PVV's electoral plan: freezing asylum, reducing energy costs, and withdrawing from climate agreements
Geert Wilders has placed the "complete freeze on asylum" at the core of his PVV party's electoral program. The 40-page program, featuring an AI-generated image of Wilders, reintroduces the ten-point plan on asylum that contributed to the government's collapse earlier this year. In a promotional video, Wilders declared that "no one at all" should be allowed to enter the Netherlands to seek asylum, describing refugees as "fortune seekers" coming for homes, aid, and women.
Wilders blames the collapse of the government on his former coalition partners – NSC, VVD, and BBB – for their refusal to fully adopt the PVV's asylum plan. Polls show a slight decline in the party's support since then, to about 18.5%, but it is still strong enough to remain the largest party with estimates ranging between 28 and 32 seats. However, major rival parties like CDA, GroenLinks-PvdA, and VVD have ruled out entering a coalition with him.
The PVV program extends beyond the asylum issue. The party pledges to revoke the asylum status of 70,000 Syrian refugees and return them to Syria or to "another Arab country." It also commits to ending the housing priority granted to refugees, abolishing the "distribution law" that requires municipalities to host them, and closing government reception facilities. Wilders wants to end all forms of support for Ukraine, repatriate Ukrainian men of military service age, and stop the Netherlands' funding for Kyiv's war efforts.
Internally, the PVV program aims to reduce the cost of living. Wilders proposes lowering the VAT on energy from 21% to 9%, abolishing the tax on food, and reducing social housing rents by 10%. Additionally, the extra health insurance fee of €385 will be abolished, and dental services will be included in basic insurance. These policies will be funded by cutting international aid and demanding a rebate on the Netherlands' contributions to the European Union.
In the field of housing and the environment, Wilders seeks to reduce regulatory laws, allow more construction on agricultural land, and decrease natural protection areas. He also rejects European climate policies, pledging to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, abolish the energy transition fund, and start exploring for oil and gas in the North Sea. He also calls for the closure of the public broadcasting organization NPO and the conversion of its headquarters in Hilversum into a residential neighborhood.
The program also proposes wide-ranging political reforms. Wilders wants to abolish the Senate, reduce the salaries of politicians and members of the royal family by 25%, and introduce binding referendums and elected mayors. Culturally, the party seeks to abolish the constitutional rights of Islamic schools, ban what it calls "gender propaganda", abolish gender-neutral passports, and enshrine the principle of "two biological sexes" in law. The program also calls for a retraction of the official apology that the Netherlands made for its history in colonial slave trade.
With a mix of strict measures against asylum, promises to reduce living costs, and a blatant challenge to EU policies and climate, the PVV program paves the way for a divisive election in October.