Geert Wilders is playing a crafty political game with his apparent willingness to compromise on the economy, writer Robin Pascoe.

Geert Wilders’ speedy u-turn on the state pension age, just hours after his party emerged as the big winner in Wednesday’s general election, is a perfect illustration of just how much twisting and turning the parties have to go through to produce a stable coalition government.
In fact, once the votes have been counted, you might as well tear up all the pre election pledges and promises because coalition forming is all about compromise.
After all, in 2006, no party included a commitment to increasing the pension age or introducing a tax on motoring in their manifestos, but both ideas became part of the coalition agreement – the document which determines the main priorities of a new government.
So for voters, it remains a question of wait and see what is in store for us over the next four years. An increase in the state pension age would now seem to be unavoidable.
But what of healthcare charges, unemployment and student funding? These are all areas where Rutte wants change.
Wilders, however, does not. And this begs the question exactly how the VVD expect to be able to move forward on the economy – if a right-wing coalition becomes a real option.
Or is Wilders prepared to compromise again and again, in order to get action on his real political agenda – tackling the perceived Islamisation of the Netherlands?