affected in the regions where migrant housing is high like near Ter Apel. And many more feel that their government has stretched their patience too thin when it came to promises of improvement of living conditions. While the previous administration began to make some changes within the housing sector, it left a lot to be desired in terms of sweeping effects. A lot of their projects were yet to see fruition, and their wings were clipped before they could really make any meaningful change. So, in the November elections of 2023, came the shocking result of the Party for Freedom far outperforming any leftist parties more than ever recorded in modern times. And if we retrospectively look at where that decision brought us, some might argue, nowhere good. The emergency migrant law that was proposed by PM Schoof was removed as an option on October 25th, 2024. Even when Geert threatened to pull out of the coalition, effectively having another Rutte IV cabinet crisis, the Second Chamber warned the cabinet not to dare and force an emergency law that would effectively rule them useless temporarily, as there was not any legal basis for such a move under the so-called “Vreemdelingenwet”, which are made for wartime or extraordinary circumstances. Geert said it himself after they were made to be the biggest party: “I will govern for ALL Dutch people.” Instead, we got what we always feared from Geert, which was populist rhetoric, punishing legal immigrants to the Netherlands, and promises made, but not kept. 

Following Taggart’s contextualization of populism as a reactive force, Mr. Wilders effectively attempted to position himself as the people’s savior in a failing system. And just as it yielded results this time around, his growing dysfunctional nature may prove to be his undoing if his rhetoric continues to dictate his policymaking. While it is too far to count this government out already, the people’s trust is slowly starting to erode, and things are once again changing within the geopolitical landscape of the Hague. While their policies have been sweeping in certain areas, their underdeliver in others have left a sour taste in everybody’s mouth. Under the PVV’s leadership, they have only been able to push forward policies already in place. Even housing has only been a continued support of policies Rutte put into place, while the actual housing prices continue to skyrocket while they promised to tackle it. The cut in property transfer tax has only been a minute change in how housing will look like in the coming time. While the decision not to impose further restrictions on mortgage interest tax relief is welcomed, the housing market continues to remain restrictive. So, to put things in perspective: Mr. Wilders did not get his emergency migrant law, he wanted to curb refugees and migrants. He has not made any meaningful changes to the housing market. He nearly imposed a punishment for students that take longer to get their diplomas. Wilders’ government has nearly fallen twice. He has stark disagreements with his coalition members while openly threatening to pull out of the coalition if any more compromises are made. So, moderates, ask yourselves: Was your trust misplaced? Was this the anti-establishment vote you wanted? Mr. Wilders may be a seasoned politician and statesman, but he has proven that he does not want to play ball when it counts the most and when the entirety of Europe is volatile as it is, it may be time to let someone with more leadership take the reins of power of economic powerhouse of the EU. 

Brandon Wong