Geert Wilders has sent shockwaves across the Netherlands – but rivals will try to squeeze him from power
The new era began in a meeting room that was too small to cope with the crowd.
At one end, a crush of journalists – cameras bashing into each other, reporters craning for a sight. And at the other – the man who has just shaken Dutch politics to its core.
Geert Wilders walked in to be greeted by the cheers of his colleagues. The room was allocated to his party when they only had 17 MPs; now they have more than double that. Little wonder the room was squashed.
They toasted their success with champagne, and all raised a glass to the health of the Netherlands. During his campaign, Wilders said he would always put his country first. It isn’t quite “Make the Netherlands Great Again” but it’s not far off.
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Dutch far-right leader celebrates result
Wilders has been in the public eye for decades now, but he’s never had a result like this. Not just the electoral victory that he craved, but a yawning margin over his rivals – 50% more seats than any other party. As his colleagues applauded, so he beamed.
Age has changed him – the shock of peroxide blond hair is now grey – but he still exudes confidence. Even his opponents admit, at least in private, that Wilders is a gifted orator.
We were at the far end of the room, jostling for space. A cameraman stood on a table next to me, which creaked under his weight. Questions had to be bellowed.
People talked over each other, MPs smiled at each other. For some this was their first day in a new job, and the adrenaline was flowing.
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So, I shout, what is the thing you would now like to achieve?
“One of the most important things we would like to do is, of course, to limit the influx of asylum and migration,” Wilders replies.
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Sky’s Adam Parsons asked Wilders what he wanted to change about the Netherlands
“That is one of the main themes that our campaign has tackled. That was certainly not the only theme, also about what it means for our welfare.
“Having more money in people’s pockets, receiving affordable and decent care, including care for the elderly. Having more safety on all those points on which we have campaigned is important to us. It is important for the Netherlands and we will remain grateful for a long time to come.”
We talked to Barry Madlener, who was first elected to parliament back in 2006 and now expresses a sense of shocked delight at the size of the victory.
“People came to us – they could see what a mess the country had got into. We understand the important things, like the cost of living and migration.
“I’m so happy for Geert,” he said, “because he has given so much for this. And you know, his life is not easy.”
Wilders’ unapologetic populism, as well as his life-long campaign against the influence of Islam, have led to him needing round-the-clock police protection.
It’s also meant that, for election after election, he was kept out of power. Mark Rutte, the previous prime minister, made it an article of faith that he wouldn’t do a deal with Wilders.
So what changed? In the Rotterdam district of Charlois, there is litter billowing around on the streets, blown by an icy wind. It’s the sort of weather where people walk around with heads down.
Here, we found lots of people who felt they’d been forgotten by politicians. Plenty told us they didn’t bother voting, “because nothing changes”. Those who did vote tended to go for Wilders.
Charlois in Rotterdam
‘Legitimacy’
Brian Held was walking his two young children. His brother has nowhere to live, and Brian is struggling with the cost of living. “Immigration is a big problem, because we don’t have enough houses and it’s just getting worse,” he told me.
Dutch voter Brian Held
Dr Linda Bos, an associate professor at the University of Amsterdam, thinks that by flagging up the mere prospect of a coalition, Rutte’s successor as head of the VVD, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, gave him the legitimacy Wilders had long lacked.
Dr Linda Bos
“They made him a serious partner – a serious option – and he played the part very well,” she said. “He’s calm, he’s charismatic and he’s very good in debates. He’s our best debater in general.”
But for all the rhetorical skill and for all the glow of victory, Wilders still faces a struggle to turn electoral success into actual power. He will need to form a coalition to take control, and that won’t be easy.
Both of his potential partners – the VVD and the newly-formed NSC party – will be very reluctant to work under him. And rivals from the left will be suggesting their own versions of a coalition, trying to squeeze Wilders out of power even though he has the highest number of seats.
The negotiations are likely to be protracted and difficult. But, for the moment at least, the Netherlands still reverberates to a political shock. After decades in the margins, Wilders has seized the brightest part of the limelight.
World
Bodies of two more Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas – but uncertainty over missing remains
The bodies of two more Israeli hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas – but uncertainty still hangs over the fate of the missing remains of others.
Under the ceasefire agreement, all remaining 48 hostages, dead and alive, were supposed to be returned by this Monday.
So far, only the 20 living hostages have been returned, as well as seven dead hostages, according to Israel’s count, with two further bodies still being verified.
Just hours after today’s handover, the Israeli military said a tenth body previously turned over was not that of a hostage – and the confusion added to tensions over the fragile truce that has paused the two-year war.
What has Hamas said?
Hamas has previously said recovering the remaining bodies could take time, as not all burial sites are known.
Its armed wing put out a statement on Wednesday, saying it has returned all the bodies it could reasonably recover, but would require special equipment to hand over the remaining ones.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry said it received 45 more bodies of Palestinians from Israel, another step in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Red Cross vehicles escort a truck transporting the bodies of Palestinian hostages. Pic: Reuters.
That brings to 90 the total number of bodies returned to Gaza for burial. The forensics team examining the remains claimed they showed signs of mistreatment.
Trump issues warning
The return of all the hostages is a key pillar of the deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas, heralded by US President Donald Trump as having brought “peace in the Middle East”.
Israel – which has freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the peace deal – had already threatened to keep the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed on Wednesday, and limit aid entering Gaza, due to Hamas not returning all of the dead.
And in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mr Trump warned that Israel could resume the war if he feels Hamas is not upholding its end of the agreement.
“Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word,” he said.
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Trump: ‘If Hamas doesn’t disarm, we will disarm them’
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Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 – in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage – the two sides have been at war.
Nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s subsequent offensive, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza.
The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts – though the ministry does not say how many of those killed are combatants.
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Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons explains why tensions may begin to bubble
Similar incident in previous ceasefire
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel.
During a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, but testing in February 2025 showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman. Ms Bibas’ body was returned a day later.
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem accused Israel of violating the deal with shootings on Tuesday in eastern Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military is operating along the deployment lines troops withdrew to under the deal, and he warned that anyone approaching the lines will be targeted, as happened on Tuesday with several militants.
Aid trickling in
The World Food Programme said its trucks began arriving in Gaza after the entrance of humanitarian aid was paused for two days due to the exchange on Monday and a Jewish holiday on Tuesday.
The timing of the scaled-up deliveries – which are also part of the ceasefire deal – had been called into question after Israel said on Tuesday that it would cut the number of trucks allowed into Gaza, saying Hamas was too slow to return the hostages’ bodies.
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel enter Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
Abeer Etefa, spokesperson for the World Food Programme, lauded the trucks’ passage but said the situation remained unpredictable.
“We’re hopeful that access will improve in the coming days,” she said.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for Gaza on Wednesday.
Fifteen UK charities have launched a fresh appeal for donations to Gaza to address “catastrophic levels of need” in the devastated region.
The charities make up the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which has been raising millions for Gaza – where tens of thousands have been killed over the past two years of war – and the wider Middle East.
After the initial stage of a much-sought ceasefire deal aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza was agreed on by Israel and Hamas, aid has begun to trickle into the devastated region again.
According to the DEC, its charities and local partners have been scaling up their work in the Gaza Strip since the agreement took effect last week.
Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It said lorries carrying food and other aid began to enter Gaza on Sunday, with the British Red Cross and Plan International UK among those confirming supplies had made it in.
After raising more than £50m since the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal was launched last October, the DEC is renewing calls for donations, saying £10 could provide blankets for two people, while £50 could provide emergency food for five families for one week.
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As goods are returning to Gaza’s markets, the DEC said, they are increasing cash assistance to help people buy essentials as they become more affordable.
They’re also distributing clean water, medicine, food, and nutrition support.
On its website, the DEC pointed to how famine was declared in Gaza City in August as it appealed for funds saying: “Your support can save lives.”
You can donate to the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal at dec.org.uk.
Donald Trump has refused to say if the CIA has the authority to assassinate Venezuela’s president, after approving covert operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
The classified decision, first revealed by The New York Times, marks a significant escalation in efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro‘s regime.
Mr Trump said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela, much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.
When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.
“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.
He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro.
The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest, accusing him of connections to drug trafficking and criminal organisations – claims he denies.
President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
US targets ‘drug boats’
Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.
On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.
According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.
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Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.
War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.
The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.
Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.
There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
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