San Francisco Frontiers - Wilders gets hero's welcome in Dutch heartland

But on Saturday, the Flying Dutchman had a bigger political fish to fry: hosting far-right leader Geert Wilders for a meet-and-greet campaign stop five days before national elections.

Wilders, the anti-Islam and anti-immigration head of the PVV Freedom Party, aims to repeat his stunning performance from two years ago and win Wednesday's vote. Surveys put him on track to do that.

However, even if Wilders does win the election, he stands almost no chance of becoming prime minister.

In the highly fragmented Dutch system, parties have to form coalitions with several others and virtually every other mainstream party has ruled out an alliance with Wilders.

Volendam, a historic 14th century Dutch fishing village that attracts tourists from all over the world with its quaint harbour and traditional wooden houses, is Wilders's heartland.

At the last election in 2023, nearly half (43 percent) of Volendam's voters plumped for the PVV, far ahead of the second favourite party, the centre-right VVD, which scored 14 percent.

And despite squally showers and high winds, locals turned out in force to see Wilders, giving the 62-year-old a hero's welcome.

A crowd of several hundred, comprised of locals, campaigners, police, domestic and international media -- and a few bemused tourists -- crammed around to hear him speak.

"Do we want people to feel like strangers in their own country? Or do we want to put the Netherlands first?" he cried, as the crowd roared back "Yes!"

"Do we want a stop to asylum in the Netherlands?". The crowd cheered back.

- 'Democracy is democracy' -

With police outriders and a huge personal protection unit, the arrival of Wilders in the town of around 20,000 had the trappings of a visiting head of state.

Wilders has lived under death threats in a secure location for more than 20 years and briefly halted his campaign over security concerns.

More than an hour before his arrival, police ejected late lunch diners for a comprehensive sweep of the Flying Dutchman and all visitors were frisked before meeting him.

"We are not xenophobic people, we don't hate anyone but this is our country and our people should come first and that is what I believe the elections are about... next week," Wilders told AFP in an interview in the restaurant.

The PVV was the largest party in the coalition running the Netherlands for the past year but Wilders pulled the plug in a row over immigration, sparking accusations from the other parties that he was an unreliable partner.

"Democracy is democracy," he told AFP. "It's up to the voter now."

"I absolutely hate all those parties who say who they want to work with or not. Or exclude parties like mine. The voter has to decide now," he said.

Katarina van Dam, a 38-year-old logistics manager, from nearby Purmerend, seemed convinced by the message.

"Change is needed. And that is what the PVV stands for. And that's why I'm here," she said.

Like many Dutch, she cited immigration policy as her biggest reason for voting PVV -- the issue regularly tops polls of voters' concerns.

"I just think it's important that Dutch culture is preserved. Unfortunately, I notice that things are going in the wrong direction," said Van Dam.

Factory worker Piet Verhasselt travelled two hours from the southern region of Limburg to see Wilders and warned of dire consequences if other parties excluded the PVV.

"We're full here (in the Netherlands). There are no houses any more. Our borders are open," Verhasselt told AFP, repeating common Wilders talking points.

"I think all hell will break loose if he is ignored again.... You can't ignore two and a half to three million votes," he told AFP.

C.Williams--SFF