Geert Wilders gives up hope of being Dutch PM due to lack of support

Geert Wilders’ PVV won 37 votes in the November general election – more than any other party – but his extreme policy pledges proved an insurmountable obstacle to other rightwing parties. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

Geert Wilders, whose far-right Freedom party (PVV) shocked the Netherlands by finishing first in elections late last year, has conceded that he will not be the next prime minister because his potential coalition partners do not back him.

“I can only become the prime minister if all the parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case,” Wilders said on X late on Wednesday. “Love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position.”