Dutch
far-right PVV falls apart, seven MPs form new party
January
20, 2026
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/01/dutch-far-right-pvv-hit-by-dissent-seven-mps-form-new-party/
Seven MPs
from the far-right PVV have left the party in a dispute over strategy with its
leader, founder and only member, Geert Wilders.
The
group, led by long-serving MP Gidi Markuszower, criticised Wilders’ handling of
the election campaign, when the PVV lost 11 seats, as well as his failure to
create any kind of membership structure since founding the party in 2006.
Wilders
claimed that the seven MPs had given him an ultimatum to step down as leader by
July in favour of Markuszower, otherwise they would quit the party. “It wasn’t
a coup, but an attempt at one,” he said.
Markuszower
said he and his fellow dissenters had been left with no choice after Wilders
refused to discuss a four-point plan on the party’s future, including a
membership system and better co-operation with other parties to deliver results
for voters.
“If
that’s not possible under this chairman, maybe it’s time to appoint a different
referee temporarily,” he said.
The split
leaves Wilders’ party as the fourth largest faction in the Dutch parliament
with 19 MPs, behind the coalition parties D66 (26) and VVD (22) as well as the
left-wing alliance GroenLinks-PvdA (20).
Campaign
failure
In a
letter obtained by the Telegraaf newspaper, the breakaway MPs blamed Wilders
for the election defeat, saying “the campaign came to a halt because the leader
could not be bothered any more”.
Wilders
himself triggered the election when he pulled his party, which had 37 seats in
parliament, out of the last right-wing coalition in July because the other
parties would not sign a commitment to speed up the introduction of stricter
asylum rules.
But at
the election in October the PVV lost 11 seats and was narrowly beaten by its
nemesis, the progressive liberal D66.
The
dissenters called for an immediate change of tack including a less hostile
attitude to the incoming minority coalition of D66, VVD and CDA.
“Spreading
insulting images on X about Islam is okay, but ultimately does not solve any of
the electorate’s problems,” the document said. That, the dissidents say, is
threatening the party’s continuity.
The PVV’s
popularity has declined again since then, with one opinion poll at the weekend
suggesting the party would win just 17 seats if there were an election
tomorrow. The rival parties on the far right, Forum voor Democratie and JA21,
have risen to 14 and 11 seats respectively.
However,
both parties immediately said they would not admit Wilders’ former colleagues.
FVD leader Lidewij de Vos said she would “continue with the party group we have
now”, while JA21’s Joost Eerdmans said: “We are very happy with our nine
seats.”
“Black
day”
Wilders
described the decision as a “black day” for the PVV. “I am going to be leader
for a long time to come,” he told reporters. “This is a setback, but I have
every confidence that we will rise above it.”
The PVV,
he said, was committed to being a loud voice in opposition rather than working
with the new government.
The seven
dissidents will continue as a separate parliamentary party under the leadership
of Markuszower, an MP since 2017 and a former confidant of Wilders. He told
reporters the new party would be prepared to work with the minority cabinet.
The group
includes four of the top seven MPs on the party’s October list, including four
new parliamentarians.
D66, the
biggest party in the incoming coalition, is currently working on draft
legislation that would require all political parties to have formal membership
systems.
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