In the Netherlands’ parliamentary elections, the ultra-right Freedom Party PVV is victorious. It won 37 of the 150 seats in the lower house of the Dutch parliament, far more than any other party.
The leader of the Dutch extreme right, Geert Wilders, who ran for office with anti-Islam, anti-immigration, and anti-European rhetoric in the past, praised the Russian dictator, and supported the termination of military aid to Ukraine. The party’s official website says the PVV will not send Ukraine money or the promised F-16 fighter jets.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Netherlands has provided Ukraine with almost €2.5B in military aid and €1B in financial assistance. Rutte’s government promised another €2B in military aid to Ukraine for the next year and the transfer of 42 F-16 aircraft.
Wilders’ victory casts doubt on that. One of the points of the Freedom Party’s program is to ban the supply of weapons abroad, including to Ukraine. Wilders also opposes Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the EU.