Photo Gallery 'A Horrible Pest'
Paul Wilders, an IT professional, is the brother of Geert Wilders, the populist politician with an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim message who has dominated the headlines in Holland for years and is now leading in the polls in the run-up to March 15 national elections. As an adolescent, Paul says, his brother Geert was "a horrible pest, egocentric and aggressive."
Speaking of his political style, Paul Wilders says, "When it comes to politics, Geert does not tolerate any contradiction, neither privately nor in his parliamentary group." Even as a child, Paul says that Geert had "tunnel vision, and he doesn't believe in compromise."
Geert Wilders at a Jan. 21 meeting of European right-wing populist leaders in Koblenz, Germany. Among the guests are Frauke Petry of Germany's Alternative for Deutschland (left) and Marine Le Pen of France's Front National (second from left). "He is a master of short messages. And in this complex age, that is precisely what many people want: a simple political vision without any nuance," says Paul Wilders. "But our problems are far more complex. Geert peddles illusions to people."
