ABSTRACT
The PVV’s ideology and behaviour in parliament caused a considerable stir. Nevertheless, political scientists and parliamentary historians will note that the party is not entirely unique in this respect. The combination of anti-Islamic alarmism, nationalism, populism and a focus on law and order are features we also find to a greater or lesser extent in the programmes of parties such as the DFP, the FPÖ, the Front National and also in other Dutch parties such as the LPF. Neither is provocative parliamentary behaviour, colourful language or intensive use of parliamentary powers exceptional. The PVV copied the socialist-populist SP to a large extent, while in the more distant past communists, anarchists and fascists often succeeded in causing uproar. In one area, however, the PVV is unique, namely, in its organisation. As far as I am aware, the PVV is the only party in the world formally based on a single-member organisation. Strictly speaking, none of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, delegates, MEPs or members of municipal councils who have represented the PVV are members of the party. That privilege is reserved for just one person, Geert Wilders. Anyone wanting to study the PVV party structure therefore has an easy job. In formal organisational terms, the PVV is nothing more than the Wilders Group Association, founded on 30 March 2005 by Geert Wilders and the Wilders Group Foundation, which was established on 20 November 2004 to acquire funds, again with Wilders as its sole member. The two official founders of the association, Geert Wilders and the Wilders Group Foundation, immediately decided to halt recruitment of new members, leaving the PVV with just one member, legally speaking. Of course that is not particularly satisfactory. In organisational terms, the PVV is more than just a legal casing for ‘Mr G. Wilders’ views on politics and society’. The party has 17 different parliamentary groups, each with its own internal organisation, and has participated in nine election campaigns. Candidates have been selected and trained for this purpose, funds acquired, advertisements placed on the radio and television, posters put up, flyers distributed, meetings convened; all activities requiring organisation and staff. In other words, a great many people have contributed their efforts to the party, from poster distributors to MPs and from press officer to number 20 on a provincial candidate
list. How many people are there and how are they organised? What does the internal hierarchy look like and what are the channels of internal communication? How are all the activities paid for? It is as difficult to obtain an answer to these questions as it was easy to gain an overview of the formal structure of the PVV. Unlike most parties, after all, the PVV has no public party conferences, no departments organising meetings, no party newspaper with information on the organisation, no think tank publishing working papers, and no youth organisation supplying fresh blood. The party also systematically refuses to assist with investigations or interviews into its internal operations. Emails from journalists, students and scientists wanting to study the party almost always remain unanswered; the party rarely takes part in surveys or political conferences. The extremely closed character of the PVV means that speculation as to the internal balance of power resembles the work of Kremlin watchers during the Cold War. Outsiders attempt to form a picture of what goes on in this secretive stronghold based on a few snippets of information, often supplied by dissidents, and a great deal of circumstantial evidence. This chapter aims to offer some insight. How does the PVV finance its campaigns? How many people work for the PVV and what are their backgrounds? How are the candidates selected and trained? What is the internal pecking order? The main sources are media statements by various PVV members, interviews with members who have left the party, and journalists’ reports. I have also investigated various candidates online using search engines such as Google, Yahoo and LexisNexis to obtain more details on their political and professional backgrounds.
