Two protests against PVV on the same day in Utrecht

One of the protests, organised by the left-wing parties GroenLinks and PvdA, will start at 5:00 pm. The idea is to surround the Town Hall with people holding each other's hands. "Together, we will hold hands around the house of democracy. We're not letting anyone go!" says the invitation. 

One hour later, another protest will start at the same spot, organised by two anti-fascist movements. Their goal is to oppose PVV and its leader, Geert Wilders.

GroenLinks-PvdA biggest party in Utrecht
Wilders' party is not the most popular party in Utrecht, by the way. Only 9.9 percent of votes cast in Utrecht went to PVV, which represents a 5 percent growth compared to the previous elections. Most votes in Utrecht went to the alliance between GroenLinks and PvdA (Green Left and the Worker's Party), with 35 percent of the votes. This represents a 16.4 percent growth for both parties. D66 came third, with 11.5 percent of votes in Utrecht, a considerable drop for the centre-left party, which got 14.4 percent of the votes in 2021. VVD, the party of former Prime Minister Mark Rutte also fell by 11.3 percent in Utrecht. NSC, the new party created by MP Pieter Omzigt, obtained 7.7 of Utrecht-based votes.