Convicting people of political incorrectness at a time when the regime of political correctness is hated is not a great plan in a democracy. Before and after his conviction, Geert Wilders emphasized that this was a trial not just of him, but of his voters. And the conviction has only gained him more of those. The trial was meant to cripple his political future. Instead it backfired and vastly improved it.
If legislative elections due next March were held this week, Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) would pick up 36 out of 150 seats in the lower house of parliament, making it the biggest single political group, it found.
Before the trial began on October 31, the PVV was credited with 27 seats.
During the trial, but before his conviction on Friday, its estimated share rose to 34 seats. It currently has 12 lawmakers.
Unintended consequences accomplished. The same folks who didn't learn anything from Brexit or Trump, doubled down on the same old strategy. And it failed miserably.