Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) founding leader and member of parliament, Geert Wilders, has said he will speak at the United States Republican convention in the summer in support of likely party candidate Donald Trump.
Geert Wilders, who is presently facing charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Moroccans in his native Netherlands is a prominent leader in the European counter-jihad movement and has praised the Trump candidacy for its unaccommodating stance on Muslim mass migration.
Speaking out after Ted Cruz and John Kasich stood down from the Republican candidate race and left Mr. Trump as the only credible candidate earlier this week, Mr. Wilders said of Mr. Trump: “He has guts, a lot of good ideas and speaks to broad groups in society”, reports Rotterdam’s largest newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
Of the coming race against the candidate most likely to lead the Democrat Party into the 2016 election, Mr. Wilders said: “Clinton may well win in the primaries, but she is incredibly unpopular with the ordinary man and woman in the U.S. I give Trump a good chance”.
Reflecting on the rise of right wing populist politics on both sides of the Atlantic, including the seemingly all-conquering Mr. Trump and the likely victory of anti mass migration candidate in this month’s Austrian presidential elections, Mr. Wilders remarked:
“The patriotic spring in the U.S., Europe and Netherlands is unstoppable, trust me”.
Mr. Wilders called for Europe to close its borders to Muslim migrants in November, shortly before Mr. Trump called for a temporary halt on Muslim migration to the United States. Clearly impressed, Mr. Wilders said at the time:
“I hope [Donald Trump] will be the next US President. Good for America, good for Europe. We need brave leaders”.
The PVV leader takes a keen interest in the United States, and was present at the Garland Draw Mohammed Competition attack in 2015. Although he is a veteran campaigner himself, he has been taking clear hints from Mr. Trump’s forthright campaigning style, channeling the famous slogan by remarking “Make the Netherlands Great Again!” last month.
Looking forward to the 2017 elections in the Netherlands, Mr. Wilders said: “On March 15, 2017 we will return the Netherlands to the Dutch”.
Mr. Wilders is presently fighting a court battle in the Netherlands for remarks he made in 2014, when he asked a group of his supporters whether they wanted to see fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands or not. When they chanted back “Fewer! Fewer!” he replied: “we’ll take care of that”.
His defence lawyer has challenged many of the 6,400 complaints lodged against his client for the case as “fake”. On examination, it has transpired many of them were made by illiterate Muslim migrants who in some cases didn’t even know what they were signing.
Mr. Wilders’ trial will resume in August.