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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent

‘It was heartbreaking’: Muslim mayor comes to terms with Dutch election result

Ahmed Marcouch
Ahmed Marcouch: ‘I really understand the shock of a win by a party that has systemically humiliated Muslims for decades …’ Photograph: Arnhem mayor's office

Soon after news broke that the populist Geert Wilders and his anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) had won the most votes of any party in the Dutch elections, Ahmed Marcouch found himself comforting his distraught eight-year-old.

Earlier in the day, a teacher at his son’s school had explained the election results, discussing the wide differences between parties. Now Marcouch’s son was terrified that the family would have to leave the country.

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