Does Geert Wilders' wipeout mean Trump-style populism is toast?

Or is the right-wing leader's loss just a byproduct of the peculiarities of Dutch politics?

Populist anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The Netherlands just held its closely watched national election, and unlike their friends across the Atlantic, managed not to condemn themselves to years of political misery.

Dutch voters returned the center-right government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte to power. The country's young voters are likely to be disappointed — just a week ago the Green Left, led by a charismatic young Trudeau-like figure named Jesse Klaver — had an outside shot at leading the government. But overall, there is widespread relief with Rutte's win.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.