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| Geert Wilders hit by two more defections as he unveils election manifesto | Geert Wilders hit by two more defections as he unveils election manifesto |
| (4 months later) | |
| The election campaign of Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Muslim populist, got off to a bad start on Tuesday when two of his parliamentary deputies resigned just as he was launching his manifesto. | The election campaign of Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Muslim populist, got off to a bad start on Tuesday when two of his parliamentary deputies resigned just as he was launching his manifesto. |
| Wilders, who runs his Freedom party as a one-man show while under 24-hour police protection because of threats on his life, was caught unawares by the two defections as he embarked on the campaign for elections in September by focusing on his central demand to pull the Netherlands out of the European Union. | Wilders, who runs his Freedom party as a one-man show while under 24-hour police protection because of threats on his life, was caught unawares by the two defections as he embarked on the campaign for elections in September by focusing on his central demand to pull the Netherlands out of the European Union. |
| The deputies who quit, Marcial Hernandez and Wim Kortenoeven, likened Wilders to a North Korean-style leader, said it was impossible for any of his 23 parliamentary deputies to get in touch with him, accused him of being cut off from reality, and added that he brooked no discussion within the party. | The deputies who quit, Marcial Hernandez and Wim Kortenoeven, likened Wilders to a North Korean-style leader, said it was impossible for any of his 23 parliamentary deputies to get in touch with him, accused him of being cut off from reality, and added that he brooked no discussion within the party. |
| Another Freedom party MP, Hero Brinkman, resigned in March, saying he could no longer accept the lack of democracy within the organisation. | Another Freedom party MP, Hero Brinkman, resigned in March, saying he could no longer accept the lack of democracy within the organisation. |
| The iconoclastic Wilders has soared in popularity in recent years as one of the cheerleaders of the European populist far right, winning support for his incendiary brand of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam rhetoric and strong anti-immigration policies. | The iconoclastic Wilders has soared in popularity in recent years as one of the cheerleaders of the European populist far right, winning support for his incendiary brand of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam rhetoric and strong anti-immigration policies. |
| The centre-right minority government of Mark Rutte depended on tacit parliamentary support from Wilders to stay in power. Wilders triggered the September elections earlier this year by refusing to support a new round of swingeing spending cuts. | The centre-right minority government of Mark Rutte depended on tacit parliamentary support from Wilders to stay in power. Wilders triggered the September elections earlier this year by refusing to support a new round of swingeing spending cuts. |
| Since then he has sought to take advantage of the euro crisis by campaigning for the first time on a strong anti-Europe platform. The Freedom party is in third place in the opinion polls, behind Rutte's liberals. But leading for the first time is the hard-left Socialist party, which is also anti-EU. | Since then he has sought to take advantage of the euro crisis by campaigning for the first time on a strong anti-Europe platform. The Freedom party is in third place in the opinion polls, behind Rutte's liberals. But leading for the first time is the hard-left Socialist party, which is also anti-EU. |
| If the opinion polls were borne out in a general election, the result would represent a political earthquake for the Netherlands, with strong anti-EU parties taking more than a third of the seats. | If the opinion polls were borne out in a general election, the result would represent a political earthquake for the Netherlands, with strong anti-EU parties taking more than a third of the seats. |
| While the defections may embarrass Wilders in the short term, it is not clear whether they will have any real impact on the election outcome or on Wilders's prospects. | While the defections may embarrass Wilders in the short term, it is not clear whether they will have any real impact on the election outcome or on Wilders's prospects. |
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