The Netherlands Divergent Paths for the Populist Radical Right

Throughout the pandemic, the populist radical right (PRR) in the Netherlands has been highly critical of the government’s handling of COVID-19. However, its approach to COVID-19 has evolved significantly over the course of 18 months. A twofold development has taken place on the PRR. First of all, the PRR has moved from a non-populist to a populist opposition of the government measures, initially criticizing the government for doing too little and subsequently criticizing it for doing too much. Second, while the PRR was initially united in its opposition to the government, it subsequently became divided, with the Partij voor de Vrijheid taking the virus seriously and the Forum voor Democratie becoming COVID skeptic. The PRR’s changing approach to COVID-19 should be understood in the context of the highly fragmented and competitive Dutch party system. With multiple PRR parties competing for electoral support and trying to carve out a clearly defined parliamentary role, COVID-19 has accelerated the divergence of PRR strategies that has been ongoing since the 2017 elections.