Dutch Elections : Rutte Mark claims victory over Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party

The center-right Prime Minister Mark Rutte gained 32 seats in yesterday’s parliamentary elections. The Dutch VVD leader’s victory offered a huge relief to Muslims resident in the Netherlands whilst the far-right candidate Geert wilders contented himself with 19 seats only.

Founder and leader of the Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, was known for his anti-Muslim opinions and the criticism his campaign held against Moroccans and immigrants. Chasing Moroccans and calling some of them “Scum”, Wilders lead a very harsh discourse during the election race in the Netherlands.   

In an attempt to understand how Moroccans view the Netherlands elections, Yabiladi.com contacted Ahmed Larouz a Moroccan-Dutch entrepreneur who has declared :

However, the Dutch election results have been a relief for the European countries, particularly France and Germany, where a right-wing nationalists hope to win the elections this year caused an existential threat to the EU.

Rutte who is a safe choice for immigrants in the Netherlands stated in CNBC article that «it is also an evening in which the Netherland, after Brexit, after the American elections, said ‘stop’ to the wrong kind of populism». Speaking of bad Populism, Wilders- Rutte’s populist rival- said that he had not achieved the victory he had hoped for but «…we are not a party that has lost. We gained seats. That’s a result to be proud of.»