BRUSSELS: The Netherlands on Thursday kicked off a marathon four-day European Union election, in an early test of predictions the far right is headed for big gains in the bloc’s parliament.Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) is riding high and projected to claim up to nine European Parliament seats — after failing to win any five years ago.

“We want less immigration, we want to toughen up asylum rules and policies,” Wilders, whose party is in a Dutch coalition government after a surprise election win last year, said after voting. His call has resonated with voters like Simone Nieuwenhuys, a 48-year-old government worker.

“I want the EU to change,” she said after casting her ballot for the PVV. “I think we’re too open. We should be more critical as to who we let in because it costs a lot of money.” Surveys suggesting the far right could grab a quarter of the EU parliament’s 720 seats have rattled its main groupings, the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) and the leftist Socialists and Democrats. Current European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term, has opened the door to her EPP working with the far right to ensure legislation is passed.

Von der Leyen, a polyglot former German defence minister, has been courting Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, who heads the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party.

EU leaders, including Meloni, will decide after the elections who should helm the commission. Their choice needs the backing of a simple majority in the European Parliament.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2024