Geert Wilders

File:Frits Bolkestein 1999.jpg.]]Wilders was born on 6 September 1963 in the city of Venlo, in the province of Limburg. He is the son of Johannes Henricus Andreas Wilders and Anne Maria (Ording) Wilders.{{Cite web |title=De Indische roots van Geert Wilders – SIGE |url=https://indischgenealogischerfgoed.nl/de-indische-roots-van-geert-wilders/ |access-date=23 November 2023 |language=nl |archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205140415/https://indischgenealogischerfgoed.nl/de-indische-roots-van-geert-wilders/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiwlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|title=The Power of Populism: Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands|last=Vossen|first=Koen|date=12 August 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-29290-6|pages=1|language=en|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=25 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073100/https://books.google.com/books?id=wiwlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} He is the youngest of four children,{{cite news|url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/080124-wilders-biography |title=Geert Wilders: Pushing the envelope |date=24 January 2008 |first=John |last=Tyler |access-date=15 March 2008 |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070614160814/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/080124-wilders-biography |archive-date=14 June 2007 }} and was raised Catholic. His father was Dutch; his mother Maria Anne Ourding was born at Sukabumi,{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20231129195911-4-493139/geert-wilders-politisi-belanda-anti-islam-keturunan-sukabumi|title=Geert Wilder, Politisi Belanda Anti-Islam Keturunan Sukabumi|website=cnbcindonesia.com|access-date=3 December 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203125138/https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20231129195911-4-493139/geert-wilders-politisi-belanda-anti-islam-keturunan-sukabumi|url-status=live}} the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia){{cite web|url=http://www.groene.nl/artikel/wreker-van-zijn-indische-grootouders|title=Wreker van zijn Indische grootouders|publisher=De Groene Amsterdammer|date=2 September 2009|access-date=26 December 2013|author=Lizzy van Leeuwen|language=nl|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055555/https://www.groene.nl/artikel/wreker-van-zijn-indische-grootouders|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/3184/opinie/article/detail/3108480/2012/01/06/Waarom-is-het-haar-van-Geert-Wilders-blond.dhtml |title=Waarom is het haar van Geert Wilders blond? |work=De Volkskrant |author=Bert Bukman |date=6 January 2012 |language=nl |access-date=26 December 2013 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055522/https://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/3184/opinie/article/detail/3108480/2012/01/06/Waarom-is-het-haar-van-Geert-Wilders-blond.dhtml%20 |url-status=live }} with a mixed Dutch and Indonesian background.{{cite web |url=http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/article2350022.ece |title=Geert Wilders' Indonesian roots define his politics, says anthropologist |publisher=Vorige.nrc.nl |date=4 September 2009 |access-date=31 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720132726/http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/article2350022.ece |archive-date=20 July 2011 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/iran-warns-netherlands-not-to-air-controversial-anti-muslim-film|title=Iran Warns Netherlands Not to Air Controversial 'Anti-Muslim' Film|date=21 January 2008|access-date=15 March 2009|publisher=Fox News Channel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612070628/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324406,00.html|archive-date=12 June 2009|url-status=live}} His father worked as a manager for the printing and copying manufacturing company Océ,{{cite web|title=G. Wilders |language=nl|publisher=Parlement|url=http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02258|access-date=24 March 2008|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055443/https://www.parlement.com/id/vg0zwnzja8zw/biografie?n=02258|url-status=live}} and had hidden from the Germans during the Second World War, an experience so traumatizing that he refused to physically enter Germany even 40 years later.{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,543627,00.html|title=A Missionary with Dark Visions|date=27 March 2008|access-date=15 March 2009|last=Traufetter|first=Gerald|work=Der Spiegel|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055630/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/islam-critic-wilders-a-missionary-with-dark-visions-a-543627.html|url-status=live}}

Wilders received his secondary education at the Mavo and Havo middle school and high school in Venlo. Reflecting passions that came to the fore later in his career, Wilders took a course in health insurance at the Stichting Opleiding Sociale Verzekeringen in Amsterdam and earned several law certificates at the Dutch Open University.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Wilders' goal after he graduated from secondary school was to see the world. Because he did not have enough money to travel to Australia, his preferred destination, he went to Israel instead and volunteered for a year in a moshav, Tomer, on the West Bank.{{cite news |last=Liphshiz |first=Cnaan |date=29 April 2014 |title=Geert Wilders and Dutch Jews – end of the affair? |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |url=http://www.jta.org/2014/04/29/news-opinion/world/geert-wilders-and-dutch-jews-end-of-the-affair |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055534/https://www.jta.org/2014/04/29/global/geert-wilders-and-dutch-jews-end-of-the-affair |archive-date=7 January 2019}} With the money he saved, he travelled to the neighbouring Arab countries, and was moved by the lack of democracy in the region. When he returned to the Netherlands, he retained Israeli ideas about counter-terrorism and a "special feeling of solidarity" for the country.{{cite news|work=De Volkskrant|date=10 April 2007|access-date=21 June 2009|title=Verliefd op Israël|url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/archief_gratis/article585785.ece/Verliefd_op_Israel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150703130650/http://www.volkskrant.nl/archief_gratis/article585785.ece/Verliefd_op_Israel|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2015|language=nl}}

Living in Utrecht, Wilders initially worked in the health insurance industry. His interest in the subject led him into politics as a speech-writer for the Netherlands' People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7314636.stm|title=Profile: Geert Wilders|last=Kirby|first=Paul|date=27 March 2008|access-date=13 March 2009|work=BBC News|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055625/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11443211|url-status=live}} He started his formal political career as a parliamentary assistant to the party leader Frits Bolkestein, specialising in foreign policy. He held this job from 1990 to 1998. During this time Wilders travelled extensively, visiting countries all across the Middle East, including Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Israel. Bolkestein was the first Dutch politician to address the consequences of mass immigration for Dutch society, including a sharp criticism of Muslim immigrants. He set an example for Wilders not only in his ideas but also in his confrontational speaking style.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nrc.nl/international/article1876586.ece|title=Who is Geert Wilders?|last=Stokmans|first=Derk|date=28 March 2008|work=NRC Handelsblad|access-date=13 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305110822/http://www.nrc.nl/international/article1876586.ece|archive-date=5 March 2009|url-status=dead}} Political analyst Anno Bunnik later described Wilders as a "sorcerer's apprentice" to Bolkestein.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/201291192756398991.html |title=The rise and fall of Geert Wilders? |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=13 September 2012 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807230503/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/201291192756398991.html |url-status=live }}

In 1997, Wilders was elected for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) to the municipal council of Utrecht, the fourth largest city of the Netherlands. He lived in Kanaleneiland, a suburb with cheap social housing and high apartment blocks, which has a relatively high number of immigrants. While a municipal councilor, Wilders was mugged in his own neighbourhood; some have speculated that this may have catalysed his political transformation.

File:Slotdebat verkiezingen (final debate elections) 2006.jpg

A year later, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, but his first four years in parliament drew little attention. However, his appointment in 2002 as a public spokesman for the VVD led Wilders to become more well known for his outspoken criticism of Islamic extremism. Tensions immediately developed within the party, as Wilders found himself to be to the right of most members, and challenged the party line in his public statements. In September 2004, Wilders left the VVD, to form his own political party, Groep Wilders, later renamed the Party for Freedom.{{cite web|url=http://www.fitnathemovie.info/timeline.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306185627/http://www.fitnathemovie.info/timeline.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2008 |title=Geert Wilders Fitna Movie Timeline |publisher=FeceOnAir.com |access-date=8 March 2008 }}{{cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=5 August 2010 |title=Dutch Opponent of Muslims Gains Ground |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/world/europe/06dutch.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055543/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/world/europe/06dutch.html%20 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=31 May 2011 |work=The New York Times |location=Netherlands}}{{cite news |last=Mock |first=Vanessa |date=11 June 2010 |title=Wilders makes shock gains in Dutch elections |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/wilders-makes-shock-gains-in-dutch-elections-1997293.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055545/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/wilders-makes-shock-gains-in-dutch-elections-1997293.html |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=18 June 2010 |work=The Independent |location=London}} The crunch issue with the VVD party line was about his refusal to endorse the party's position that European Union accession negotiations must be started with Turkey.

The Party for Freedom's political platform often overlaps those of the assassinated Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn and his Pim Fortuyn List. After his death, Fortuyn's impact remained, as more and more politicians sought to gain political mileage by directly confronting topics such as a ban on immigration that were, from a politically correct point of view, considered unmentionable in the Netherlands until Fortuyn came on the scene and upended the Dutch tradition of consensus politics with an anti-immigration stance. Wilders would position himself to inherit Fortuyn's constituency.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52502-2005Jan31.html |title=Washingtonpost.com |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 February 2005 |access-date=18 June 2010 |first=Keith B. |last=Richburg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724200057/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52502-2005Jan31.html |archive-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=live }} The Party for Freedom called for a €16 billion tax reduction, a far stricter policy toward recreational drug use, investing more in roads and other infrastructure, building nuclear power plants and including animal rights in the Dutch constitution.{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&u=http://www.pvv.nl/&oi=translate&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpvv%26hl%3Den|title=Election Pamphlet|publisher=Party for Freedom|access-date=12 February 2009|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226220624/https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&u=http://www.pvv.nl/&oi=translate&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpvv%26hl%3Den|url-status=live}} In the 2006 Dutch parliamentary election, their first parliamentary election, the Party for Freedom won 9 out of the 150 seats.{{Cite news|title=Britain Refuses Entry to Dutch Lawmaker Whose Remarks and Film Have Angered Muslims|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/world/europe/13britain.html|last=Burns|first=John|date=12 February 2009|access-date=13 March 2009|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515055520/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/world/europe/13britain.html|archive-date=15 May 2013|url-status=live}}

Polling conducted throughout March 2009 by Maurice de Hond indicated the Party for Freedom was the most popular parliamentary party. The polls predicted that the party would take 21% of the national vote, winning 32 out of 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.{{cite news|url=http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/Geert-Wilders_-Freedom-Party-rises-to-32-seats_51090.html|title=Geert Wilders' Freedom Party rises to 32 seats|date=29 March 2009|access-date=22 January 2011|publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925185730/http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/Geert-Wilders_-Freedom-Party-rises-to-32-seats_51090.html|archive-date=25 September 2012|url-status=live}} If the polling results were replicated in an election, Wilders would be a major power broker. Under such circumstances, there would also be some likelihood of him becoming Prime Minister of the Netherlands.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/4933687/Geert-Wilders-leads-Dutch-polls.html|title=Geert Wilders leads Dutch polls|last=Waterfield|first=Bruno|date=3 March 2009|access-date=15 March 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307011507/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/4933687/Geert-Wilders-leads-Dutch-polls.html|archive-date=7 March 2009|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/local_news/Geert-Wilders_-Freedom-Party-leads-polls.html|title=Wilders' Freedom Party leads polls|date=1 March 2009|access-date=22 January 2011|publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625183834/http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/local_news/Geert-Wilders_-Freedom-Party-leads-polls.html|archive-date=25 June 2009|url-status=dead}} This has been partially attributed to timely prosecution attempts against him for hate speech and the travel ban imposed on him by the United Kingdom,{{cite news|url=http://www.nisnews.nl/public/030309_1.htm |title=Wilders Now a Celebrity in US and Prime Minister in Poll |date=3 March 2009 |access-date=15 March 2009 |publisher=NIS News Bulletin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722014951/http://www.nisnews.nl/public/030309_1.htm |archive-date=22 July 2009 }} as well as dissatisfaction with the Dutch government's response to the 2008 financial crisis.

File:Rutte, Verhagen en Wilders bij presentatie regeer- en gedoogakkoord (5121025524).jpg and Maxime Verhagen following the 2010 election.]]

The PVV only contested the March 2010 municipal elections in The Hague and Almere, because of a shortage of good candidates. The big gains that were scored indicated that the party and Wilders might dominate the political scene in the run-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled on 9 June 2010. The PVV won in Almere and came second to the Dutch Labour party in The Hague. In Almere, the PVV won 22 percent of the vote to Labour's 18 percent. In The Hague, the PVV had 8 seats – second to Labour with 10 seats.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rug.nl/research/dnpp/politieke-partijen/pvv/geschiedenis/|title=Partijgeschiedenis|first=Paul|last=Lucardie|work=Documentatiecentrum Nederlandse Politieke Partijen|language=nl|date=16 March 2023}}

On 8 March 2010, Wilders announced that he would take a seat on the Hague city council, after it became clear he won 13,000 preference votes. Earlier he had said he would not take up a seat if he won.{{cite web |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_to_take_council_seat_i.php |title=Wilders to take council seat in the Hague |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=8 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312103403/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_to_take_council_seat_i.php |archive-date=12 March 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/dutch-anti-Islam-MP-Wilders-wins-council-seat |title=Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders has announced he will take up a seat on the local council of the city of The Hague |publisher=Rnw.nl |date=8 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512035135/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/dutch-anti-Islam-MP-Wilders-wins-council-seat |archive-date=12 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}

In the parliamentary elections on 9 June 2010, the PVV increased its number of seats from 9 to 24 (out of 150), getting 15.5% of the vote. This made the PVV the third party in size. With a fragmented parliament, at least three parties were required for an absolute majority. A coalition of VVD and Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) was negotiated with parliamentary support by the PVV. The PVV did not become part of the government formed by VVD and CDA but actively participated in the negotiations and thus policy decisions and – as part of the outcome agreed that they would not support any motion to dismiss ministers concerning topics listed in a so-called "support agreement" – much like the Danish model where the Danish People's Party had played a similar role.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-politics-idUSTRE66T59E20100730 |title=Dutch close in on government with anti-Islam party backing |work=Reuters |first1=Ben |last1=Berkowitz |first2=Gilbert |last2=Kreijger |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=19 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621165120/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/30/us-dutch-politics-idUSTRE66T59E20100730 |archive-date=21 June 2013 |url-status=live }}

On 21 April 2012, Wilders withdrew his support from the Rutte cabinet because of new austerity measures that were about to be taken. Commenting on his withdrawal Wilders blamed the "European dictates" pointing to the 3% rule on budget deficit for European countries although his party had supported these rules earlier on. The cabinet blamed Wilders for what they call his "lack of political will" and "political cowardice" in regards to addressing the economic woes of the Netherlands.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/reports-dutch-government-austerity-talks-collapse-possibly-paving-way-for-fresh-elections/2012/04/21/gIQARzIjXT_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422084945/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/reports-dutch-government-austerity-talks-collapse-possibly-paving-way-for-fresh-elections/2012/04/21/gIQARzIjXT_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 April 2012 |title=Dutch prime minister says government austerity talks collapse |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=20 April 2012 |access-date=28 April 2012}} Wilders' withdrawal from the negotiations led to new elections in September. Wilders and the PVV ran on a campaign to have the Netherlands withdraw from the European Union and for a return to the guilder. The PVV won 10.1% of the vote and 15 seats in parliament, a loss of 9 seats.{{cite news |title=Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte claims victory for his VVD party in election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/dutch-caretaker-prime-minister-mark-rutte-claims-victory-for-his-party-in-national-elections/2012/09/12/165e5e5c-fd40-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918080720/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/dutch-caretaker-prime-minister-mark-rutte-claims-victory-for-his-party-in-national-elections/2012/09/12/165e5e5c-fd40-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html |archive-date=18 September 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=13 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Verkiezingsuitslagen Tweede Kamer 1918-heden |url=http://www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl |publisher=Kiesraad (Electoral Council) |access-date=11 April 2015 |language=nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329174441/http://www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl/ |archive-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=live }}

In the March 2014 local elections, Wilders' Party for Freedom only took part in two municipalities, The Hague and Almere, and suffered minor losses in both. Nevertheless, international news coverage of the elections was dominated by Wilders after he led his supporters in a provocative chant (calling for "fewer, fewer ... Moroccans") at an election night party rally.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/20/dutch-politician-geert-wilders-moroccans-outrage-pvv-party-anti-islam|title=Dutch politician Geert Wilders takes aim at Moroccans and sparks outrage|work=the Guardian|date=20 March 2014|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019193358/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/20/dutch-politician-geert-wilders-moroccans-outrage-pvv-party-anti-islam|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26667788|title=Dutch politician Wilders accused of discrimination|work=BBC News|date=20 March 2014|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906114754/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26667788|archive-date=6 September 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/03/dutch-far-right-crisis-over-wilders-chant-2014322143319384578.html|title=Dutch far-right in crisis over Wilders chant|work=aljazeera.com|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801065603/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/03/dutch-far-right-crisis-over-wilders-chant-2014322143319384578.html|archive-date=1 August 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/dutch-populist-wilders-faces-huge-backlash-on-moroccan-critique/|title=Dutch populist Wilders faces huge backlash on Moroccan critique|work=The Times of Israel|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714185825/http://www.timesofisrael.com/dutch-populist-wilders-faces-huge-backlash-on-moroccan-critique/|archive-date=14 July 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/dutch-populist-politician-geert-wilders-leads-his-followers-in-anti-moroccan-chant/|title=Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders leads his followers in anti-Moroccan chant|work=Fox News|date=24 March 2015|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924185332/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/19/dutch-populist-politician-geert-wilders-leads-his-followers-in-anti-moroccan/|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} This eventually led to a new trial against him (see {{section link||Trials}}).

In the May 2014 elections for the European Parliament, the Party for Freedom received 17.0% of the vote and four seats, a slight gain compared to the 13.3% of the vote the party had received in the previous parliamentary elections. In the run-up to and aftermath of those European elections, Wilders worked with the French Front National's Marine Le Pen to try to form a new parliamentary group in the European Parliament. They first announced their collaboration during a joint press conference in November 2013, where Wilders vowed that "today is the beginning of the liberation from the European elite, the monster in Brussels".{{cite news |url=https://euobserver.com/news/122096 |title=PVV: Wilders and Le Pen join forces on anti-EU group |publisher=EU Observer |date=14 November 2013 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055521/https://euobserver.com/news/122096 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/13/le-pen-wilders-alliance-plan-wreck-eu |title=Le Pen and Wilders forge plan to 'wreck' EU from within |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055434/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/13/le-pen-wilders-alliance-plan-wreck-eu+ |url-status=live }} Wilders visited the Sweden Democrats party and spoke with the Austrian Freedom party's leader Heinz-Christian Strache to help bring about the alliance, even while rejecting Hungary's Jobbik and Germany's NPD because he wanted to exclude "right-wing extremist and racist" parties.{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/wilders-and-le-pen-plan-right-wing-populist-faction-in-eu-parliament-a-933340.html |title=Euroskeptic Union: Right-Wing Populists Forge EU Alliance |work=Spiegel Online |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415150910/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/wilders-and-le-pen-plan-right-wing-populist-faction-in-eu-parliament-a-933340.html |archive-date=15 April 2015 |url-status=live }} Three days after the elections finished, Le Pen and Wilders presented another press conference, this time with Matteo Salvini of Italy's Northern League, Harald Vilimsky of Austria's Freedom Party and Gerolf Annemans of Belgium's Flemish Interest party, to promise that the parliamentary group would be formed.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/marine-le-pen-eurosceptic-bloc-brussels |title=Buoyant Le Pen seeks more allies for Eurosceptic group in Brussels |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 May 2014 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055513/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/marine-le-pen-eurosceptic-bloc-brussels+ |url-status=live }} Eventually, however, the effort failed because it could only unite parties from six EU member states,{{cite news |url=http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/le-pen-vows-far-right-eu-parliament-group-end-year-303062 |title=Le Pen vows far-right EU Parliament group by end of the year |publisher=EurActiv |date=25 June 2014 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416085748/http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/le-pen-vows-far-right-eu-parliament-group-end-year-303062 |archive-date=16 April 2015 |url-status=live }} one fewer than is required by parliamentary rules. This was in part due to a refusal to include the Greek Golden Dawn or Poland's Congress of the New Right, and in part because parties like the Danish People's party and the True Finns refused to join.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27993210 |title=Le Pen and Wilders fail to form anti-EU bloc |publisher=BBC |date=24 June 2014 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925114416/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27993210 |url-status=live }}

In the March 2015 provincial elections, the Party for Freedom received 11.7% of the vote nationally, slipping slightly from the 12.4% of the vote it had gotten in the 2011 provincial elections.

The PVV contested the 2017 general election with Wilders at its helm. Although the PVV led other parties in opinion polls most of the time, all major parties ruled out forming coalitions with the PVV, effectively locking it out from any chance of taking part in, let alone leading, the next government.{{cite news|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/01/vvd-leader-mark-rutte-says-zero-chance-of-coalition-with-geert-wilders|title=VVD leader Mark Rutte says zero' chance of coalition with Geert Wilders|publisher=DutchNews|date=16 January 2017|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518030519/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/01/vvd-leader-mark-rutte-says-zero-chance-of-coalition-with-geert-wilders/|archive-date=18 May 2017|url-status=live}} This raised the prospect of the PVV being locked out of power even if it won the most seats. Wilders hinted that a "revolution" would occur if his party won the most seats and was still shut out of government.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/dutch-election-far-right-could-win-not-rule-country-known-liberal/|title=Dutch election: How the far Right could win but not rule in a country known for its liberal values|author1=Ashley Kirk|author2=Patrick Scott|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 March 2017|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905023122/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/dutch-election-far-right-could-win-not-rule-country-known-liberal/|archive-date=5 September 2018|url-status=live}}

The PVV ended up achieving second place after winning 20 seats, five more than in 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/vvd-wins-33-seats-but-coalition-partner-labour-is-hammered/|title=VVD wins 33 seats but coalition partner Labour is hammered|date=16 March 2017|work=Dutch News|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327055706/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/vvd-wins-33-seats-but-coalition-partner-labour-is-hammered/|archive-date=27 March 2018|url-status=live}}

In the 2021 Dutch general election the PVV received 10.79% of the total votes cast. This earned them 17 seats in the House of Representatives.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/netherlands-election-mark-rutte-on-course-to-win-fourth-term | title=Netherlands election: Mark Rutte claims fourth term with 'overwhelming' victory | newspaper=The Guardian | date=18 March 2021 | last1=Henley | first1=Jon | access-date=11 August 2023 | archive-date=8 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708190055/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/netherlands-election-mark-rutte-on-course-to-win-fourth-term | url-status=live }} Responding to reporters who asked what his reaction was to the election results, Wilders attributed the loss of three seats to a recent lack of important events involving Islam and immigration.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmEIcluoBmg | title=Eerste reactie Geert Wilders op verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer verkiezingen 2021 | website=YouTube | date=17 March 2021 | access-date=11 August 2023 | archive-date=11 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811101542/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmEIcluoBmg | url-status=live }}

In January 2021, it was revealed by OpenSecrets that American Robert J. Shillman paid nearly $214,000 in 2017 to help Wilders pay for his successful legal defence in an indictment for hate speech against Muslims in general and Moroccans in particular. Wilders has included the points of views of this financier in his election manifesto.{{Cite web|date=15 January 2021|title=De Amerikaanse suikeroom van Geert Wilders|url=https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/amerikaanse-suikeroom-geert-wilders|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Follow the Money – Platform voor onderzoeksjournalistiek|language=nl-NL|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115051601/https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/amerikaanse-suikeroom-geert-wilders|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title='Wilders meldde bijdrage aan advocatenkosten niet in register'|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/01/15/wilders-meldde-bijdrage-aan-advocatenkosten-niet-in-register-a4027681|access-date=15 January 2021|website=NRC|date=15 January 2021|language=nl|last1=Nagtegaal|first1=Bastiaan|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115085712/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/01/15/wilders-meldde-bijdrage-aan-advocatenkosten-niet-in-register-a4027681|url-status=live}}

In the run-up to the 2023 Dutch general election on 22 November 2023, migration was the dominant theme. During the campaign, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) did not rule out the possibility of forming a coalition with the Wilders' party, the PVV. Wilders positioned the PVV, previously perceived by a significant portion of the population as a right-wing radical party, as a centrist party with a clear stance on migration.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/23/dutch-explain-why-they-voted-for-geert-wilders-netherlands-election | title=Tax, healthcare, immigration: why Dutch people voted for Geert Wilders | newspaper=The Guardian| date=23 November 2023 | last1=O'Carrol | first1=Lisa | access-date=28 November 2023 | archive-date=28 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128122346/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/23/dutch-explain-why-they-voted-for-geert-wilders-netherlands-election | url-status=live }}/ In the week preceding the election day, Wilders took a more moderate tone and expressed willingness to set aside incompatible PVV themes.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/geert-wilders-will-have-to-scrap-most-of-manifesto-to-enter-government-say-experts| title=Geert Wilders will have to scrap most of manifesto to enter government, say experts | newspaper=The Guardian | date=28 November 2023 | last1=Henley | first1=Jon | access-date=28 November 2023 | archive-date=28 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128162944/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/geert-wilders-will-have-to-scrap-most-of-manifesto-to-enter-government-say-experts | url-status=live }}

In the 2023 Dutch general election, the PVV won a quarter of the seats and became the largest party in the House of Representatives. The results of the election were described as "one of the biggest political upsets in Dutch politics since World War II".{{Cite web |last1=Corder |first1=Mike |last2=Casert |first2=Raf |date=22 November 2023 |title=Anti-Islam populist Wilders heading for a massive win in Netherlands in a shock for Europe |url=https://apnews.com/article/netherlands-election-candidates-prime-minister-f31f57a856f006ff0f2fc4984acaca6b |access-date=22 November 2023 |work=Associated Press |language=en |location=THE HAGUE |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122072542/https://apnews.com/article/netherlands-election-candidates-prime-minister-f31f57a856f006ff0f2fc4984acaca6b |url-status=live }}

During subsequent cabinet formation talks, Wilders announced that he was withdrawing his bid to become prime minister, citing a lack of support from potential coalition partners.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68557036 |title=Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders abandons PM bid |date=13 March 2024 |access-date=14 March 2024 |work=BBC |lang=en}} The next day, he described his withdrawal as unfair and "constitutionally wrong".{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/wilders-netherlands-politics-election-coalition-democracy-26229ceb887fb44cad5474e28ed36d32 |title=Geert Wilders says it is 'constitutionally wrong' that he had to sacrifice his leadership ambitions |date=14 March 2024 |access-date=14 March 2024 |work=Associated Press |lang=en}} The Party for Freedom (PVV) entered a coalition government with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), New Social Contract (NSC), and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB). Dick Schoof was selected to serve as prime minister, and his cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.{{Cite web |last=Kroet |first=Cynthia |date=29 May 2024 |title=Who is Dick Schoof and why did Geert Wilders choose him as new PM? |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/05/29/who-is-dick-schoof-and-why-did-geert-wilders-appoint-him |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=euronews |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://nltimes.nl/2024/07/02/new-dutch-cabinet-sworn-today-7-months-election|title=New Dutch Cabinet sworn in today 7 months after election|work=NL Times|date=2 July 2024|access-date=2 July 2024|archive-date=3 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703061502/https://nltimes.nl/2024/07/02/new-dutch-cabinet-sworn-today-7-months-election|url-status=live}} Wilders had initially proposed Ronald Plasterk for the position, but he withdrew over integrity concerns.{{Cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2521181-plasterk-ziet-af-van-premierschap-beschuldigingen-belemmerend-voor-functioneren|title=Plasterk ziet af van premierschap: 'Beschuldigingen belemmerend voor functioneren'|work=NOS Nieuws|date=20 May 2024|access-date=20 May 2024|lang=nl|trans-title=Plasterk renounces premiership: 'Allegations hinder functioning'}} The coalition parties called their migration policy the most stringent and extensive in history, and the agreement included plans to declare an asylum crisis, bypassing initial parliamentary approval.{{Cite news |url = https://www.volkskrant.nl/politiek/marjolein-faber-nu-officieel-minister-van-asiel-en-migratie~b811613d/ |url-access = subscription |date = 2 July 2024 |last = Meijer |first = Remco |access-date = 8 July 2024 |language = nl |website = de Volkskrant |title = De machtsoverdracht op Justitie: 'Wij houden van de oude bewindslieden en zoeken een nieuwe relatie' |trans-title = The transfer of power at Justice: 'We like the old government members and are looking for a new relationship' }} As questions surrounding the plan's legal viability prompted NSC to become critical, Wilders stressed that the cabinet would be in trouble if no emergency law was enacted.{{Cite news |url = https://fd.nl/politiek/1532611/wilders-voert-druk-over-asielnoodwet-op |url-access = subscription |date = 1 October 2024 |access-date = 1 October 2024 |language = nl |website = Het Financieele Dagblad |title = Wilders voert druk over asielnoodwet op |trans-title = Wilders increases pressure over asylum emergency act }} Schoof facilitated negotiations between the coalition parties, and an agreement on asylum measures was reached in October 2024, which excluded the use of emergency powers.{{Cite news |url = https://nos.nl/artikel/2542069-kabinet-wil-zo-snel-mogelijk-asielwet-opvang-moet-tijdelijk-zijn |date = 25 October 2024 |access-date = 27 October 2024 |language = nl |website = NOS |title = Kabinet wil zo snel mogelijk asielwet, 'opvang moet tijdelijk zijn' |trans-title = Cabinet wants asylum law as soon as possible, 'sheltering should be temporary' }}{{clarify|can the agreement be summarized? how different from the pre-agreement public policy?|date=November 2024}}

In December 2024, Wilders visited Israel, where he toured an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and met with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trip came weeks after the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant, which Wilders criticized, saying that "the world has gone mad". Dutch foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp commented that meeting with leaders of illegal settlements would violate the coalition agreement.{{Cite news |url = https://nos.nl/artikel/2547618-wilders-aangekomen-in-israel-gaat-naar-bezette-westelijke-jordaanoever |date = 8 December 2024 |access-date = 9 December 2024 |language = nl |website = NOS |title = Wilders aangekomen in Israël, gaat naar bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever |trans-title = Wilders arrived in Israel, will visit occupied West Bank }}

In June 2025, he pulled out from the coalition, leading to a sudden collapse of the Dutch government.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Al Jazeera |title=Why did the Dutch government collapse and what’s next? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/4/why-did-the-dutch-government-collapse-and-whats-next |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

File:Geert Wilders Praha 2019.jpg{{Conservatism sidebar}}

Wilders generally considers himself to be a right-wing liberal, with a specific mix of positions independent of the European political spectrum and peculiar to iconoclastic Dutch society. He has stated, "My allies are not Le Pen or Haider ... We'll never join up with the fascists and Mussolinis of Italy. I'm very afraid of being linked with the wrong rightist fascist groups", adding that his drive instead is such issues as freedom of expression and Dutch iconoclasm.{{Cite news |last=Traynor |first=Ian |date=17 February 2008 |title='I don't hate Muslims. I hate Islam,' says Holland's rising political star |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901181251/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam |archive-date=1 September 2013 |access-date=15 March 2009 |work=The Guardian |location=London}} Wilders views British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as his greatest political role model. People's Party for Freedom and Democracy figure Frits Bolkestein also heavily influenced his beliefs. On foreign relations, Wilders has largely supported Israel and has criticized countries he perceives as enemies of Israel.

While best known for his anti-Islam views, Wilders had not yet developed these views as of 2001 when he spoke against Pim Fortuyn and said "I have said from the beginning: Islam, there is nothing wrong with that, it is a religion to be respected. Most Muslims in the world, but also in the Netherlands, are good citizens and there is nothing wrong with that. It's about that little bit of Muslim extremism.”{{Cite web |date=24 February 2010 |title=Wilders had in 2001 respect voor de islam |url=https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/wilders-had-in-2001-respect-voor-de-islam~b1fa96f5/ |access-date= |website=Parool}}

Wilders strongly opposes the Dutch political system in general. He believes that there is a ruling elite of parliamentarians who only care about their own personal careers and disregard the will of the people. He also blames the Dutch system of multiparty coalition governments for a lack of clear and effective policies. In his view, Dutch society advocates rule by consensus and cultural relativism, while he believes that this should change so as "not [to] tolerate the intolerant".{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4833890.stm|title=Geert Wilders|first=Steven|last=Sackur|work=HARDtalk|date=22 March 2006|access-date=30 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307000813/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4833890.stm|archive-date=7 March 2008|url-status=live}}

Wilders often mentions Henk and Ingrid in his speeches, fictitious ordinary Dutch subjects for whom he claims to work.{{cite news |date=23 April 2010 |title=PVV doet het voor Henk en Ingrid |language=nl |work=De Telegraaf |url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6585702/__PVV_doet_het_voor_Henk_en_Ingrid__.html?sn=binnenland,buitenland |url-status=live |access-date=20 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806121620/http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6585702/__PVV_doet_het_voor_Henk_en_Ingrid__.html?sn=binnenland,buitenland |archive-date=6 August 2011}} Henk and Ingrid represent "the Average Joe" in Dutch political parlance, the "heart and backbone of Dutch society".{{cite news |date=27 April 2011 |title=Willen de echte Henk en Ingrid opstaan? |language=nl |work=NRC Next |url=http://www.nrcnext.nl/blog/2010/04/27/willen-de-echte-henk-en-ingrid-opstaan/ |access-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100504030637/http://www.nrcnext.nl/blog/2010/04/27/willen-de-echte-henk-en-ingrid-opstaan |archive-date=4 May 2010}}{{cite news |date=23 April 2010 |title=Wie zijn Henk en Ingrid? |language=nl |work=RTL Nieuws |url=http://www.rtl.nl/%28/actueel/rtlnieuws/%29/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2010/04_april/23/verrijkingsonderdelen/wie-zijn-henk-en-ingrid.xml |url-status=live |access-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073115/https://www.rtl.nl/404 |archive-date=25 November 2023}} They have been compared to Joe the Plumber in Dutch media (though "Joe" is a real person). Henk and Ingrid live in a Vinex neighbourhood, have two school-attending children and a median income; both work outside the home. They used to vote for the PvdA but now vote for the PVV.{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2844/Archief/archief/article/detail/981548/2010/05/22/HENK-EN-INGRID-VAN-DE-PVV-STEMDEN-OOIT-PVDA.dhtml Henk en Ingrid van de PVV stemden ooit PvdA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927022058/http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2844/Archief/archief/article/detail/981548/2010/05/22/HENK-EN-INGRID-VAN-DE-PVV-STEMDEN-OOIT-PVDA.dhtml|date=27 September 2012}}, De Volkskrant, 25 May 2010

He has made some proposals in the Dutch Parliament inspired by Israeli policies: for example, he supports implementing Israeli-style administrative detention in the Netherlands, a practice heavily criticized by human rights groups but which Wilders calls "common sense". Wilders has also revived the old idea of reuniting Flanders with the Netherlands.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pvv.nl/index.php?option=com_deeppockets&task=contShow&id=2336&Itemid=43/|title="PVV plies to reunite Flanders and the Netherlands"}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In a 2023 tweet and jibe against D66, Wilders wrote about the present Netherlands:

{{Blockquote|A country full of asylum profiteers, woke crazies, climate fools, Arabs, non-binaries, farmer haters and quinoa chewers.{{Cite news|url=https://nieuwrechts.nl/92940-wilders-nederland-is-kaagland-geworden-een-zieke-linkse-dictatuur|title=Wilders: 'Nederland is Kaagland geworden, een zieke linkse dictatuur'|work=Nieuw Rechts|date=25 May 2023}}}}

;Klare Wijn

Wilders published the version of his political manifesto called Klare Wijn ("Clear Wine") in March 2006. The program proposed the implementation of ten key points:

• Considerable reduction of taxes and state regulations;
• Replacement of the present Article 1 of the Dutch constitution, guaranteeing equality under the law, by a clause stating the cultural dominance of the Christian, Jewish and humanist traditions;
• Reduction of the influence of the European Union, which may no longer be expanded with new member states, especially Turkey; the European Parliament would be abolished; Dutch financial contributions to the European Union would be reduced by billions of euros;
• A five-year moratorium on the immigration of non-Western foreigners who intend to stay in the Netherlands; foreign residents no longer would have the right to vote in municipal elections;
• A five-year moratorium on the founding of new mosquesRobert Marquand. "[http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0610/Dutch-voters-boost-far-right-party-of-Geert-Wilders Dutch voters boost far-right party of Geert Wilders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133807/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0610/Dutch-voters-boost-far-right-party-of-Geert-Wilders|date=3 July 2018}}", The Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 2010. and Islamic schools and a permanent ban on preaching in any language other than Dutch; foreign imams would not be allowed to preach; radical mosques would be closed, and radical Muslims would be expelled;
• Restoration of educational standards, with an emphasis on the educational value of the family;
• Introduction of binding referendums and elected mayors, chiefs of police, and prime ministers;
• Introduction of minimum criminal penalties and higher maximum penalties; introduction of administrative detention for terror suspects; street terrorism would be punished by boot camps and denaturalisation and deportation of immigrant offenders;
• Restoration of respect and better compensation for teachers, policemen, health care workers, and military personnel;
• Instead of complicated reorganisation, a more accessible and humane health care system, especially for elderly citizens.{{cite web|url=http://www.pvv.nl/index.php?option=com_deeppockets&task=contShow&id=362&Itemid=22 |title=Klare Wijn |date=31 March 2006 |access-date=15 March 2009 |publisher=Party for Freedom |language=nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206020928/http://www.pvv.nl/index.php?option=com_deeppockets&task=contShow&id=362&Itemid=22 |archive-date=6 December 2008 }}Wilders, Geert. "[http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=410 Klare Wijn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010095954/https://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=410 |date=2018-10-10 }}", GeertWilders.nl. [https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&u=http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D410&oi=translate&prev=/search%3Fq%3DKlare%2BWijn%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Df37%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26prmd%3Divo English version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820232948/https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&u=http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D410&oi=translate&prev=/search%3Fq%3DKlare%2BWijn%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Df37%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26prmd%3Divo |date=20 August 2021 }}

{{Criticism of Islam sidebar}}

Wilders is best known for his criticism of Islam, summing up his views by saying, "I don't hate Muslims, I hate Islam". His brother Paul claimed in an interview that, in his private affairs, Wilders has no problems with Muslims.{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/geert-wilders-won-by-losing-netherlands-vote/519834/|title='This Is Exactly What He Wants': How Geert Wilders Won by Losing|work=The Atlantic|date=16 March 2017|author=Stefanie March|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912204438/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/geert-wilders-won-by-losing-netherlands-vote/519834/|archive-date=12 September 2018|url-status=live}} Although identifying Islamic extremists as 5–15% of Muslims, he argues that "there is no such thing as 'moderate Islam{{'"}} and that the "Koran also states that Muslims who believe in only part of the Koran are in fact apostates".{{cite web |date=6 September 2007 |title=Mr Wilderss contribution to the parliamentary debate on Islamic activism |url=http://www.groepwilders.com/website/details.aspx?ID=44 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614074737/http://www.groepwilders.com/website/details.aspx?ID=44 |archive-date=14 June 2008 |access-date=15 March 2009 |url-status=usurped |publisher=Groep Wilders}} He suggests that Muslims should "tear out half of the Koran if they wished to stay in the Netherlands" because it contains "terrible things" and that Muhammad would "... in these days be hunted down as a terrorist".{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1559877/Ban-Koran-like-Mein-Kampf-says-Dutch-MP.html|title=Ban Koran like Mein Kampf, says Dutch MP|date=14 August 2007|access-date=24 March 2008|first=Bruno|last=Waterfield|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324133045/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1559877/Ban-Koran-like-Mein-Kampf-says-Dutch-MP.html|archive-date=24 March 2010|url-status=live}} Wilders argues that Islam is not a religion, but rather a totalitarian political ideology such as communism and fascism.{{cite web |date=26 January 2009 |title=Geert Wilders: Man Out of Time |url=http://www.aina.org/news/20090126124950.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907222552/http://www.aina.org/news/20090126124950.htm |archive-date=7 September 2012 |access-date=31 May 2011 |publisher=Aina.org}}

On 8 August 2007, Wilders opined in an open letter{{cite news|title=Genoeg is genoeg: verbied de Koran |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article451338.ece/Genoeg_is_genoeg_verbied_de_Koran |work=De Volkskrant |date=8 August 2007 |first=Geert |last=Wilders |access-date=24 March 2008 |language=nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401091452/http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article451338.ece/Genoeg_is_genoeg_verbied_de_Koran |archive-date=1 April 2008 }} to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the Koran, which he called a "fascist book", should be outlawed in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10271153 Surge for Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824030807/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10271153|date=24 August 2018}}, BBC News, 10 June 2010.{{cite news |date=22 April 2011 |title=Nancy Graham Holm: Three Questions to Ask Geert Wilders about Anti-Islam Hate Speech |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-graham-holm/three-questions-to-ask-ge_b_849576.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109140651/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-graham-holm/three-questions-to-ask-ge_b_849576.html |archive-date=9 January 2016 |access-date=31 May 2011 |work=Huffington Post |location=USA}}{{cite news|title=Wilders: verbied de Koran, ook in moskee |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article451302.ece/Wilders_verbied_de_Koran%2C_ook_in_moskee |language=nl |work=De Volkskrant |date=8 August 2007 |access-date=8 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912034451/http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article451302.ece/Wilders_verbied_de_Koran%2C_ook_in_moskee |archive-date=12 September 2007 }} He has stated that "The book incites hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order".{{cite web|url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/ned070808mc |title='Qur'an should be banned' – Wilders strikes again |publisher=Radio Netherlands |date=8 January 2007 |access-date=24 March 2008 |first=Nicolien |last=den Boer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315004643/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/ned070808mc |archive-date=15 March 2008 }} He has also referred to Muhammad as "the devil". In September 2009, Wilders proposed putting what he called a "head rag tax" on hijab wearing by Muslim women; he suggested that women could purchase a license for €1000 and that the money raised could be used in projects beneficial to women's emancipation.{{cite web|title=Speech by Geert Wilders on the first day of the General Debate in the Dutch parliament |date=18 September 2009 |url=http://www.geertwilders.nl/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1595 |publisher=geertwilders.nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717055410/http://www.geertwilders.nl/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1595 |archive-date=17 July 2011 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-wants-headscarf-tax|title=Wilders wants headscarf tax|author=John Tyler|date=16 September 2009|publisher=RNW|access-date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152803/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-wants-headscarf-tax|archive-date=7 June 2011|url-status=dead}}

He believes that all Muslim immigration to the Netherlands should be halted{{cite news |last=Hardy |first=Roger |date=28 April 2010 |title=Dutch Muslim women striving to integrate |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8648679.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055517/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8648679.stm |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=18 July 2014 |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |quote=Mr Wilders wants the authorities to halt all immigration from Muslim countries.}} and all settled immigrants should be paid to leave. Referring to the increased population of Muslims in the Netherlands, he has said: {{Blockquote|Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country. There is a battle going on and we have to defend ourselves. Before you know it there will be more mosques than churches!{{Cite news|url=http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=36456|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514083622/http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=36456|archive-date=14 May 2007|title=Wilders: get rid of half of Koran!|work=Expatica|date=13 February 2007|access-date=24 March 2008|publisher=Internet Archive}}}}

In a speech before the Dutch Parliament, he stated: {{Blockquote|Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe. If we do not stop Islamification now, Eurabia and Netherabia will just be a matter of time. One century ago, there were approximately 50 Muslims in the Netherlands. Today, there are about 1 million Muslims in this country. Where will it end? We are heading for the end of European and Dutch civilisation as we know it. Where is our Prime Minister in all this?

In reply to my questions in the House he said, without batting an eyelid, that there is no question of our country being Islamified. Now, this reply constituted a historical error as soon as it was uttered. Very many Dutch citizens, Madam Speaker, experience the presence of Islam around them. And I can report that they have had enough of burkas, headscarves, the ritual slaughter of animals, so‑called honour revenge, blaring minarets, female circumcision, hymen restoration operations, abuse of homosexuals, Turkish and Arabic on the buses and trains as well as on town hall leaflets, halal meat at grocery shops and department stores, Sharia exams, the Finance Minister's Sharia mortgages, and the enormous overrepresentation of Muslims in the area of crime, including Moroccan street terrorists.}}

Nonetheless, Wilders has traveled widely in the Arab world and Der Spiegel has stated that Wilders will "wax poetic" over those "magnificent countries". Wilders has also said that "It's a real shame that these places are so chaotic."

After the Dutch parliament turned down his request for an exhibition of cartoons depicting Muhammad be shown in parliament, Wilders vowed to show cartoons depicting him on television during time reserved for political parties.{{cite news |date=4 June 2015 |title=Dutch MP Geert Wilders to show Muhammad cartoons on TV |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32997038 |url-status=live |access-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906153547/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32997038 |archive-date=6 September 2017}}

After the November 2015 Paris attacks, Wilders, in an article in The New York Times, argued for a national referendum in the Netherlands to decide about the refugee crisis.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/opinion/geert-wilders-the-dutch-deserve-to-vote-on-immigration-policy.html|title=Geert Wilders: Let the Dutch Vote on Immigration Policy|date=20 November 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104170657/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/opinion/geert-wilders-the-dutch-deserve-to-vote-on-immigration-policy.html|archive-date=4 January 2019|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Fitna (film)}}

Fitna is a 2008 short film written and commissioned by Wilders that explores Koranic-inspired motivations for terrorism, Islamic universalism, and Islam in the Netherlands. Its title comes from the Arabic word fitna, which means a "test of faith in times of trial", or refers to a situation where one's faith is tested.{{cite news |date=29 March 2008 |title=Hold your breath: 'Fitna' spreading seeds of hatred |work=Today's Zaman |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=137624 |url-status=dead |access-date=1 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402234115/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=137624 |archive-date=2 April 2008}}

It was the subject of an international controversy and debate on free speech,{{Cite news |date=30 June 2008 |title=Holland declines to prosecute anti-Islam politician |work=International Herald Tribune |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/30/europe/dutch.php |url-status=dead |access-date=14 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130074322/http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/30/europe/dutch.php |archive-date=30 January 2009}} and drew condemnation from the Muslim world.{{Cite web |title=YouTubers Say 'Sorry' for Quran-Bashing Film Fitna |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4560300 |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=ABC News |language=en}} Despite the legal troubles surrounding the film, Wilders insists that before he released it, he consulted numerous lawyers in the field, who found nothing worthy of prosecution. The kingdom of Jordan has summoned Wilders to court, with the film deemed to "incite hatred".{{cite news |date=20 June 2008 |title=Wilders faces arrest by Jordan over Fitna |publisher=Dutch News |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008/06/wilders_may_face_arrest_by_jor.php |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214155134/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008/06/wilders_may_face_arrest_by_jor.php |archive-date=14 February 2009}} Militant Sunni Islamist group al-Qaeda issued a call to murder Wilders after its release.

Wilders is eurosceptic. In 2013, he along with Marine Le Pen teamed up in the European Parliament campaigning against the EU and the single currency, with Wilders calling the EU the "monster in Brussels". He added "We want to decide how we control our borders, our money, our economy, our currency."{{Cite news |last=Traynor |first=Ian |date=13 November 2013 |title=Le Pen and Wilders forge plan to 'wreck' EU from within |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/13/le-pen-wilders-alliance-plan-wreck-eu |access-date=19 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077}} In a publicity stunt in 2014, Wilders vandalised the Flag of Europe with scissors in front of the Parliament in Brussels.{{Cite web |date=20 May 2014 |title=Netherlands' Geert Wilders cuts up EU flag |url=https://euobserver.com/news/124199 |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=EUobserver |language=en}}

After the 2016 referendum in Britain, Wilders praised the result for the Brits and noted that the Netherlands should do the same; in a statement he said: "The Party for Freedom consequently demands a referendum on NExit, a Dutch EU exit".{{Cite web |date=24 June 2016 |title=Geert Wilders calls for Dutch EU membership referendum |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/geert-wilders-calls-for-dutch-eu-membership-referendum/ |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=POLITICO |language=en}} During Dutch general and European elections, Wilders has campaigned for the right for the Dutch public to vote in a Nexit referendum on EU membership and has included this point in PVV election manifestos since the 2012 Dutch general election. Following the 2023 Dutch general election in which the PVV emerged as the largest party, Wilders stated that while he was still opposed to the European Union, he had suspended his call for Nexit during coalition talks with other political parties and would instead use his position to roll back and dismantle the powers of the EU from the inside.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Joe |date=5 April 2024 |title=Geert Wilders drops 'Nexit' pledge in European elections manifesto |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/05/geert-wilders-drops-nexit-pledge-for-european-elections/ |access-date=21 April 2024 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite web |title=Wilders wants to "erode" the EU's power from within, but won't press for Nexit {{!}} NL Times |url=https://nltimes.nl/2024/04/08/wilders-wants-erode-eus-power-within-wont-press-nexit |access-date=21 April 2024 |website=nltimes.nl |date=8 April 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=30 November 2023 |title=Europe's far right are no longer EU-exiteers |url=https://www.afr.com/world/europe/europe-s-far-right-are-no-longer-eu-exiteers-20231129-p5enn9 |access-date=21 April 2024 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}

Wilders lived in Israel for two years during his youth and has visited the country 40 times in 25 years, as of 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=299&Itemid=74 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014025518/http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=299&Itemid=74 |archive-date=14 October 2006 |title=De sterke wil van Wilders|date=14 October 2006 |access-date=31 May 2011|language=nl}} Wilders stated about Israel: "I have visited many interesting countries in the Middle East – from Syria to Egypt, from Tunisia to Turkey, from Cyprus to Iran – but nowhere did I have the special feeling of solidarity that I always get when I land at Ben Gurion International Airport." Dutch public TV channel Nederland 2's daily news programme Netwerk reported that numerous American supporters of Israel financially supported Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) and openly approved of his message towards Islam and Islamic terrorism.{{cite web |url=http://www.netwerk.tv/uitzending/2009-06-10/amerikaanse-wilders-fans-foremost-hero-our-age |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011022658/http://www.netwerk.tv/uitzending/2009-06-10/amerikaanse-wilders-fans-foremost-hero-our-age |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2009 |title=Amerikaanse Wilders-fans: 'foremost hero of our age' |publisher=Netwerk.tv |date=10 June 2009 |access-date=31 May 2011 }} Wilders told an audience during the report that "We [in the West] are all Israel". He has also said "Israel is the West's first line of defence" against what he perceives to be a threat posed by Islam.{{Cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093861.html|title=Dutch anti-Islam MP: 'Israel is West's first line of defense'|author=Liphshiz, Cnaan|work=Haaretz|access-date=11 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921144936/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093861.html|archive-date=21 September 2009|url-status=live}}

Following the 2010 Dutch general election, in which the PVV was the third biggest party, Wilders said Jordan should be renamed Palestine."[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3907722,00.html Geert Wilders: Change Jordan's name to Palestine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207020958/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3907722,00.html |date=2018-12-07 }}." Roee Nahmias, Israel News, 20 June 2010. The Jordanian government responded saying Wilders' speech was reminiscent of the Israeli right wing. His speech said "Jordan is Palestine. Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland." He also said Israel deserves a special status in the Dutch government because it was fighting for "Jerusalem" in its name.

"If Jerusalem falls into the hands of the Muslims, Athens and Rome will be next. Thus, Jerusalem is the main front protecting the West. It is not a conflict over territory but rather an ideological battle, between the mentality of the liberated West and the ideology of Islamic barbarism. There has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, and it is the kingdom of Jordan."

In December 2010, Wilders urged Israel to build more Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and subsequently annex the West Bank so that Israel could establish defensible borders. He blamed Arab countries for the suffering of Palestinian refugees and called on Jordan to open its borders to Palestinians.{{cite news |title=Wilders urges Israel to build more West Bank settlements |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/2010/12/wilders_urges_israel_to_build/ |work=Dutch News |date=6 December 2010 |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073657/https://www.dutchnews.nl/2010/12/wilders_urges_israel_to_build/ |url-status=live }}

The Dutch Intelligence Service (AIVD) investigated Wilders in 2009–2010 for his "ties to Israel and their possible influence on his loyalty."{{cite news |title=Dutch secret service investigated far-right politician over Israel ties: report |url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/europe/131777-161204-dutch-secret-service-investigated-far-right-politician-over-israel-ties-report |work=i24NEWS |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124014527/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/europe/131777-161204-dutch-secret-service-investigated-far-right-politician-over-israel-ties-report |url-status=live }}

Wilders condemned Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel. After the attacks, he displayed an Israeli flag in his office alongside the Dutch one.{{cite news |title=Geert Wilders (PVV): 'Ik geloof in conflict als model om vooruit te komen' |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/politiek/geert-wilders-pvv-ik-geloof-in-conflict-als-model-om-vooruit-te-komen~bfd4f1e8/?referrer=https://www.google.cz/ |work=de Volkskrant |date=15 November 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 }}{{cite news |title=Fleur Agema (PVV): Na de aanval op Israël heeft iedereen gezien dat Geert Wilders niet extreemrechts is |url=https://www.trouw.nl/politiek/fleur-agema-pvv-na-de-aanval-op-israel-heeft-iedereen-gezien-dat-geert-wilders-niet-extreemrechts-is~b72f1517/ |work=Trouw |date=23 November 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124014221/https://www.trouw.nl/politiek/fleur-agema-pvv-na-de-aanval-op-israel-heeft-iedereen-gezien-dat-geert-wilders-niet-extreemrechts-is~b72f1517/ |url-status=live }} During an election debate in October 2023, he criticized the Dutch government for not taking action against pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests.{{cite news |title=Wilders haalt uit naar 'slappe' Yesilgöz vanwege 'anti-Israëlprotest': 'Vlaggen en leuzen verbieden' |url=https://www.ad.nl/politiek/wilders-haalt-uit-naar-slappe-yesilgoz-vanwege-anti-israelprotest-vlaggen-en-leuzen-verbieden~af4ea2be/ |work=Algemeen Dagblad |date=23 October 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124014219/https://www.ad.nl/politiek/wilders-haalt-uit-naar-slappe-yesilgoz-vanwege-anti-israelprotest-vlaggen-en-leuzen-verbieden~af4ea2be/ |url-status=live }} He once again reiterated his "Jordan is Palestine" comment.{{Cite web |date=25 November 2023 |title='Jordan is Palestine,' claims Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-775131 |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}

In 2016, Wilders described Vladimir Putin as a "true patriot" and an ally in the war against Islamic terrorism.{{Citation |last1=Coticchia |first1=Fabrizio |title=When Populist Friends Abroad Hurt You at Home: How Populist Leaders in Italy and the Netherlands Coped with the Russian-Ukrainian War |date=2023 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41640-8_7 |work=Political Communication and Performative Leadership: Populism in International Politics |pages=125–145 |editor-last=Lacatus |editor-first=Corina |access-date=23 November 2023 |series=The Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-41640-8_7 |isbn=978-3-031-41640-8 |last2=Verbeek |first2=Bertjan |editor2-last=Meibauer |editor2-first=Gustav |editor3-last=Löfflmann |editor3-first=Georg |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125074253/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-41640-8_7 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |date=2 March 2018 |title=Wilders herkent in Putin een 'echte patriot' |url=https://www.nd.nl/nieuws/politiek/580031/wilders-herkent-in-putin-een-echte-patriot- |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=www.nd.nl |language=nl |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123093952/https://www.nd.nl/nieuws/politiek/580031/wilders-herkent-in-putin-een-echte-patriot- |url-status=live }} In 2016, he opposed the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine.

In November 2017, Wilders said there was "hysterical Russophobia" in the Dutch government that he wanted to counter.{{Cite web |date=23 November 2017 |title=Wilders says Russia is 'no enemy' ahead of Moscow visit |url=https://euobserver.com/world/139996 |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=EUobserver |language=en |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525125800/https://euobserver.com/world/139996 |url-status=live }} However, the PVV insisted on punishing the perpetrators of the downing of flight MH17. On 28 February 2018, four years after Russia's annexation of Crimea, Wilders traveled to Moscow and met with senior Russian officials in the Duma. His trip sparked sharp criticism among relatives of Dutch victims of the MH17 disaster, who accused him of disregarding Moscow's involvement in the tragedy.{{Cite news |last=Sauer |first=Pjotr |date=22 November 2023 |title=Geert Wilders: the Dutch far-right figurehead sending a chill across Europe |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/22/geert-wilders-profile-netherlands-elections-far-right |access-date=23 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123020548/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/22/geert-wilders-profile-netherlands-elections-far-right |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=28 February 2018 |title=Dutch MP Wilders under fire after Russia visit |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180228-dutch-mp-wilders-under-fire-after-russia-visit |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042654/http://www.france24.com/en/20180228-dutch-mp-wilders-under-fire-after-russia-visit |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=28 February 2018 |title=Nabestaanden MH17 eisen excuses van Wilders om bezoek aan Moskou |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2219844-nabestaanden-mh17-eisen-excuses-van-wilders-om-bezoek-aan-moskou.html |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=nos.nl |language=nl |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202212131/https://nos.nl/artikel/2219844-nabestaanden-mh17-eisen-excuses-van-wilders-om-bezoek-aan-moskou.html |url-status=live }} On 27 February 2018, Wilders tweeted, "Russia. Moscow. Duma. Stop the Russiaphobia. It's time for Realpolitik. Partnership instead of enmity!"{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/968447466474496001?lang=en |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 November 2023 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123092509/https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/968447466474496001?lang=en |url-status=live }}

On 24 February 2022, the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Wilders tweeted "Do not let Dutch households pay the price for a war that is not ours."{{Cite web |last=Chiu |first=Leo |title=Geert Wilders and Ukraine: Election Victory Could Spell Trouble for Kyiv |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/post/24544 |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=KyivPost |date=23 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123195710/https://www.kyivpost.com/post/24544 |url-status=live }} Wilders and PVV backed an unsuccessful motion to declare Dutch neutrality in February 2022 and to end sanctions on Russia in June 2022. He linked sanctions against Russia with rising inflation and the energy crisis. In March 2022, Wilders tweeted, "I have sympathy for the Ukrainians, but I have been elected by the 1 million Dutch people who have voted for me."{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/1504883658443870222?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123094722/https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/1504883658443870222?lang=en |archive-date=23 November 2023 |access-date=23 November 2023}} He would temporarily accept a limited number of Ukrainian refugees and support European states accepting refugees from Ukraine.

Later in 2022, Wilders and the PVV verbally condemned the Russian invasion, although in 2023, Wilders argued against military aid to Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=4 March 2023 |title=Disagreement among populists in the Netherlands: The diverging rhetorical and policy positions of Dutch populist Radical Right parties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine – ECPS |url=https://www.populismstudies.org/disagreement-among-populists-in-the-netherlands-the-diverging-rhetorical-and-policy-positions-of-dutch-populist-radical-right-parties-following-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ |access-date=23 November 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015155202/http://www.populismstudies.org/disagreement-among-populists-in-the-netherlands-the-diverging-rhetorical-and-policy-positions-of-dutch-populist-radical-right-parties-following-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=22 November 2023 |title=Exit polls: Geert Wilders' far-right party set to win Dutch elections |url=https://kyivindependent.com/exit-poll-geert-wilderss-far-right-party-set-to-win-dutch-elections/ |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123101129/https://kyivindependent.com/exit-poll-geert-wilderss-far-right-party-set-to-win-dutch-elections/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |date=23 November 2023 |title=Geert Wilders Is Bad News for Europe |url=https://time.com/6339304/hard-right-victory-netherlands-europe-impact/ |access-date=23 November 2023 |magazine=TIME |language=en |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123195710/https://time.com/6339304/hard-right-victory-netherlands-europe-impact/ |url-status=live }} According to the PVV's electoral manifesto, "The Russian aggressor has unlawfully invaded Ukraine. But we do not send our money and defence equipment such as F16s to Ukraine but keep it for our own Armed Forces".{{Cite web |date=13 November 2023 |title=Nederland is én blijft belangrijke bondgenoot Oekraïne, blijkt uit de verkiezingsprogramma's |url=https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5418633/rutte-nederland-bondgenoot-oekraine-rusland-poetin-zelensky |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=RTL Nieuws |language=nl |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114185940/https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5418633/rutte-nederland-bondgenoot-oekraine-rusland-poetin-zelensky |url-status=live }}

Documents leaked by Ukrainian hackers in October 2023 purported to show attempts by the Kremlin to cultivate connections with members of PVV.{{Cite web |title=Leaked documents show connections between PVV and Russia {{!}} NL Times |url=https://nltimes.nl/2023/10/19/leaked-documents-show-connections-pvv-russia |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=nltimes.nl |date=19 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125074217/https://nltimes.nl/2023/10/19/leaked-documents-show-connections-pvv-russia |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last1=Groeneveld |first1=Laurens |last2=Desk |first2=The Investigative |date=19 October 2023 |title=Gelekte documenten bewijzen tot nu toe onbekende connecties tussen Rusland en de PVV |url=https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/de-banden-tussen-pvv-en-rusland-zijn-sterker-dan-gedacht |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=Follow the Money – Platform voor onderzoeksjournalistiek |language=nl-NL |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104160342/https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/de-banden-tussen-pvv-en-rusland-zijn-sterker-dan-gedacht |url-status=live }}

According to Wilders, the LGBT community in Europe is threatened by mass immigration from the Muslim world.{{cite news |date=4 March 2017 |title=The Man Who Taught Donald Trump To Pit Gay People Against Immigrants |work=BuzzFeed News |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/geert-wilders-the-netherlands |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622190741/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/geert-wilders-the-netherlands |archive-date=22 June 2023}} He said that "We were always one of the top parties that were supported by (the gay) community. We believe that like Christians and Jews and women and journalists, gay people are also one of the first to pay the price of ... Islamization."{{cite news |date=7 April 2017 |title='Pinkwashing' populism: Gay voters embrace French far-right |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-35ec96903d9444e9942396505d635981 |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007022129/https://apnews.com/general-news-35ec96903d9444e9942396505d635981 |archive-date=7 October 2023}} International commentators have documented that Wilders has typically promoted more moderate and socially liberal positions towards LGBT people when compared to other national-populist political leaders in Europe, which Wilders frames as being part of a Dutch traditional value of tolerance.{{cite web |url=https://www.europenowjournal.org/2017/07/05/friend-or-foe-the-lgbt-community-in-the-eyes-of-right-wing-populism/ |title=Friend or Foe? The LGBT Community in the Eyes of Right-Wing Populism |access-date=2024-09-22}} In 2017, Wilders and the PVV voted in favour of including mandatory LGBT education in secondary vocational education while other Dutch conservative parties voted against.{{Cite web |date=23 November 2023 |title=Wilders wint verkiezingen. Welke LGBT+-opvattingen heeft hij? |url=https://www.out.tv/nieuws/wilders-wint-verkiezingen-welke-lgbt-opvattingen-heeft-hij/?acceptCookies=65623d16415f4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125183953/https://www.out.tv/nieuws/wilders-wint-verkiezingen-welke-lgbt-opvattingen-heeft-hij/?acceptCookies=65623d16415f4 |archive-date=25 November 2023 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=OutTV |language=Dutch}} However, Wilders has criticized the promotion of "woke indoctrination" among young children, describing it as a "woke dictatorship". Wilders asserts that the freedoms that homosexual people should ideally enjoy, such as the freedom to express affection, marry, and have children, are held back by Islam which opposes it, and actively resists against it.{{Cite web |date=23 November 2023 |title=Wilders wint verkiezingen. Welke LGBT+-opvattingen heeft hij? |url=https://www.out.tv/nieuws/wilders-wint-verkiezingen-welke-lgbt-opvattingen-heeft-hij/?acceptCookies=65623d16415f4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125183953/https://www.out.tv/nieuws/wilders-wint-verkiezingen-welke-lgbt-opvattingen-heeft-hij/?acceptCookies=65623d16415f4 |archive-date=25 November 2023 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=OutTV |language=Dutch}}

In 2022, Wilders stated “If people are transsexual, they get all the respect from the PVV. We have no problem with that" but argues transgender people should only be allowed to change gender with the approval of a doctor or psychiatrist.{{Cite web |date=21 September 2022 |title=Wilders over trans jongeren: "morgen ben je een kameel, overmorgen een dromedaris" |url=https://www.out.tv/nieuws/wilders-over-trans-jongeren-morgen-ben-je-een-kameel-overmorgen-een-dromedaris |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=OUTtv |language=nl-NL}} His party's manifesto talks about schoolchildren being "indoctrinated" with "gender insanity".{{Cite web |title=PVV Verkiezingsprogramma 2023 |url=https://www.pvv.nl/images/2023/PVV-Verkiezingsprogramma-2023.pdf}}

In the 1990s while at the VVD, Wilders advocated for ethnic Hungarians, claiming that Hungarians in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine were being oppressed.{{Cite web |date=28 December 1995 |title=Europa sluit de ogen voor onderdrukking van Hongaren |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/home/europa-sluit-de-ogen-voor-onderdrukking-van-hongaren~bffe013f/ |website=De Volkskrant}} In 1996, the VVD distanced itself from the Hungary working group after questions were asked by Slovakian diplomats.{{cite web | url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/home/vvd-neemt-afstand-van-eigen-hongarije-groep~b2e0961d/ | title=VVD neemt afstand van eigen Hongarije-groep|access-date=2024-12-30|language=dutch}}

Wilders supported Indian politician Nupur Sharma's comments on Muhammad that caused controversy. He also supported the decision of India's Hindu nationalist-led government to revoke the special status of Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir. He posted: "India is a full democracy. Pakistan is a 100 per cent terror state. So the choice is easy. Welcome home Kashmir. #IndiaForKashmir."{{cite news |date=24 November 2023 |title=Meet Geert Wilders, the next likely prime minister of the Netherlands |work=Business Standard |url=https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/meet-geert-wilders-the-next-likely-prime-minister-of-the-netherlands-123112400234_1.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073657/https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/meet-geert-wilders-the-next-likely-prime-minister-of-the-netherlands-123112400234_1.html |archive-date=25 November 2023}}

Regarding climate change, Wilders has said "We are not climate deniers. We have a climate problem, but we cannot solve it in the Netherlands. If you close a coal-fired power station in the Netherlands, ten will be added in China in the same week."

Wilders has become a controversial figure{{Cite news |last=Chadwick |first=Nicola |date=22 January 2009 |title=Worldwide reactions to Wilders' prosecution |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide |url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/090122-wilders-reactions |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218235357/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/090122-wilders-reactions |archive-date=18 February 2009}} with polarized opinions{{cite news |last=Meo |first=Nick |date=14 June 2009 |title=Dutch divided over Geert Wilders as radical MP eyes premiership |work=Sunday Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/5523238/Dutch-divided-over-Geert-Wilders-as-radical-MP-eyes-premiership.html |url-status=live |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617031602/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/5523238/Dutch-divided-over-Geert-Wilders-as-radical-MP-eyes-premiership.html |archive-date=17 June 2009}} on him from the world news media. Regarding his reputation in the Netherlands, Wilders stated in 2009, "Half of Holland loves me and half of Holland hates me. There is no in-between." In 2005, the Dutch public expressed mixed reactions to Wilders' general agenda, with 53% calling it "implausible" and 47% who did not.{{cite news |date=15 March 2005 |title=Dutch Divided on Wilders Agenda |publisher=NIS News Bulletin |url=http://www.nisnews.nl/dossiers/immigration/150305_869.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825205306/http://www.nisnews.nl/dossiers/immigration/150305_869.htm |archive-date=25 August 2010}}

He has been described as populist, labelled as both "extreme right"{{cite news |date=8 August 2007 |title=Dutch extreme-right MP calls for Koran ban |work=European Jewish Press |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/19036 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729210929/http://www.ejpress.org/article/19036 |archive-date=29 July 2010}} and far-right, and defended by others as a mainstream politician with legitimate concerns saying that such labels are shallow smear attempts. Wilders himself rejects the labels and has called such descriptions "scandalous". A 2023 profile by the BBC claimed Wilders to be a "firebrand and a radical" in public who fiercely rejects the "far-right" label but "affable" in private and that he gets on well with many of his political opponents.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67506583 |title=Geert Wilders: Who is he and what does he want? |date=23 November 2023 |access-date=22 December 2023}} Journalist and filmmaker Stephen Robert Morse who produced the documentary EuroTrump detailing Wilders' campaign during the 2017 Dutch general election described Wilders as holding strong opinions but also as a "likable and normal guy" outside of politics.{{cite web |url=https://observer.com/2017/10/documentary-eurotrump-provides-inside-look-at-geert-wilders/ |title=Meet the Man Who Trumps Donald at His Own Game |website=The New York Observer |date=24 October 2017 |access-date=22 December 2023}}

Wilders has been both accused of building his popularity on fear and resentment{{cite news |date=11 February 2009 |title=Prosecution of Dutch populist will provide a judicial soap opera |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0211/1233867931575.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019215810/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0211/1233867931575.html |archive-date=19 October 2012}}{{cite news |last=Weaver |first=Matthew |date=21 January 2009 |title=Dutch court says anti-Islam MP must face race hatred prosecution |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/21/dutch-islam-race-hatred-prosecution |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905175610/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/21/dutch-islam-race-hatred-prosecution |archive-date=5 September 2013}} and vociferously defended for having the courage to talk openly about the problems unfettered immigration brings with it and the "incompatibility" of fundamentalist Islam with western values.{{cite magazine |last1=Ruthven |first1=Malise |date=17 December 2009 |title=The Big Muslim Problem! |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2009/dec/17/the-big-muslim-problem/ |url-status=live |magazine=New York Review of Books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606041901/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2009/dec/17/the-big-muslim-problem/ |archive-date=6 June 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011}}

Wilders was respectively declared as "Man of the Year" in 22 December 2023 by Dutch magazine Panorama{{cite news |date=22 December 2023 |title=Panorama's Echte Mannen Top 100 2023 |language=nl |work=Panorama |url=https://panorama.nl/artikel/507657/panoramas-echte-mannen-top-100-2023 |access-date=22 December 2023}} and "Politician of the Year" in 15 December 2007 by NOS-radio, a mainstream Dutch radio station. The parliamentary press praised his ability to dominate political discussion and to attract the debate and to get into publicity with his well-timed one-liners.{{cite news |date=14 December 2007 |title=Wilders politicus van 2007 |language=nl |work=NOS Journaal |url=http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2007/12/15/151207_politicus2007.html |url-status=dead |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218193239/http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2007/12/15/151207_politicus2007.html |archive-date=18 December 2007}} The editors eventually gave the title to Wilders because he was the only one who scored high among both the press and the general public.{{cite news |date=15 December 2007 |title=Wilders uitgeroepen tot winnaar in NOS-peiling |language=nl |work=nu.nl |url=http://www.nu.nl/algemeen/1357033/wilders-uitgeroepen-tot-winnaar-in-nos-peiling.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109080103/http://www.nu.nl/algemeen/1357033/wilders-uitgeroepen-tot-winnaar-in-nos-peiling.html |archive-date=9 January 2009}}{{cite news |last=Steen |first=Michael |date=27 December 2007 |title=Anti-Islamic outsider is top Dutch politician |work=Financial Times |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/54328258-b407-11dc-a6df-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073105/https://www.ft.com/content/54328258-b407-11dc-a6df-0000779fd2ac?nclick_check=1 |archive-date=25 November 2023}} In December 2009, Wilders came in second in two polls in the Netherlands for Politician of the Year. A panel of Dutch television viewers praised him as "the second best" politician this year (after his outspoken critic Alexander Pechtold), while his colleagues in parliament named him "the second worst" (after Rita Verdonk).{{cite web |title=Geert Wilders, loved and loathed |url=http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-news/Geert-Wilders_-loved-and-loathed_59503.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925185659/http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-news/Geert-Wilders_-loved-and-loathed_59503.html |archive-date=25 September 2012 |access-date=17 February 2011 |publisher=Expatica.com}}

In February 2010, the trailer of a newly published online satirical video on the website of the Dutch radio station FunX, which targets a young urban audience, spoofed a murder attempt on Wilders.{{cite web |title=Party furious over spoof Wilders murder film |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/party-furious-over-spoof-wilders-murder-film |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208224626/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/party-furious-over-spoof-wilders-murder-film |archive-date=8 February 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Rnw.nl}}

On 2 October 2011 Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported that a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) Frits Bolkestein, who is sometime called the 'mentor' of Geert Wilders, "does not share his views". He reportedly said that "Wilders says things that are just not right and I think he totally exaggerates." While giving his opinion on burqa ban Mr Bolkestein said that he "disagrees with the recent introduction of a burqa ban, an idea championed by Geert Wilders." The Netherlands, he said, is the third European country to introduce such a ban after France and Belgium. "A ban makes martyrs of the few burqa wearers there are in the Netherlands", he said.{{cite web |date=2 October 2011 |title=Wilders' 'mentor' thinks he is exaggerating |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-mentor-thinks-he-exaggerating |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229065414/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-mentor-thinks-he-exaggerating |archive-date=29 December 2011 |access-date=28 April 2012 |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide}}

Wilders has also been compared to the assassinated fellow critic of Islam and filmmaker Theo van Gogh, but he does not see himself as taking on Van Gogh's mantle.

File:Amsterdam Women's March L1003020-Edit (32388176576).jpg

Muslim critics of Wilders accuse him of using Quranic verses out of context, and of manipulating verses to have a different meaning than the verses intended to.{{Cite news |date=11 April 2008 |title=Saudi blogger posts video on Christian extremism |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/saudi-blogger-posts-video-on-christian-extremism/2008/04/11/1207856765174.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412031428/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/saudi-blogger-posts-video-on-christian-extremism/2008/04/11/1207856765174.html |archive-date=12 April 2008}} Wilders' views on Islam prompted the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, to reprimand him.{{cite news |last=Z. |first=Jonas |date=2 April 2008 |title=Aboutaleb reprimands Wilders |language=nl |publisher=FOK news |url=http://frontpage.fok.nl/nieuws/87364 |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312085826/http://frontpage.fok.nl/nieuws/87364 |archive-date=12 March 2008}} Wilders has stated that he supports the free speech rights of his critics, saying that "An Imam who wants a politician dead is – however reprehensible – allowed to say so". He has responded to critics' comments of racism and Islamophobia by stating, "I don't hate Muslims. I hate their book and their ideology".

Editorials in The Montreal Gazette, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The New York Times have accused Wilders of hypocrisy given that, in their view, Wilders has called for the ban of the sale of the Quran while simultaneously arguing for his own personal freedom of speech.{{cite news |last=Stephens |first=Bret |date=17 February 2009 |title=Geert Wilders Is a Test for Western Civilization |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123483168531395775 |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507235414/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123483168531395775 |archive-date=7 May 2015}}{{Cite news |last=Buruma |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Buruma |date=29 January 2009 |title=Totally Tolerant, Up to a Point |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/opinion/30buruma.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520211355/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/opinion/30buruma.html |archive-date=20 May 2011}} In a speech during a Dutch parliamentary debate, Wilders elaborated that he calls for the consistent application of Dutch laws restricting any act of expression that incites violence. Ideally, he would prefer to see nearly all such laws abolished.{{cite news |last=Kongstad |first=Jesper |date=4 February 2009 |title=Wilders: "Jeg er dybt skuffet over Fogh" (Mr. Wilders writing in the Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten) |language=da |work=Jyllands-Posten |url=http://jp.dk/arkiv/?id=1591806 |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213210110/http://jp.dk/arkiv/?id=1591806 |archive-date=13 February 2009}}

In February 2012, Wilders was accused of anti-Polish sentiment after his party launched a "hotline" website for public complaints specifically about Poles and as well as Bulgarians, Romanians and other Eastern Europeans who are causing a "nuisance".{{cite web |last=Ebels |first=Philip |date=2 February 2012 |title=Dutch far right opens anti-Polish hotline |url=https://euobserver.com/news/115208 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924063020/https://euobserver.com/news/115208 |archive-date=24 September 2012 |access-date=16 December 2023 |website=EUobserver}} The website prompted the Polish embassy in the Netherlands to request the website to be shut down{{cite web |date=10 February 2012 |title=Dutch allow Wilders' anti-Pole website, EU critical |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE8191ML/ |access-date=16 December 2023 |website=Reuters}} while the Romanian embassy called it "discriminatory". Several politicians denounced the website, although prime minister Mark Rutte did not comment.{{Cite web |date=14 February 2012 |title=Polenmeldpunt: wie klaagt over wie? |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/341031-polenmeldpunt-wie-klaagt-over-wie |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=nos.nl |language=nl}} Shortly after the website launch, a number of Poles in the Netherlands reported being targeted by vandalism or insulted for speaking Polish in public.{{Cite news |last=Faiola |first=Anthony |date=30 April 2012 |title=Geert Wilders of the Netherlands reveals a resurgent far right in Europe |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/geert-wilders-of-the-netherlands-reveals-a-resurgent-far-right-in-europe/2012/04/30/gIQAA9zsrT_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post}}

In March 2014 and during a party meeting in The Hague on the evening of local elections, he sparked widespread controversy when he asked his attending supporters "Do you want, in this city, and in the Netherlands, more or fewer Moroccans?", after which they chanted "Fewer! Fewer!". Wilders' response was "Then we'll fix it!". This action led several PVV representatives to resign, among whom two of the party's members of Parliament (Roland van Vliet and Joram van Klaveren), the party's leader in the European Parliament (Laurence Stassen), and a number of its provincial legislators and municipal councillors.{{cite web |date=6 May 2014 |title=Wie zijn er vertrokken bij de PVV? |url=http://nos.nl/artikel/626370-wie-zijn-er-vertrokken-bij-de-pvv.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327020140/http://nos.nl/artikel/626370-wie-zijn-er-vertrokken-bij-de-pvv.html |archive-date=27 March 2014 |access-date=11 April 2014 |publisher=NOS |language=nl}} Many politicians denounced what happened. In response, a number of young Moroccans launched a social media campaign called 'Born here', in which they posted pictures of themselves alongside their Dutch passports.[http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/20/geert-wilders-sparks-racist-chant-storm Geert Wilders sparks racist chant storm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324210730/http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/20/geert-wilders-sparks-racist-chant-storm|date=24 March 2018}}, Euronews, 20 March 2014

In May 2014, Dutch Foreign Minister Timmermans condemned Wilders' anti-Islam sticker, saying that "The Netherlands cannot be held responsible for the adolescent behavior of a single parliamentarian."{{cite news |date=21 May 2014 |title=Dutch send top diplomat to avert Saudi sanctions over anti-Islam stickers |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-saudi-wilders/dutch-send-top-diplomat-to-avert-saudi-sanctions-over-anti-islam-stickers-idUSBREA4K0HS20140521 |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820140902/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-saudi-wilders/dutch-send-top-diplomat-to-avert-saudi-sanctions-over-anti-islam-stickers-idUSBREA4K0HS20140521 |archive-date=20 August 2021}} Timmermans said that Saudi Arabia is "deeply offended by the sticker action."{{cite news |date=27 May 2014 |title=Wilders damage control forces minister to Saudi Arabia |work=NL Times |url=https://nltimes.nl/2014/05/27/wilders-damage-control-forces-minister-saudi-arabia |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125073626/https://nltimes.nl/2014/05/27/wilders-damage-control-forces-minister-saudi-arabia |archive-date=25 November 2023}}

File:Geert Wilders - CPAC Hungary 2024 (1).jpg

Wilders was extensively discussed in leaked American diplomatic cables. In a briefing to president Barack Obama, he was described as "no friend of the US: he opposes Dutch military involvement in Afghanistan; he believes development assistance is money wasted; he opposes NATO missions outside 'allied' territory; he is against most EU initiatives; and, most troubling, he foments fear and hatred of immigrants."{{cite news |date=15 December 2010 |title=US embassy cables: Barack Obama's briefing on Dutch politics |work=The Guardian |location=UK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/215223 |url-status=live |access-date=16 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221082502/http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/215223 |archive-date=21 December 2013}}

In July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik, the man who carried out the 2011 Norway attacks, expressed admiration for Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom. Wilders immediately distanced himself strongly from Breivik.[http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/07/geert_wilders_issues_statement.php Geert Wilders issues statement on PVV Norway shooting links] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104031743/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/07/geert_wilders_issues_statement.php|date=4 January 2012}} DutchNews.nl, 26 July 2011

On 28 July 2015, Vienna's prosecutors' office launched a probe and lodged calls for criminal proceedings against Geert Wilders for comparing the Quran to Mein Kampf, after Tarafa Baghajati had accused him of hate speech and denigrating religious teachings.{{cite web |title=Austria investigates Dutch politician's remarks |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/austria-investigates-dutch-politician-remarks-150728044756459.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203032549/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/austria-investigates-dutch-politician-remarks-150728044756459.html |archive-date=3 December 2018 |access-date=6 January 2019}}

In October 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sued Wilders after he posted a series of tweets against Erdoğan and urged NATO to take Turkey out of the bloc.{{cite news |date=27 October 2020 |title=Erdogan files criminal complaint against Dutch politician Wilders |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-netherlands-erdogan-idUSKBN27C1PK |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101052158/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-netherlands-erdogan-idUSKBN27C1PK |archive-date=1 November 2020}} Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that a legal case "against a Dutch politician that could possibly even lead to a curtailment of freedom of expression is not acceptable."{{cite news |date=27 October 2020 |title=Turkey's Erdogan sues Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker for insults |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/turkey-geert-wilders-emmanuel-macron-recep-tayyip-erdogan-crime-39e8b4ca5b84b7d58d6ceaeca0514b78 |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030142128/https://apnews.com/article/turkey-geert-wilders-emmanuel-macron-recep-tayyip-erdogan-crime-39e8b4ca5b84b7d58d6ceaeca0514b78 |archive-date=30 October 2020}}

== Personal life ==

According to a profile in Elsevier Weekblad Wilders was in a short-lived marriage at the age of 20.{{cite web |url=https://www.ewmagazine.nl/nederland/achtergrond/2023/09/geert-wilders-zoals-u-hem-nog-niet-kende-1366773/ |title=Geert Wilders as you never knew him |date=28 September 2023 |access-date=22 December 2023}} He has since been married to Krisztina Wilders (née Márfai), a former diplomat from Hungary of Jewish origin, since July 1992.Thomas Moerman (14 March 2017), [https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-geert-wilders?IR=T "How Geert Wilders slowly transformed into one of Europe's most radical politicians"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801005054/https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-geert-wilders?IR=T|date=1 August 2020}}, Business Insider. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

Wilders is an agnostic,{{cite web |author=Geert Wilders |date=19 July 2010 |title=Moslims, bevrijd uzelf en u kunt alles |trans-title=Muslims, you can free yourself and everything |url=http://www.nrc.nl/opinie/article2584468.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722101836/http://www.nrc.nl/opinie/article2584468.ece |archive-date=22 July 2010 |access-date=3 October 2010 |work=NRC Handelsblad |language=nl |quote=Zelf ben ik agnost.}} but he has stated that he thinks Christians "are my allies" and that they fundamentally should want the same thing.{{cite news |last=Hurd |first=Dale |date=19 February 2009 |title=VIDEO: Can Christians Support Geert Wilders |publisher=Christian Broadcasting Network |url=http://blogs.cbn.com/hurdontheweb/archive/2009/02/19/video-can-christians-support-geert-wilders.aspx |url-status=live |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312121337/http://blogs.cbn.com/hurdontheweb/archive/2009/02/19/video-can-christians-support-geert-wilders.aspx |archive-date=12 March 2011}}

File:Geert Wilders op Prinsjesdag 2014.jpg in 2014]]In June 2011, disclosure of Wilders's personal finances indicated that he founded a self-administered company one year earlier without reporting this via the public records of the House of Representatives, which he, as a parliamentarian, should have done. The company is known as OnLiberty BV and is aimed at acquiring intellectual and property rights.{{cite news |last1=Rengers |first1=Merijn |last2=Schoorl |first2=John |date=19 May 2011 |title=Wilders verzuimde om eigen BV te melden |language=nl |work=de Volkskrant |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2788/Geert-Wilders/article/detail/2443776/2011/06/10/Wilders-verzuimde-om-eigen-BV-te-melden.dhtml |url-status=live |access-date=28 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055548/https://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2788/Geert-Wilders/article/detail/2443776/2011/06/10/Wilders-verzuimde-om-eigen-BV-te-melden.dhtml%20 |archive-date=7 January 2019}} Wilders later explained he had acted this way for security reasons and that the company had no connection to the PVV. OnLiberty BV has since been formally registered in Breda.{{cite web |url=https://www.nu.nl/politiek/2610960/wilders-verhuist-privebedrijf-breda.html |title=Wilders moves private company to Breda |date=9 September 2011 |access-date=22 December 2023}}

Wilders has been bleaching and dyeing his hair to peroxide-platinum blond* https://www.thedailybeast.com/dutch-xenophobe-geert-wilders-echoes-goebbels-infamous-1943-speech {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203072340/https://www.thedailybeast.com/dutch-xenophobe-geert-wilders-echoes-goebbels-infamous-1943-speech|date=3 December 2023}}

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-peroxide-blond-crusader-who-could-soon-top-dutch-elections/2017/03/10/5373afd4-02bf-11e7-9d14-9724d48f5666_story.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819034350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-peroxide-blond-crusader-who-could-soon-top-dutch-elections/2017/03/10/5373afd4-02bf-11e7-9d14-9724d48f5666_story.html|date=19 August 2022}} since at least the mid-1990s having previously got his hair cut at a barber shop near Utrecht Central Station until this was stopped due to security concerns. As a result of hair graying, Wilders' dark roots show less.{{Cite news |last1=Outeren |first1=Emilie van |date=8 March 2017 |title=This is Geert Wilders, the Dutch populist who could win but not rule: 4. So what's with the blonde hair? |website=NRC |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/03/08/who-is-geert-wilders-the-dutch-populist-who-could-win-but-not-rule-a1549168 |url-status=live |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518193629/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/03/08/who-is-geert-wilders-the-dutch-populist-who-could-win-but-not-rule-a1549168 |archive-date=18 May 2017}} Wilders has acquired nicknames such as "Mozart" and "Captain Peroxide" because of his flamboyant platinum blond hairstyle. Radio Netherlands calls him "the most famous bleach-blond since Marilyn Monroe".{{cite news |title=Geert Wilders: riding the hype |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide |url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/specialseries/wilders/ |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080129083959/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/specialseries/wilders/ |archive-date=29 January 2008}}

On 10 November 2004, two suspected attackers were captured after an hour-long siege of a building in The Hague. They were in possession of three grenades and were accused of planning to murder Wilders as well as a fellow MP, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.{{cite news |author=Smith, Craig S |date=11 November 2004 |title=Dutch Police Seize 2 in Raid on Terror Cell After a Siege |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/international/europe/11dutch.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055515/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/world/europe/dutch-police-seize-2-in-raid-on-terror-cell-after-a-siege.html |archive-date=7 January 2019}} The suspects were presumed to be members of what the Dutch intelligence agency, the General Intelligence and Security Service, has termed the Hofstad Network (Hofstadgroep). Since this incident Wilders has been under constant security protection because of frequent threats to his life.{{cite news |date=10 March 2008 |title=Dutch 'must show' anti-Islam film |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7287973.stm |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7287973.stm |archive-date=7 January 2019}} In September 2007, a Dutch woman was sentenced to a one-year prison term for sending more than 100 threatening emails to Wilders.{{cite news |date=28 September 2007 |title=Kort nieuws binnenland |language=nl |publisher=NOS Nieuws |url=http://www.nos.nl/nos/artikelen/2007/09/art000001C801D728638727.html |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226183207/http://www.nos.nl/nos/artikelen/2007/09/art000001C801D728638727.html |archive-date=26 December 2007}} In 2009, a rapper from Rotterdam was sentenced to 80 hours community service and a two-month suspended jail term for threatening Wilders in a rap song.{{cite web |title=Rapper bestraft voor bedreigen Wilders |url=http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2441103.ece/Rapper_bestraft_voor_bedreigen_Wilders |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818174839/http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2441103.ece/Rapper_bestraft_voor_bedreigen_Wilders |archive-date=18 August 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Nrc.nl |language=nl}} Wilders was listed as the most threatened politician in the Netherlands in 2008.{{cite news |date=13 March 2009 |title=Wilders most threatened politician |publisher=Dutch News |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/03/wilders_most_threatened_politi.php |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055455/https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2009/03/wilders_most_threatened_politi/ |archive-date=7 January 2019}}

Wilders was reported to have been "deprived... of a personal life for his... hatred of Islam". He is constantly accompanied by a permanent security detail of about six plainclothes police officers, and does not receive visitors unless they are cleared in advance, thoroughly searched, and escorted at all times. He lives in a state-provided safe house which is outfitted to be bulletproof, is heavily guarded by police, and has a panic room. He is driven from his home to his offices in parliament in an armored police vehicle, and wears a bulletproof vest.{{cite news |last=Simons |first=Marlise |date=4 March 2005 |title=Tired of hiding, 2 Dutch legislators emerge |work=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/03/news/journal.php |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203010241/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/03/news/journal.php |archive-date=3 December 2008}}{{cite web |title=In Netherlands, Anti-Islamic Polemic Comes With a Price |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52502-2005Jan31.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724200057/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52502-2005Jan31.html |archive-date=24 July 2008 |access-date=27 August 2017 |work=washingtonpost.com}} His office is located in the most isolated corner of the Dutch Parliament building, and was chosen because potential terrorists can get to it through only one corridor, making it easier for his bodyguards to repel an attack.{{cite news |last1=Meotti |first1=Giulio |date=5 November 2011 |title=Europe's veil of fear |work=ynet |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4144192,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055428/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4144192,00.html |archive-date=7 January 2019}} The restrictions on his life, he said, are "a situation that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy".

In January 2010, Karen Geurtsen, a Dutch journalist from the magazine HP-De Tijd, revealed a painful breach of security. She spent four months working undercover, posing as an intern, for the PVV party. She claimed that she had had unchecked access to Wilders. "I could have killed him", were the first words of the article that she published about this operation. According to her, she had "dozens" of opportunities to take his life.{{cite web |title=Undercover journalist gains easy access to Geert Wilders |url=http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2453287.ece/Undercover_journalist_gains_easy_access_to_Geert_Wilders |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302060645/http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2453287.ece/Undercover_journalist_gains_easy_access_to_Geert_Wilders |archive-date=2 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Nrc.nl}} In July 2010, after Wilders complained that his security was inadequate, the Special Security Assignments Brigade, a special unit of Dutch military police, made four attempts to smuggle a firearm into the heavily guarded offices of Wilders' Freedom Party, two of which were successful. Following these breaches, security at the offices was increased.{{cite web |title=Wilders' security breached |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/wilders-security-breached |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316123121/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/wilders-security-breached |archive-date=16 March 2014 |access-date=16 March 2014 |work=RNW}}{{cite web |date=5 July 2010 |title=Wilders' security stepped up after officials smuggle in gun – DutchNews.nl |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/07/wilders_security_stepped_up_af.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055605/https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2010/07/wilders_security_stepped_up_af/ |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=16 March 2014 |work=DutchNews.nl}}

In September 2010, in an internet chat room, Australian Islamic fundamentalist preacher Feiz Mohammad urged his followers to behead Wilders. His rationale was his accusation that Wilders had "denigrat[ed]" Islam, and that anyone who "mocks, laughs or degrades Islam" as Wilders had must be killed "by chopping off his head."{{cite news |date=3 September 2010 |title=Aussie cleric Feiz Mohammad calls for beheading of Dutch MP Geert Wilders |work=The Australian |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/aussie-cleric-feiz-mohammad-calls-for-beheading-of-dutch-mp-geert-wilders/story-fn3dxity-1225914033334 |access-date=22 April 2013}}{{cite news |last=Berkowitz |first=Ben |date=3 September 2010 |title=Muslim cleric calls for beheading of Dutch politician |newspaper=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-wilders-idUSTRE68217920100903 |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617152746/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-wilders-idUSTRE68217920100903 |archive-date=17 June 2017}}[https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article9370737/Hassprediger-fordert-die-Enthauptung-von-Wilders.html Hassprediger fordert die Enthauptung von Wilders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201052719/https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article9370737/Hassprediger-fordert-die-Enthauptung-von-Wilders.html|date=1 December 2016}}. Die Welt, 3 September 2010 The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf released an excerpt of the talk, after Dutch intelligence officials received a tip about the threat.[http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/7544764/__Haatprediker__dood_aan_Wilders__.html Haatprediker roept op tot doden Wilders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906143310/http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/7544764/__Haatprediker__dood_aan_Wilders__.html|date=6 September 2010}}. De Telegraaf, 3 September 2010{{cite news |author=Natalie O'Brien |date=6 September 2010 |title=Preacher's call for beheading condemned by Muslim leaders |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/preachers-call-for-beheading-condemned-by-muslim-leaders-20100905-14w4j.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516172039/http://www.smh.com.au/national/preachers-call-for-beheading-condemned-by-muslim-leaders-20100905-14w4j.html |archive-date=16 May 2014}} After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Wilders wrote:

I am threatened for the simple reason that I am an Islam critic. But, make no mistake, I am not the only one who is in danger. The Tsarnaev brothers drew inspiration from Feiz Mohammed's internet rants and decided to kill innocent onlookers at a marathon. Everyone is in danger.{{cite news |date=26 April 2013 |title=No surprise the Boston bombers were fans of the sheik |work=The Australian |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/no-surprise-the-boston-bombers-were-fans-of-the-sheik/story-e6frgd0x-1226629578097 |url-status=live |access-date=27 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430060313/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/no-surprise-the-boston-bombers-were-fans-of-the-sheik/story-e6frgd0x-1226629578097 |archive-date=2013-04-30}}

Pakistani male Junaid I. was arrested in the Den Haag Centraal railway station after having posted a video with threats against Wilders on Facebook the previous day. He had been enraged about a Muhammad cartoon contest announced by Wilders. In 2019, Junaid I was sentenced to ten years in prison as an attack on a parliamentarian constitutes an attack on Dutch rule of law, the convict had shown an interest in violent extremism and the great risk of recurrence. In February 2021, the appeals court came to the same verdict and sentence.{{Cite web |title=Ten years' prison for threatening far-right Wilders over Mohammed cartoons |url=https://nltimes.nl/2021/02/19/ten-years-prison-threatening-far-right-wilders-mohammed-cartoons |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123124656/https://nltimes.nl/2021/02/19/ten-years-prison-threatening-far-right-wilders-mohammed-cartoons |archive-date=23 November 2023 |access-date=6 July 2021 |website=NL Times |date=19 February 2021 |language=en}}

Wilders said he had received hundreds of death threats after he supported Indian politician Nupur Sharma's comments on Muhammad that caused controversy.{{Cite web |date=12 June 2022 |title=Geert Wilders says death threats make him more proud to support Nupur Sharma |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/geert-wilders-says-death-threats-make-him-more-proud-to-support-nupur-sharma-101655008521959.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618183850/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/geert-wilders-says-death-threats-make-him-more-proud-to-support-nupur-sharma-101655008521959.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |access-date=19 June 2022 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Prophet remark row: Dutch MP Geert Wilders gets death threat for supporting Nupur Sharma |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/prophet-remark-row-dutch-mp-geert-wilders-gets-death-threat-for-supporting-nupur-sharma-1959896-2022-06-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614000940/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/prophet-remark-row-dutch-mp-geert-wilders-gets-death-threat-for-supporting-nupur-sharma-1959896-2022-06-08 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |access-date=19 June 2022 |website=India Today|date=8 June 2022 }} He remained defiant, claiming to stand for freedom.{{Cite web |date=9 June 2022 |title=Dutch MP Geert Wilders gets death threats from Muslims for supporting Nupur Sharma over her Prophet Muhammad remarks |url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/dutch-mp-geert-wilders-gets-death-threats-from-muslims-for-supporting-nupur-sharma-over-her-prophet-muhammad-remarks-10775711.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620015851/https://www.firstpost.com/world/dutch-mp-geert-wilders-gets-death-threats-from-muslims-for-supporting-nupur-sharma-over-her-prophet-muhammad-remarks-10775711.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |access-date=19 June 2022 |website=Firstpost}} After the murder of a Hindu tailor by two Muslim men, he cautioned the people of India against 'appeasement of Islam'.{{Cite web |date=29 June 2022 |title='Don't appease…': Message from Dutch MP Geert Wilders who supports Nupur Sharma |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dont-appease-message-from-dutch-mp-geert-wilders-who-supports-nupur-sharma-101656489382809.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630015005/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dont-appease-message-from-dutch-mp-geert-wilders-who-supports-nupur-sharma-101656489382809.html |archive-date=30 June 2022 |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

{{Main|First trial of Geert Wilders}}

Several groups and persons in the Netherlands have called for legal action against Wilders, while others, including Christian fundamentalists, defended his right to free speech. On 15 August 2007, a representative of the Prosecutors' Office in Amsterdam declared that dozens of reports against Wilders had been filed, and that they were all being considered.{{cite web |date=15 November 2007 |title=Aangiftes tegen Wilders stromen binnen |url=http://www.elsevier.nl/web/10133280/Nieuws/Politiek/Aangiftes-tegen-Wilders-stromen-binnen.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005032528/http://www.elsevier.nl/web/10133280/Nieuws/Politiek/Aangiftes-tegen-Wilders-stromen-binnen.htm |archive-date=5 October 2008 |access-date=15 March 2009 |work=Elsevier |language=nl}} Attempts to prosecute Wilders under Dutch anti-hate speech laws in June 2008 failed, with the public prosecutor's office stating that Wilders' comments contributed to the debate on Islam in Dutch society and also had been made outside parliament. The office released a statement reading: "That comments are hurtful and offensive for a large number of Muslims does not mean that they are punishable. Freedom of expression fulfils an essential role in public debate in a democratic society. That means that offensive comments can be made in a political debate."{{Cite news |date=3 February 2009 |title=Dutch React to Prosecution of Wilders |publisher=Angus Reid Global Monitor |url=http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/32758/dutch_react_to_prosecution_of_wilders |url-status=usurped |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205220806/http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/32758/dutch_react_to_prosecution_of_wilders |archive-date=5 February 2009}}{{cite news |last=Mock |first=Vanessa |date=22 January 2009 |title=Dutch MP to be tried for views on Islam – Party leader who made film linking Koran to Nazism accused of inciting race hate |work=The Independent |location=UK |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-mp-to-be-tried-for-views-on-islam-1488654.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110043419/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-mp-to-be-tried-for-views-on-islam-1488654.html |archive-date=10 November 2010}} On 21 January 2009, a three-judge court ordered prosecutors to try him.[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5563071.ece "Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders faces trial over controversial film"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909144235/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5563071.ece|date=9 September 2011}}

In late October 2010, the Dutch court approved a request from Geert Wilders to have new judges appointed forcing the court to retry the case.{{cite news |date=22 October 2010 |title=Court orders Wilders re-trial |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1022/breaking54.html |url-status=live |access-date=31 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301191938/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1022/breaking54.html |archive-date=1 March 2011}} On 7 February 2011, Wilders returned to the court room in order that his legal team could present evidence from Islamic experts which the court rejected in 2010, including Mohammed Bouyeri, who murdered film-maker Theo van Gogh, and Dutch academic Hans Jansen.{{cite news |date=7 February 2011 |title=Dutch MP Geert Wilders back in court over 'hate speech' |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12380167 |url-status=live |access-date=31 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322205302/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12380167 |archive-date=22 March 2011}}

On 23 June 2011, Wilders was acquitted of all charges. A Dutch court said that his speech was legitimate political debate, but on the edge.{{cite news |date=23 June 2011 |title=Dutch Court Acquits Lawmaker of Hate Speech, Discrimination Against Muslims |publisher=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/dutch-court-acquits-lawmaker-of-hate-speech-discrimination-against-muslims/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624221712/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/23/dutch-court-acquits-anti-islam-lawmaker/ |archive-date=24 June 2011}} Because both the public prosecutor and the defence requested complete acquittal, the verdict will most likely not be appealed.{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/06/23/wilders-vrijgesproken-van-groepsbelediging/ News article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220045716/http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/06/23/wilders-vrijgesproken-van-groepsbelediging|date=20 December 2015}} by NRC, titled Wilders op alle punten vrijgesproken 23 June 2011[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304569504576403030202942102 "Dutch Politician Is Acquitted in Hate-Speech Case"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911123914/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304569504576403030202942102|date=11 September 2017}}. The Wall Street Journal, 23 June 2011

On 18 March 2016, a second trial against Wilders began, this time on the accusation of inciting "discrimination and hatred" against Moroccans living in the Netherlands.{{cite news |date=18 March 2016 |title=Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders goes on trial for inciting hatred |work=The Guardian |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/18/dutch-far-right-leader-geert-wilders-goeson-trial-for-inciting-hatred |url-status=live |access-date=28 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621064515/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/18/dutch-far-right-leader-geert-wilders-goeson-trial-for-inciting-hatred |archive-date=21 June 2016}} On 17 November 2016, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service demanded a fine against him of €5,000 (£4,300).{{cite news |author= |date=17 November 2016 |title=Geert Wilders faces possible €5,000 fine for hate speech |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/17/geert-wilders-faces-possible-5000-fine-for-hate-speech |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123221153/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/17/geert-wilders-faces-possible-5000-fine-for-hate-speech |archive-date=23 November 2016}} On 9 December 2016, he was convicted in a hate speech trial but no penalty was imposed. That verdict was overturned in 2020 when a higher court found that while Wilders's remarks were insulting to an ethnic minority, they were found to be in the service of receiving political gains rather than inspiring discrimination.{{Cite news |date=4 September 2020 |title=Geert Wilders: Dutch far-right leader cleared of inciting hatred |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54029993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217022134/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54029993 |archive-date=17 February 2021 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

On 4 September 2020, a Dutch court convicted Wilders for group insults, following comments he made about Moroccans in the Netherlands.{{Cite news |date=9 December 2016 |title=Geert Wilders guilty of incitement |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/geert-wilders-guilty-of-incitement-encouraging-discrimination-no-penalty/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107055510/https://www.politico.eu/article/geert-wilders-guilty-of-incitement-encouraging-discrimination-no-penalty/ |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=22 May 2017 |work=POLITICO |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Strafzaak Wilders - Cassatie, Politicus Geert Wilders is nu definitief veroordeeld wegens groepsbelediging |url=https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Bekende-rechtszaken/Strafzaak-Wilders#}}

File:Congresso federale straordinario - Torino, 15 dicembre 2013 26.JPG congress in Italy]]

Wilders is regarded as part of the international counter-jihad movement{{cite book|url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/192414854/Aked_Jones_Miller_Counterjihad_report_2019.pdf|last1=Aked|first1=H.|last2=Jones|first2=M.|last3=Miller|first3=D.|year=2019|title=Islamophobia in Europe: How governments are enabling the far-right 'counter-jihad' movement|series=Public Interest Investigations|publisher=University of Bristol|pages=24, 26|isbn=9780957027497|hdl=1983/cd525157-683a-493b-b27f-9a5ffbca312c|hdl-access=free}}{{Cite book |last1=Pearson |first1=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMeEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 |title=Countering Violent Extremism: Making Gender Matter |last2=Winterbotham |first2=Emily |last3=Brown |first3=Katherine E. |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |isbn=9783030219628 |page=102}}{{cite web |date=17 September 2020 |title=Factsheet: Counter-Jihad Movement |url=https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-counter-jihad-movement/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024011854/https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-counter-jihad-movement/ |archive-date=24 October 2022 |access-date=24 October 2022 |work=Bridge Initiative}} and as "the most successful counter-jihadist politician in the world".{{cite web |date=17 January 2017 |title=Key players: Geert Wilders |url=https://hopenothate.org.uk/2018/01/17/key-players/#wilders |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109125154/https://hopenothate.org.uk/2018/01/17/key-players/#wilders |archive-date=9 November 2022 |access-date=9 November 2022 |work=Hope not Hate}} He is described as the "main counter-jihad standard bearer across Europe ... feted by campaigning organisations in North America".

In the spring of 2009, Wilders launched the "Facing Jihad World Tour", a series of screenings of Fitna to public officials and influential organizations, starting in Rome.{{cite news |last=Liphshiz |first=Cnaan |date=13 February 2009 |title=Dutch lawmaker banned from U.K. to take anti-Koran film on 'world tour' |work=Haaretz |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063986.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321192119/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063986.html |archive-date=21 March 2009}} In the US, Wilders showed the film to the United States Congress in February, having been invited by Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl.{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Anahad |date=26 February 2009 |title=Mr. Wilders Goes to Washington |work=The New York Times |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/mr-wilders-goes-to-washington/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318133916/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/mr-wilders-goes-to-washington/ |archive-date=18 March 2009}} Around 40 people attended the screening. American Muslims protested, but said they supported his right of free speech while still condemning his opinions. Wilders appeared before the National Press Club and the Republican Jewish Coalition as well.{{cite news |author=Lubań, Daniel |author2=Clifton, Eli |date=3 March 2009 |title=U.S. Politicians Warmly Greet Reactionary Dutch Islamophobe |work=Inter Press Service |publisher=AlterNet |url=http://www.alternet.org/audits/129718/u.s._politicians_warmly_greet_reactionary_dutch_islamophobe/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312052601/http://www.alternet.org/audits/129718/u.s._politicians_warmly_greet_reactionary_dutch_islamophobe/ |archive-date=12 March 2009}}{{better source needed|date=June 2022}} Similar attempts in Britain led to a travel ban.

In July 2010, Wilders announced the International Freedom Alliance, a network of groups and individuals who "are fighting for freedom against Islam".{{cite web |title=Wilders sets up international alliance against Islam |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-sets-international-alliance-against-islam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608001644/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-sets-international-alliance-against-islam |archive-date=8 June 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Rnw.nl}}{{cite web |title=Dutch Politician Plans on Global Spread of Anti-Islam Party |url=http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/07/17/dutch-politician-plans-on-global-spread-of-anti-islam-party/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924130521/http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/07/17/dutch-politician-plans-on-global-spread-of-anti-islam-party/ |archive-date=24 September 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Pattayadailynews.com}}{{cite web |title=Dutch Politician Forms Anti-Islam Coalition |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Geert-Wilders-Anti-Muslim-Freedom-Alliance-Dutch-Politician-Wants-End-To-Islamic-Immigration/Article/201007315666139 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719191638/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Geert-Wilders-Anti-Muslim-Freedom-Alliance-Dutch-Politician-Wants-End-To-Islamic-Immigration/Article/201007315666139 |archive-date=19 July 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=News.sky.com}} Wilders planned IFA branches in the United States, Canada, Britain, France and Germany by late 2010. "The message, 'stop Islam, defend freedom', is a message that's not only important for the Netherlands but for the whole free Western world", Wilders stated to reporters at the Dutch Parliament. Wilders stressed the group would not contain far-right extremists.{{cite web |title=Dutch politician to form international anti-Muslim Coalition |date=16 July 2010 |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/294757 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919060057/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/294757 |archive-date=19 September 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Digitaljournal.com}}

In August 2010, Wilders, who had become a regular guest with American conservatives and libertarians, announced that he would speak at a rally on 11 September in New York to protest the plans for Park51, a Muslim community center with a prayer space to be built near the World Trade Center site. The rally, to be held on the ten-year anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks, was organised by Stop Islamization of America, which was supported by former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who was originally announced as a speaker at the event, but never confirmed and cancelled a video appearance.The Hill: [https://thehill.com/homenews/news/169496-gingrich-not-to-address-9-11-rally-against-mosque-project-as-had-been-advertised/ Gingrich not to address 9/11 rally against mosque project as had been advertised.] 21 August 2010. According to SIOA's website world leaders, prominent politicians and 9/11 family members would speak at the rally, but Wilders was not mentioned by name,{{cite web |date=6 August 2010 |title=Wilders to speak at New York mosque protest |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/wilders_to_speak_at_new_york_m.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828090803/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/wilders_to_speak_at_new_york_m.php |archive-date=28 August 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Dutchnews.nl}}{{cite web |title=Wilders to join Ground Zero mosque protest |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/wilders-join-ground-zero-mosque-protest |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819141506/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/wilders-join-ground-zero-mosque-protest |archive-date=19 August 2010 |access-date=16 January 2001 |publisher=Rnw.nl}} though he did attend as he had announced.{{cite web |author=Josh Marshall |date=11 September 2010 |title=Geert Wilders headline speaker at protest in NY City |work=TPM |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/brings_it_all_into_focus.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113194630/http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/brings_it_all_into_focus.php |archive-date=13 November 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Talkingpointsmemo.com}}

In political circles in The Netherlands, the announcement caused widespread irritation about his plan.{{cite web |title=Wilders: I'll decide whether I visit Ground Zero |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-i%E2%80%99ll-decide-whether-i-visit-ground-zero |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016005151/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/wilders-i%E2%80%99ll-decide-whether-i-visit-ground-zero |archive-date=16 October 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Rnw.nl}} Christian Democrat senator Hans Hillen remarked that Wilders' words could endanger Dutch interests.{{cite web |date=9 August 2010 |title=Protest at Wilders' speech |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/protest_at_wilders_speech.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816112334/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/protest_at_wilders_speech.php |archive-date=16 August 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Dutchnews.nl}} Former NATO general secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer advised Wilders not to make a speech, arguing that the international public does not know who is in the Dutch cabinet and who is in parliament and thus Wilders' speech could be mistaken as an official statement of the Dutch government. Later, Christian Democrat party leader and acting Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen issued a warning.{{cite web |date=10 August 2010 |title=De Hoop Scheffer advises Wilders not to speak |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/jaap_de_hoop_scheffer_former.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818014107/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/08/jaap_de_hoop_scheffer_former.php |archive-date=18 August 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Dutchnews.nl}}{{cite web |date=12 January 2011 |title=Verhagen waarschuwt Wilders voor speech Ground Zero |url=http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/272746/Verhagen-waarschuwt-Wilders-voor-speech-Ground-Zero.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611232409/http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Politiek/272746/Verhagen-waarschuwt-Wilders-voor-speech-Ground-Zero.htm |archive-date=11 June 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Elsevier.nl |language=nl}}

Also, the Dutch Foreign Ministry allegedly would have issued guidelines to its embassies on how to react to questions about the role being played by the PVV and Wilders in the formation of a new government. On 10 August 2010, the website of Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad published the ministry memo. The ministry itself however had declined "to confirm or deny" the authenticity of these guidelines. One question posed is how Wilders could be taking part in negotiations on forming a government coalition when he has been indicted for inciting hatred and discrimination, and for insulting a group of persons. Other questions covered possible bans on the building of new mosques, on the Quran and on Islamic schools in the Netherlands. The memo stressed that such bans would breach the Dutch constitution.{{cite web |title=Explaining Geert Wilders abroad |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/explaining-geert-wilders-abroad |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608184111/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/explaining-geert-wilders-abroad |archive-date=8 June 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=Rnw.nl}}

On 11 September 2010, 2,000 people gathered close by the site of a planned Muslim community center near the site of the World Trade Center attacks, on 11 September 2001, where they were addressed by Wilders who flew from The Netherlands to urge the crowd: "This is where we have (to) draw the line. We must never give a free hand to those who want to subjugate us," Wilders added. "Draw this line so that New York... will never become New Mecca."{{cite web |title=Dutch anti-Islam MP addresses NY mosque rally |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=41258 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714090927/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=41258 |archive-date=14 July 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011 |publisher=Middle East Online}}

Wilders spoke on Thursday, 12 May 2011, at Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tennessee, at the Tennessee Freedom Coalition inaugural Signature Series event.{{cite web |title=Tennessee Freedom Coalition To Host |url=http://www.tnfreedomcoalition.org/pr/050211.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828054335/http://www.tnfreedomcoalition.org/pr/050211.html |archive-date=28 August 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011 |publisher=Tnfreedomcoalition.org}}

In May 2015, Geert Wilders was invited to an art exhibit presented by Stop Islamization of America in Garland, Texas, that offered a $10,000 prize for the best drawing of Muhammad. Towards the end of the event, two gunmen opened fire outside, injuring a police officer before being shot dead by other police officers guarding the center.{{cite web |title=Police: Men killed in Garland shooting had assault rifles, body armor |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20150503-gunmen-open-fire-outside-muhammad-art-exhibit-at-garland-isd-facility-police-say.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003428/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20150503-gunmen-open-fire-outside-muhammad-art-exhibit-at-garland-isd-facility-police-say.ece |archive-date=5 May 2015 |access-date=6 January 2019 |work=dallasnews.com}}{{cite news |last1=Stack |first1=Liam |date=4 May 2015 |title=Gunmen Killed After Firing on Anti-Islamist Group's Event in Texas |website=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/us/gunmen-killed-after-firing-on-anti-islamist-groups-event.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125074236/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/us/gunmen-killed-after-firing-on-anti-islam-groups-event.html |archive-date=25 November 2023}}[https://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/03/us/mohammed-drawing-contest-shooting/ Muhammed drawing contest shooting] CNN 4 May 2015[http://nos.nl/artikel/2033820-schietpartij-bij-expositie-mohammed-cartoons-met-wilders.html Schietpartij bij expositie Mohammed cartoons met Wilders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120144536/https://nos.nl/artikel/2033820-schietpartij-bij-expositie-mohammed-cartoons-met-wilders.html|date=20 November 2018}} NOS 4 May 2015

Wilders, at the invitation of Tennessee state senator Bill Ketron, attended the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio in July 2016 where Donald Trump was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Republican Party, with Governor Mike Pence as running mate. He gave a speech at a party for gay Republicans ("LBGTrump").[https://www.ad.nl/dossier-nieuws/wilders-eregast-op-homofeestje-van-trump~a98880b4/ Wilders eregast op 'homofeestje' van Trump] Algemeen Dagblad, 20 July 2016. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220119205924/https://www.ad.nl/dossier-nieuws/wilders-eregast-op-homofeestje-van-trump~a98880b4/ Gearchiveerd].

In 2012, Wilders was invited by the Q Society of Australia to visit Australia. In August 2012 he applied for a visa to give two speeches in October 2012. His staff and police protection officers were granted visas within three days, but Wilders was not.Sheehan, Paul [http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-antimuslim-mp-not-allowed-to-visit-australia-20120919-2652c.html "The anti-Muslim MP not allowed to visit Australia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109110722/http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-antimuslim-mp-not-allowed-to-visit-australia-20120919-2652c.html|date=9 January 2013}}. The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 2012 Retrieved on 2 October 2012 On 2 October 2012 Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, while stating that Wilders' views were offensive, stated that he would not block the visa application. Bowen stated:

I have decided not to intervene to deny him a visa because I believe that our democracy is strong enough, our multiculturalism robust enough and our commitment to freedom of speech entrenched enough that our society can withstand the visit of a fringe commentator from the other side of the world.Nicholson, Brendan [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/critic-of-islam-geert-wilders-in-line-for-visit-visa/story-fn9hm1gu-1226486184327 "Critic of Islam Geert Wilders in line for visit visa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518192001/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/critic-of-islam-geert-wilders-in-line-for-visit-visa/story-fn9hm1gu-1226486184327|date=2013-05-18}}. The Australian October 2, 2012. Retrieved on October 2, 2012

On the same day, the Q Society put out a press release criticizing the delays in issuing a visa, saying that Chris Bowen's announcement was "too little, too late" and announcing that Wilders' visit would be pushed back to February 2013 as there were still no visa documents available.The Q Society [http://www.qsociety.org.au/GW_Media_Release_02OCT12.pdf "Geert Wilders Re–Schedules Visit To Australia"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116183920/http://www.qsociety.org.au/GW_Media_Release_02OCT12.pdf|date=16 November 2012}}. 2 October 2012 Retrieved on 3 October 2012

In March 2010, Wilders was told he is "not welcome" in the western German tourist resort of Monschau in the Eifel area, after he spent a weekend there, along with armed bodyguards. Mayor Margareta Ritter (CDU) said she was concerned that his presence tainted her town with the suspicion that it was sympathetic to his views. As a result, Monschau was said to have been unfairly connected with "extremism" in the European press.

Anyone who pollutes the integration debate in the Netherlands with poisonous right-wing populism as Wilders has, and advocates prohibition of the Koran by a comparison with Hitler's Mein Kampf, is not welcome in Monschau. I wanted to distinguish Monschau from that.

Ritter did not say whether Wilders was enjoying a short vacation in her town or had been meeting with like-minded people.{{cite web |author=Kölnische Rundschau |title=Wilders in der Eifel nicht willkommen |url=http://www.rundschau-online.de/html/artikel/1268322647614.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929232908/http://www.rundschau-online.de/html/artikel/1268322647614.shtml |archive-date=29 September 2011 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Rundschau-online.de}}{{cite web |date=15 March 2010 |title=Bürgermeisterin: Geert Wilders ist in Monschau unerwünscht |url=http://www.az-web.de/lokales/eifel-detail-az/1239513 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727011725/http://www.az-web.de/lokales/eifel-detail-az/1239513 |archive-date=27 July 2011 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Az-web.de}}{{cite web |title=Bürgermeisterin: Geert Wilders ist in Monschau unerwünscht |url=http://www.an-online.de/lokales/eifel-detail-an/1239513?_link=&skip=&_g=Buergermeisterin-Geert-Wilders-ist-in-Monschau-unerwuenscht.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718200724/http://www.an-online.de/lokales/eifel-detail-an/1239513?_link=&skip=&_g=Buergermeisterin-Geert-Wilders-ist-in-Monschau-unerwuenscht.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=An-online.de}} A demonstration to support Wilders was announced to take place in Berlin on 17 April.{{cite web |title=Demo for Geert Wilders on 17 April in Berlin |url=http://www.pi-news.org/2010/03/demo-for-geert-wilders-on-april-17-in-berlin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619011749/http://www.pi-news.org/2010/03/demo-for-geert-wilders-on-april-17-in-berlin/ |archive-date=19 June 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |publisher=Pi-news.org}}

The same year local Berlin politician for the CDU René Stadtkewitz was expelled from the CDU after he invited Wilders to Germany to hold a speech.{{cite book |last=Berntzen |first=Lars Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfa2DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22rene+stadtkewitz%22&pg=PT221 |title=Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |isbn=9781000707960 |page=221 |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227232402/https://books.google.com/books?id=jfa2DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22rene+stadtkewitz%22&pg=PT221 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |url-status=live}} In October 2010, Wilders supported the founding of Stadtkewitz's new German Freedom Party. In April 2015, Wilders held a speech for Pegida in Dresden.{{cite web |date=14 April 2015 |title=Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders rallies German Pegida protesters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11535255/Dutch-anti-Islam-MP-Geert-Wilders-rallies-German-Pegida-protesters.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126085441/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11535255/Dutch-anti-Islam-MP-Geert-Wilders-rallies-German-Pegida-protesters.html |archive-date=26 January 2016 |access-date=17 February 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}

;Ban on entering

Lord Pearson of Rannoch and Baroness Cox, members of the House of Lords (the upper chamber of the British Parliament), invited Wilders to a show of 12 February 2009 viewing of Fitna in the Palace of Westminster.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4603165/Dutch-MP-Geert-Wilders-deported-after-flying-to-Britain-to-show-anti-Islamic-film.html |title=Dutch MP Geert Wilders deported after flying to Britain to show anti-Islamic film |date=13 February 2009 |access-date=15 March 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |first1=Christopher |last1=Hope |first2=John |last2=Bingham |first3=Bruno |last3=Waterfield |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303155144/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4603165/Dutch-MP-Geert-Wilders-deported-after-flying-to-Britain-to-show-anti-Islamic-film.html |archive-date=3 March 2009 |url-status=dead }} Two days before the showing, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith banned Wilders from entering the United Kingdom, labeling him an "undesirable person".{{cite web |url=http://www.geertwilders.nl/images/images/letter-denying-geert-wilders-entry-into-uk.pdf |title=Home Office letter to Geert Wilders |date=10 February 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=1 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301185955/http://www.geertwilders.nl/images/images/letter-denying-geert-wilders-entry-into-uk.pdf |url-status=live }} Entry was denied under EU law, and reportedly supported under regulation 19 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, an EU law which allows a member state to refuse entry to individuals if they are regarded as constituting a threat to public policy, security or health.{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1003/regulation/19/made |title=The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515115545/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1003/regulation/19/made |archive-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=live }} A Home Office spokesperson elaborated that "The Government opposes extremism in all its forms ... and that was the driving force behind tighter rules on exclusions for unacceptable behaviour that the Home Secretary announced in October last year".{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/banned-from-britain-dutch-campaigner-against-islam-1606309.html |title=Banned from Britain, Dutch campaigner against Islam |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=11 February 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |first1=Ben |last1=Russell |first2=Vanessa |last2=Mock |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401161056/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/banned-from-britain-dutch-campaigner-against-islam-1606309.html |archive-date=1 April 2009 |url-status=live }}

Wilders defied the ban and took a British Midland Airways flight from Amsterdam to London Heathrow Airport on 12 February, accompanied by television crews. Upon arrival, he was quickly detained by UK Border Agency officials, and deported on one of the next flights to the Netherlands.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/how-the-flying-dutchman-was-stopped-in-his-tracks-1608211.html |title=How the flying Dutchman was stopped in his tracks |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=13 February 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402173030/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/how-the-flying-dutchman-was-stopped-in-his-tracks-1608211.html |archive-date=2 April 2009 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/4603165/Dutch-MP-Geert-Wilders-deported-after-flying-to-Britain-to-show-anti-Islamic-film.html|title=Dutch MP Geert Wilders deported after flying to Britain to show anti-Islamic film|author=Christopher Hope, John Bingham and Bruno Waterfield|date=12 February 2009|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010060712/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/4603165/Dutch-MP-Geert-Wilders-deported-after-flying-to-Britain-to-show-anti-Islamic-film.html|archive-date=10 October 2018|url-status=live}} He called Prime Minister Gordon Brown "the biggest coward in Europe" and remarked, "Of course I will come back".{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/europe/12iht-britain.4.20152350.html |title=Britain deports Dutch 'provocateur' |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=15 March 2009 |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |first=John F. |last=Burns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312202613/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/europe/12iht-britain.4.20152350.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 |url-status=live }} Wilders had visited the United Kingdom in December 2008 without any problem.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/12/far-right-dutch-mp-ban-islam|title=Far-right Dutch MP refused entry to UK|last=Siddique|first=Haroon|date=12 February 2009|access-date=15 March 2009|work=The Guardian|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906044434/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/12/far-right-dutch-mp-ban-islam|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}} In response to the ban, both Pearson and Cox accused the government of "appeasing" militant Islam.

The International Herald Tribune stated that the ban was broadly condemned in the British news media. The Dutch Foreign Secretary, Maxime Verhagen, called the decision "highly regrettable" and complained to his British counterpart.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7955598.stm |title=Dutch MP appeals against UK ban |date=20 March 2009 |access-date=20 March 2013 |last=Gosden |first=Emily |work=The Times |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323122628/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7955598.stm |archive-date=23 March 2009 |url-status=live }} Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende complained to Gordon Brown about the "disappointing" decision.{{cite news |url=http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/www-radionetherlands-nl_news_zijlijn_6176535_PM-lodges-prote.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6IZLy5GzS?url=http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/downloads/All_Files_by_Type/www-radionetherlands-nl_news_zijlijn_6176535_PM-lodges-prote.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2013 |title=PM lodges protest over UK's MP ban |date=13 February 2009 |access-date=15 March 2009 |publisher=Radio Netherlands Worldwide }} The Quilliam Foundation, a British think tank, criticised the ban,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/13/geert-wilders-extremists-liberty-central|title=Wilders' ban is in Britain's best interests|date=13 February 2009|access-date=15 March 2009|last=Ahmed|first=Nazir|author-link=Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed|work=The Guardian|location=UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906034345/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/13/geert-wilders-extremists-liberty-central|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}} as did National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson. The Muslim Labour peer Lord Ahmed expressed support for Smith's ban on Wilders entering the country; the Ramadhan Foundation and the Muslim Council of Britain also did so, the council labeling Wilders "an open and relentless preacher of hate".

;Ban overturn

After being declared persona non grata by Jacqui Smith, then the Home Secretary, in February 2009, Wilders appealed the decision to Britain's Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.{{cite news|url=http://itn.co.uk/news/8713facaa47e211808d2401e3f10f83a.html |title=Banned Dutch MP launches appeal |date=20 March 2009 |access-date=20 March 2009 |publisher=ITN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402040228/http://itn.co.uk/news/8713facaa47e211808d2401e3f10f83a.html |archive-date=2 April 2009 }} In October 2009, the tribunal overturned the ban.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wilders-hails-his-arrival-in-uk-as-victory-for-free-speech-1804347.html |title=Wilders hails his arrival in UK as victory for free speech |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=17 October 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |first=Michael |last=Savage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019121844/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wilders-hails-his-arrival-in-uk-as-victory-for-free-speech-1804347.html |archive-date=19 October 2009 |url-status=live }}[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4b2620842.pdf GW (EEA reg 21: 'fundamental interests')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401013756/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4b2620842.pdf |date=1 April 2017 }} Netherlands [2009] UKAIT 00050 (17 October 2009) Wilders subsequently praised the ruling as "a triumph for freedom of speech" and stated that he planned to visit the United Kingdom in the near future.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dutch-extremist-geert-wilders-wins-appeal-to-enter-britain-1802012.html |title=Dutch 'extremist' Geert Wilders wins appeal to enter Britain |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=13 October 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |first=Mark |last=Hughes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619111635/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dutch-extremist-geert-wilders-wins-appeal-to-enter-britain-1802012.html |archive-date=19 June 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/13/geert-wilders-wins-appeal-ban-uk|title=Geert Wilders wins appeal against ban on travelling to UK|access-date=7 January 2013|date=13 October 2009|work=The Guardian|location=UK|first=Alan|last=Travis|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908051310/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/13/geert-wilders-wins-appeal-ban-uk|archive-date=8 September 2013|url-status=live}}

The ruling was criticized by the British Home Office, which stated that an appeal of the tribunal's ruling is being considered. A spokesman stated:

The Government opposes extremism in all its forms. The decision to refuse Wilders admission was taken on the basis that his presence could have inflamed tensions between our communities and have led to inter-faith violence. We still maintain this view.

;Visits

On 16 October 2009, Wilders arrived in the United Kingdom and was quickly forced to move his press conference due to protests by about forty members of the organization Islam4UK, an organization that was later shut down under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 on 14 January 2010. Although the Home Office had asserted that his entry into the country would not be blocked, a spokesman said his "statements and behaviour during a visit will inevitably impact on any future decisions to admit him".{{cite news|title=Far-right Dutch MP arrives in UK|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8308982.stm|date=16 October 2009|access-date=16 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016100711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8308982.stm|archive-date=16 October 2009|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Wilders' world of protest and publicity|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8311059.stm|work=BBC News|first=Brian|last=Wheeler|date=16 October 2009|access-date=16 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019075937/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8311059.stm|archive-date=19 October 2009|url-status=live}} His visit to the UK met with protest,{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-protests-confront-dutch-farright-mp-1803855.html |title=UK protests confront Dutch far-right MP |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=16 October 2009 |access-date=18 June 2010 |first=Margaret |last=Davis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105191044/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-protests-confront-dutch-farright-mp-1803855.html |archive-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=live }} but Wilders called it "a victory" in a press conference. On his outspoken views on Islam, he said: "I have a problem with the Islamic ideology, the Islamic culture, because I feel that the more Islam that we get in our societies the less freedom we get." He opened the press conference with a quote from George Orwell's preface to Animal Farm: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don't want to hear". Lord Pearson, who had invited him, said his arrival was

a celebration of the victory of freedom of speech over those who would prevent it in this country, particularly the Islamists, the violent Jihadists who are on the march across the world and in the UK.

In January 2010, Wilders was invited again to show his anti-Quran movie Fitna in the British House of Lords by UK Independence Party (UKIP) Lord Pearson, and cross-bencher Baroness Cox. Wilders accepted the invitation and was present for a showing of the movie in the House of Lords on 5 March. In his speech he quoted ominous words from Winston Churchill's book The River War from 1899:

Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. No stronger retrograde force exists in the World. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step ... the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.{{cite web |url=http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/1305/Geert-Wilders-at-the-House-of-Lords.aspx |title=Geert Wilders at the House of Lords |publisher=Dianawest.net |date=5 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308121242/http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/1305/Geert-Wilders-at-the-House-of-Lords.aspx |archive-date=2010-03-08 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-rss-news/dutch-anti-islam-film-to-be-shown-in-london_21851.html |title=Dutch anti-Islam film to be shown in London |publisher=Expatica.com |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202153231/http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-rss-news/dutch-anti-islam-film-to-be-shown-in-london_21851.html |archive-date=2010-02-02 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Waterfield |first=Bruno |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7129742/Geert-Wilders-to-test-British-free-speech-with-anti-Muslim-film-screening.html |title=Geert Wilders to test British free speech with anti-Muslim film screening – Geert Wilders, the radical anti-Muslim Dutch politician, will seek to test free speech in Britain next month when he makes a second attempt to visit the House of Lords to screen a controversial film equating Islam to Nazism |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |date=2 February 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205204329/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7129742/Geert-Wilders-to-test-British-free-speech-with-anti-Muslim-film-screening.html |archive-date=2010-02-05 |url-status=live }}

At the ensuing press conferences, he called the Islamic prophet Muhammad a "barbarian, a mass murderer, and a pedophile" and referred to Islam as a "fascist ideology" that was "violent, dangerous, and retarded". Wilders also reportedly called Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan a "total freak".{{Cite news|last=van Teeffelen |first=Gert-Jan |title=Wilders schokt pers in Londen |newspaper=De Volkskrant |language=nl |date=5 March 2010 |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article1356206.ece/Wilders_schokt_pers_in_Londen |access-date=11 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308145213/http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article1356206.ece/Wilders_schokt_pers_in_Londen |archive-date=8 March 2010 }} Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende called these comments "irresponsible",{{cite web|author=Geplaatst door Dutch Politics |url=http://www.dutchpoliticalreport.com/2010/03/balkenende-speaks-out-against-wilders.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729131455/http://www.dutchpoliticalreport.com/2010/03/balkenende-speaks-out-against-wilders.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 July 2012 |title=Balkenende Speaks Out Against Wilders |publisher=Dutchpoliticalreport.com |date=20 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 }} and Maxime Verhagen, Dutch caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, publicly condemned Wilders's remarks and behaviour:

He incites discord among people in a distasteful manner. And in the meantime he damages the interests of the Dutch population and the reputation of the Netherlands in the world.{{cite news|title=Verhagen: Wilders beschadigt reputatie Nederland |newspaper=De Volkskrant |language=nl |date=10 March 2010 |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1357793.ece/Verhagen_Wilders_beschadigt_reputatie_Nederland |access-date=11 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312105819/http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1357793.ece/Verhagen_Wilders_beschadigt_reputatie_Nederland |archive-date=12 March 2010 }}{{cite web |url=http://islamonline.com/news/articles/2/Wilders-damages-Holland-FM.html |title=Wilders Damages Holland: FM |publisher=Islamonline.com |access-date=17 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722131036/http://islamonline.com/news/articles/2/Wilders-damages-Holland-FM.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_is_damaging_holland_mi.php |title=Wilders is damaging Holland: minister |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=11 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314045815/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_is_damaging_holland_mi.php |archive-date=2010-03-14 |url-status=live }}

Bernard Wientjes, the president of the Dutch employers' organization Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), also accused Wilders of "seriously" damaging Dutch interests abroad. He called it outrageous that Wilders had presented himself in London as "the next Dutch prime minister" and then derided Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan. Emphasizing that three-quarters of the Dutch GDP comes from revenue earned abroad, according to Wientjes, Wilders poses "a serious threat to the Netherlands and the Dutch economy".{{cite web |url=http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/employers-wilders-damages-dutch-interests |title=Employers: Wilders damages Dutch interests |publisher=Rnw.nl |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322213519/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/employers-wilders-damages-dutch-interests |archive-date=22 March 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_is_bad_for_the_netherl.php |title=Wilders is bad for the Netherlands: employers |publisher=Dutchnews.nl |date=13 March 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317151442/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/03/wilders_is_bad_for_the_netherl.php |archive-date=17 March 2010 |url-status=live }}

In the Netherlands, Wilders and his movement have been discussed in historical and psychological perspectives.

Dutch philosopher {{ill|Rob Riemen|nl}} characterised Wilders and his movement in 2010 as "the prototype of contemporary fascism" after having defined fascism itself as "the politisation of the resentment of the man in the crowd", in line with previous definitions by Menno ter Braak, Albert Camus and Thomas Mann.Rob Riemen: De eeuwige terugkeer van het fascisme, Atlas, Amsterdam, 2010. In Dutch.

Historian Robin te Slaa of NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies disagreed and concluded in 2012 that Wilders is no fascist in the historical sense. Wilders and his party do not formally subscribe to classical fascist tenets such as biological racism, social darwinism, an autocratic state, rejection of democracy and of individualism, a cult of autocratic one-man leadership and a Third Way economic policy, in between capitalism and Marxism. Instead, Wilders is seen as a libertarian proponent of laissez-faire economic policy, personal autonomy, women's equality and the emancipation of homosexual people.Robin te Slaa (2012): Is Wilders een fascist?, Boom, {{ISBN|978-94-6105-207-0}}, 175 pages. Conclusion on pages 143–146. In Dutch. However, te Slaa noted the extreme right-wing populism, the proposed discrimination of Muslims, the Islamophobia and the rejection of the legal state by Wilders. He cited Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte's characterisation of Wilders as a "political pyromaniac" because of the absence of practical solutions in Wilders' disputed Islamophobic proposals.

{{Incomplete list|date=December 2023}}

• Oriana Fallaci Free Speech Award in 2009{{cite web |url=http://www.euro-islam.info/2009/02/20/geert-wilders-shows-%E2%80%98fitna%E2%80%99-film-in-rome-receives-oriana-fallaci-free-speech-award/ |title=Geert Wilders shows 'Fitna' film in Rome, receives Oriana Fallaci free speech award |work=Euro-Islam.info |date=20 February 2009 |access-date=17 February 2016 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112102450/http://www.euro-islam.info/2009/02/20/geert-wilders-shows-%E2%80%98fitna%E2%80%99-film-in-rome-receives-oriana-fallaci-free-speech-award/ |url-status=live |author1=Researcher }}
• Nominated for Sakharov Prize in 2010{{cite web |url=https://www.rnw.org/archive/wilders-nominated-free-speech-prize |title=Wilders nominated for free speech prize |work=rnw.org |access-date=17 February 2016 |archive-date=25 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225021019/https://www.rnw.org/archive/wilders-nominated-free-speech-prize |url-status=dead }}
• Dutch Politician of the Year 2010{{cite web |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/12/wilders_wins_tv_shows_politici/ |title=Wilders wins tv show's politician of the year award |work=DutchNews.nl |date=14 December 2010 |access-date=15 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222160639/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/12/wilders_wins_tv_shows_politici/ |url-status=live }}
• Dutch Politician of the Year 2013{{cite news |url=http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/12/16/wilders-door-publiek-verkozen-tot-politicus-van-het-jaar |title=Wilders door publiek verkozen tot politicus van het jaar |work=nrc.nl (in Dutch) |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=15 December 2015 |last1=Boon |first1=Lex |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222091509/http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/12/16/wilders-door-publiek-verkozen-tot-politicus-van-het-jaar |url-status=live }}
• Dutch Politician of the Year 2015{{cite web |url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/12/15/geert-wilders-voted-netherlands-politician-of-the-year/ |title=Geert Wilders voted Netherlands Politician of the Year |work=The Netherlands Times |date=15 December 2015 |access-date=15 December 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Dutch Politician of the Year 2016{{cite web |url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2016/Dec-19/386000-geert-wilders-named-dutch-politician-of-the-year.ashx |title=Geert Wilders named Dutch politician of the year |work=dailystar.com |date=19 December 2016 |access-date=22 December 2016 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221073656/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2016/Dec-19/386000-geert-wilders-named-dutch-politician-of-the-year.ashx |url-status=live }}
• Dutch Politician of the Year 2024 (along with Henri Bontenbal){{Cite news |url = https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/12/20/bontenbal-cda-naast-wilders-pvv-in-verkiezing-tot-politicus-van-het-jaar-a4877345 |url-access = subscription |date = 20 December 2024 |last = Van den Dungen |first = Lotje |access-date = 20 December 2024 |language = nl |website = NRC |title = Bontenbal (CDA) naast Wilders (PVV) in verkiezing tot politicus van het jaar |trans-title = Bontenbal (CDA) along with wilders (PVV) chosen as politician of the year in election }}
• The Hungarian Order of Merit in 2022{{cite web | url=https://hungarytoday.hu/geert-wilders-awarded-hungarian-order-of-merit/ | title=Geert Wilders Awarded Hungarian Order of Merit | date=24 August 2022 | access-date=15 September 2022 | archive-date=15 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915134544/https://hungarytoday.hu/geert-wilders-awarded-hungarian-order-of-merit/ | url-status=live }}

In Dutch

• (2005) Kies voor vrijheid: een eerlijk antwoord. Groep Wilders. (Translated title: Choose freedom: an honest answer), {{OCLC|66505104}}
• (2010) Dossier Wilders, Uitspraken van de meest besproken Nederlandse politicus van deze eeuw. House of knowledge. (Translated title: The Wilders file, Statements by the most discussed Dutch politician of this century), {{ISBN|978-90-8510-920-4}}, {{OCLC|642690188}}

In English

• (2012) Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me. Washington DC, Regnery. {{ISBN|978-1-59698-796-8}}, {{OCLC|787506734}}

• Criticism of multiculturalism
• Multiculturalism in the Netherlands
• Philosemitism
• Bibliography of books critical of Islam

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book|title=Geert Wilders: De wreker|trans-title=Geert Wilders: The avenger|first1=Meindert|last1=Fennema|authorlink1=Meindert Fennema|isbn=978-90-446-5619-0|first2=Geerten|last2=Waling|place=Amsterdam|language=nl|publisher=Prometheus|year=2023}}

{{Sister project links|s=no|v=no|b=no|wikt=no}}

• {{Official website|https://geertwilders.nl}}
• [https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/members_of_parliament/members_of_parliament/wilders-g-pvv House of Representatives biography]
• [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/bio/02258 Parlement.com biography] {{in lang|nl}}

{{Geert Wilders}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2006–2010}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2010–2012}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2012–2017}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2017–2021}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2021–2023}}

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2023–present}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilders, Geert}}

Category:1963 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century Dutch politicians

Category:21st-century Dutch politicians

Category:Anti-immigration activists

Category:Commander's Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil)

Category:Counter-jihad activists

Category:Critics of Islamism

Category:Critics of multiculturalism

Category:Dutch activists

Category:Dutch agnostics

Category:Dutch anti-communists

Category:Dutch critics of Islam

Category:Dutch documentary film directors

Category:Dutch documentary film producers

Category:Dutch documentary filmmakers

Category:Dutch former Christians

Category:Dutch male screenwriters

Category:Dutch MPs 2006–2010

Category:Dutch MPs 2010–2012

Category:Dutch MPs 2012–2017

Category:Dutch MPs 2017–2021

Category:Dutch MPs 2021–2023

Category:Dutch MPs 2023–

Category:Dutch nationalists

Category:Dutch people of Indonesian descent

Category:Dutch political party founders

Category:Dutch political writers

Category:Dutch politicians convicted of crimes

Category:Dutch screenwriters

Category:Dutch Zionists

Category:Far-right politics in the Netherlands

Category:Former Roman Catholics

Category:Free speech activists

Category:Indo people

Category:Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands

Category:Members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Category:Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Category:Municipal councillors of The Hague

Category:Municipal councillors of Utrecht (city)

Category:Open University (Netherlands) alumni

Category:Party chairs of the Netherlands

Category:Party for Freedom politicians

Category:People acquitted of crimes

Category:People convicted of speech crimes

Category:Politicians from Venlo

Category:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians

Category:Right-wing populism in the Netherlands

Category:Right-wing populists

Category:Royal Netherlands Army personnel

Category:Party for Freedom MPs