PVV leader Geert Wilders has denied that comments he made in the Telegraaf newspaper after his conviction for inciting discrimination against Moroccans meant that he planned to sack judges if he becomes prime minister.

Wilders told the paper that he planned a major clean up (schoon schip maken) if he leads the country after the March 15 general election.

‘People want to control their own country again,’ he said. ‘I am going to fight for all these people, have a good clean up in the Netherlands after the election, as prime minister,’ he told the paper.

However, in an interview with the Telegraaf on Tuesday, Wilders said he did not mean that he planned to sack judges.

‘That is not what I said and not what I meant,’ the paper quotes Wilders as saying. ‘But I do think that judges should not be appointed for life. We [the PVV] have suggested judging their performance after five or 10 years. But this politician is not going to sack judges.’

After the verdict was announced, Wilders described the judges as ‘untrustworthy, unprofessional and motivated by politics’. ‘They are on the wrong side of history, all three,’ the PVV leader said. He also described the court as ‘sham’ and said the Netherlands is a sick country.

Prime minister

Wilders told Tuesday’s Telegraaf what meant by a major clear out is ‘that we once again become bosses in our own country and make an end to the tsunami of foreigners who don’t belong here.’

‘If a people become a movement, anything is possible. The Dutch people are beginning to move and want a clean out, in the broadest sense of the word,’ he said.

Experts agree there is no likelihood of Wilders becoming prime minister after the March 15 vote even if the PVV emerges as the biggest party.

Most political parties have said they will not work with the PVV and prime minister Mark Rutte on Friday said again the VVD will not form an alliance with the anti-immigration group unless Wilders’ withdraws his ‘fewer Moroccans’ statement.