PVV leader Geert Wilders called it "great news" that right-wing populist Marine Le Pen of Front National reached the second round of the French presidential election. In the second round Le Pen is up against Social-liberal Emmanuel Macron.
"A wonderful day for patriots inside and outside France who want more national sovereignty and less EU and immigration", Wilders said to news wire ANP. "I just sent her my congratulations. Now on to a feisty second round, but I'm hoping for President Le Pen!"
Geert Wilders has failed to gather enough members for his Parliamentary group. The PVV-leader is two members short of the necessary seven EU member states for a Parliamentary faction to be valid. He hopes to have more success towards the end of the year.
PVV-leader Geert Wilders has recruited Polish party KNP (New Right) for his new faction in the European Parliament. This was announced by the Polish party, Trouw reports.
Eurosceptic populist parties such as UKIP and the PVV are having a hard time forming factions for the European Parliament, meaning that these parties are under threat of ending up on the sidelines. It seems highly likely that Nigel Farage and Geert Wilders will lose their power.
PVV-leader Geert Wilders finds the latest anti-Semitic statements of French Front National party-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, "disgusting," he told newswire ANP. Wilders still gave Le Pen some benefit of the doubt, when he said, “If the statements were truly made, and meant [in that way], they are without a doubt disgusting which I have already mentioned to Front National.” He did not want to give further explanation according to the ANP.
Anti-European parties have won big across Europe in the Parliamentary elections over the weekend. In almost all European Union member states, extreme right wing parties, populists and eurosceptics have won seats. Only the Dutch PVV remains behind.
According to the latest polls, Geert Wilders and his PVV party are going to lose big in the European elections. Geenstijl and Ipsos peg D66 for the win.
Minister Lodewijk Asscher of Social Affairs has criticized the PVV for working together with "creeps" in Europe, such as the French Front National, for money.
PVV-leader Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen called off their collective campaign for election to European Parliament last month, according to news magazine Vrij Nederland.
The PvdA launched a website on Sunday, which is criticizes PVV-leader Geert Wilders. The site is called Wilders' Friends, or, devriendenvanwilders.eu, comes during the preliminaries of the European Parliamentary elections, and lists Wilders' standpoints, framed by the comments of what the PvdA terms as his 'friends' in the elections.
Geert Wilders responded to criticism of his cooperation with extreme right-wing nationalist parties across Europe by saying he sees no reason why he and his political party, PVV, should not work these groups. The Dutch politician has been working with France’s Front National and Austria’s FPÖ to try and create an anti-European Union opposition within the European Parliament.
The Jewish community's lobbying group, CIDI, is critical of PVV-leader Geert Wilders, saying that he is doing what he insisted he never would, to be in the same boat as right wing extremist groups in the run-up to the European Parliamentary elections later this month.
Marcel de Graaff, the PVV's frontrunner for the European Parliament elections on 22 May, came under fire on Thursday during a pre-election debate. The PvdA, VVD and D66 reproached De Graaff for working together with the French Front National.
