ABSTRACT
The Dutch general elections of 12 September 2012 saw two main winners: the
Liberal and the Labour parties. Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) was quickly
identified as the biggest loser. During his campaign in this last election, Wilders
had prioritized anti-Europeanism over anti-immigration. Compounded by internal
discord within his party’s ranks, this resulted in a loss of 9 seats in the Lower
House, leaving him with a rather insignificant 15 seats (out of 150) in the new
political constellation. The winners quickly went on to sideline his party. During
his visit to Ankara in early November 2012, Prime Minister Mark Rutte told his
Turkish interlocutors to ‘‘forget about Wilders’’.1 According to the new coalition,
the chapter of experimenting with populism in Dutch politics, has been closed.
