Wilders visits anti-asylum seekers meeting in Kijkduin; Other politicians critical

PVV leader Geert Wilders briefly visited a meeting in Kijkduin on Tuesday evening where locals protested against the arrival of asylum seekers. The move raised eyebrows among other politicians, including potential coalition partners NSC and BBB, Nieuwsuur reports.

Around 120 asylum seekers have been staying at a hotel in Kijkduin since this weekend because the arrival center in Ter Apel is overflowing. The municipality of The Hague arranged the hotel and an information meeting for locals on Tuesday.

Wilders briefly attended that meeting to “encourage” local residents, he said. He didn’t actually go inside for security reasons but did show his face at the entrance. In conversation with the press, he said that he wanted an asylum freeze and that the Netherlands was being “flooded” with asylum seekers. “I will support you through thick and thin,” he told a local.

According to Wilders, Tuesday’s appearance was nothing out of the ordinary because he has been attending such meetings for years. “I would find it very cowardly if I didn’t do that after the elections,” he said to Nieuwsuur.

The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen said Wilders is welcome to show his involvement but stressed that Kijkduin “is not the place for a party politics circus.” Van Zanen attended the actual meeting. He believes his municipality should contribute to solving the crisis in asylum shelter. “Despite last week’s election results, these people should not sleep in the grass,” he said.

NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt called Wilders’ presence at the meeting strange but added that Wilders is free to go where he wants. BBB leader Caroline van der Plas said: “I personally wouldn’t do it. I would say: let’s focus on the exploration [for forming a new government].”

NSC and BBB are considered the most likely coalition partners to form a government with Geert Wilders’ PVV. Today, formation scout Ronald Plasterk is meeting with the leaders of the four largest parties after the elections - PVV, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, and VVD - to start exploring possible coalitions. That is the first step in the formation process. The VVD already said it wouldn’t be part of the next government, and the left-wing combination is an unlikely match for Wilders’ far-right PVV. So the NSC is Wilders’ only option for taking a major step towards a majority in parliament. The PVV has around 37 seats after the elections and NSC 20. There are 150 seats in the Tweede Kamer, so at least 76 seats are required for a majority.

Other politicians were also critical of Wilders’ visit to Kijkduin. CDA leader Henri Bontenbal called it “not great” and “a bit polarizing.” PvdD leader Esther Ouwehand pointed out that Wilders isn’t modeling how he’d be “the Prime Minister for all Dutch people.”