Can populists survive in public office? Ask Geert Wilders…
Right-wing firebrand Geert Wilders has withdrawn from government in the Netherlands after discovering that governing is harder than criticising from the fringes. It’s a lesson Nigel Farage may learn too, say Eliot Wilson
Last week, greeted by more weary fatalism than surprise, the government of the Netherlands collapsed. On Tuesday, radical nationalist Geert Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid) from the four-party coalition of which it had been the largest partner. He wanted to freeze asylum migration completely, send Syrian refugees back to their home country and stop construction of asylum centres, but the other parties refused their support. A last-ditch crisis meeting lasted for a minute, then the PVV was gone. The prime minister, former spy chief Dick Schoof, offered his resignation to the King, and there is likely to be another general election.
The Dutch government had always looked fragile. The PVV had exceeded expectations by winning most seats in the November 2023 election, but other groups were wary of entering a coalition with Wilders’ party and it took six months to agree a combination under Schoof as an independent. It has lasted just short of a year.
At the same time as the Dutch government was fragmenting, another populist movement, Reform UK, has been getting to grips with power for the first time after May’s local elections. Nigel Farage’s party now controls 10 councils and saw two mayors of combined authorities elected, having previously mustered only 128 councillors nationwide and no executive control anywhere. Politically, it was a triumphant result, and a stinging rebuke to the Labour government and to the Conservatives.
Reform UK faces a steep learning curve and it has sometimes shown. There has been a small but persistent stream of newly elected councillors resigning when faced with the reality of life in local government; vetting of candidates remains inadequate and several newcomers have revealed embarrassing, inappropriate or toxic track records.
Lessons from Musk
Several Reform councils plan to create audit departments modelled on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which Elon Musk led in Washington until recently, intended to bear down heavily on wasteful spending and unnecessary projects. Farage warned council employees working on climate change or diversity to “begin seeking alternative careers very, very quickly”.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the former Conservative MP who was elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, announced her intention “to ensure that we get rid of diversity officers because amazingly Lincolnshire County Council is now Reform controlled”. It transpired that Lincolnshire County Council did not employ any diversity, equity and inclusion officers. Like several other bullish Reform figures, she has made promises which stray well beyond the party’s policy platform.
Reform UK is establishing these DOGE-style audit squads just as some of the hasty mistakes and failures of the real thing become apparent. The organisation claims to have saved $180bn – very far short of the $1 trillion Musk had initially promised – and it has seen some poorly planned cuts to services which have later had to be restored. One non-profit estimates even those savings will end up costing $135bn.
To an extent this reflects the chaos and fury of President Trump’s first weeks back in office. With contemporary politics now so unpredictable, we can reasonably ask whether this kind of upheaval is a bug or a feature of populism translated into office.
Populist leaders, from Donald Trump through Nigel Farage to Geert Wilders by way of the National Rally and the Alternative für Deutschland, thrive on a narrative of being outsiders brave enough to see and implement the common-sense measures the establishment will not face
Any party holding power for the first time will face challenges. The Labour government of 1924 made mistakes and was brought down within a year by a no-confidence vote. But populist leaders, from Donald Trump through Nigel Farage to Geert Wilders by way of the National Rally and the Alternative für Deutschland, thrive on a narrative of being outsiders brave enough to see and implement the common-sense measures the establishment will not face.
At last year’s election, Reform UK promised to remove NHS waiting lists and implement “smart immigration, not mass immigration”. It displayed an almost mystical belief in the achievability of efficiency savings. Populist movements can offer easy solutions for which they will never be held to account — until they are.
That collision of electoral bravado and hard-edged reality may be the phase our politics has entered. In the Netherlands, the PVV discovered a truth which is not hidden but often ignored: governing is hard. After a gruelling year, Wilders has decided to walk away from power. If Reform UK ever achieves national office, which is neither inevitable nor impossible, there is a strong chance that Nigel Farage will find himself in the same situation. Government is a thousand impossible choices every day; populism is never having to make a tough call.
Eliot Wilson is a writer and strategic advisor