PVV faces mass exodus of local councilors across the Netherlands
The Party for Freedom, or PVV, is losing its local councilors across the Netherlands, with resignations, defections, and breakaway factions reshaping nearly half of the municipal councils where the party won seats in 2022, NOS reported.
In 14 of the 32 municipalities where the PVV entered local councils after the last municipal elections, the original faction no longer exists. Councilors have left the party, switched to other parties, or formed independent groups, often citing poor treatment by the national leadership and a lack of communication with The Hague. In six municipalities — Dordrecht, Emmen, Maastricht, Purmerend, Urk, and Utrecht — the PVV no longer holds any seats.
Tensions increased after the PVV published its candidate lists for the upcoming municipal elections. In Nissewaard, two of the three remaining councilors stopped attending meetings after learning they would not be eligible for re-election. In Venlo, longtime faction leader Donald Fijnje was removed from the candidate list without explanation and formed his own faction. “If you are dismissed in this way, it does something to a person,” Fijnje told NOS. “Wilders is doing me and the people of Venlo an injustice if you don’t explain why you make such a decision.”
This week, Heerlen councilor Paul Hoogers resigned from the PVV and joined Forum for Democracy. He told De Limburger he no longer supports the party’s national direction. “The PVV has become an empty shell. A lot of shouting, but nothing is delivered,” he said.
Other councilors have followed suit. In Twenterand, Yvonne Spijker left the PVV after being placed lower on the candidate list. “In a way, it’s also liberating to start again,” she told regional broadcaster Oost. “With the PVV, you have to follow the national line.” In Emmen, Klaas Bosma joined a local party in August, citing frustration that “everything within the party is decided by one man: Geert Wilders,” he told RTV Drenthe.
Former Maastricht councilor René Betsch, who left the PVV in 2023, described years of silence from the national leadership. “In 2018, I sent my first question asking for information from The Hague. I’m still waiting for the answer,” he said. Betsch said the PVV exists locally “only in name. You get the PVV brand. There are a few positions. The rest you fill in yourself, as long as it follows the PVV line.”
Fijnje said communication with the national party is nearly nonexistent. “I rarely heard anything from Wilders about political plans. Even the Tweede Kamer members have no contact with local councilors. That is very unpleasant. It would help enormously if you could coordinate something with someone from The Hague,” he said. He added that interaction only occurs when Wilders visits Venlo. “Then you get a call: arrange it. Otherwise, there are threats — then you won’t be on the list.”
The PVV has run in municipal elections since 2010. In 2022, it competed in 32 municipalities and won 63 seats. By comparison, the CDA, the largest national party at the time, won about 1,100 municipal seats.
For the elections scheduled for March 2026, the PVV plans to run in about 40 municipalities, fewer than the 58 it had aimed for. Arnhem, Urk, and Purmerend dropped out after 2022. In Arnhem, Wilders and the PVV had previously protested what they called “Arnhemmistan.” In Urk, despite Wilders’ frequent visits, the local faction severed ties with the national party.
Several former councilors argue the PVV needs structural change. Fijnje called for a membership system to allow consultation among party members. Betsch agreed, saying, “Members can indicate which direction a party should take. That’s how you listen to your supporters. The PVV does not do that.”
