Baudet Quits as Head of Dutch Far-Right Forum for Democracy

Thierry Baudet, leader of right-wing populist party Forum for Democracy, resigned from his role as party leader Monday evening.

“I cannot associate with the situation in which trial by media becomes the way how we treat our people,” Baudet said in a video he released on his Twitter account.

The unexpected move comes after several prominent Forum for Democracy members demanded the dissolution of the youth division of the party and the resignation of its leader, Freek Jansen, No. 7 on the party’s candidate list for the upcoming election in March.

The chain of events was set off last week by the publication in Dutch newspaper Het Parool of leaked internal youth division WhatsApp messages containing anti-Semitic and homophobic rhetoric, which follows a similar incident from earlier this year. The whistle blowers behind the initial incidents were thrown out of the youth division.

Forum for Democracy scored a shock win in senate elections in May 2019 and currently holds two seats in Dutch Parliament. The resignation of Baudet from the party leadership could benefit the PVV of Geert Wilders and Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s VVD. Both already lead in opinion polls with 20 and 43 seats respectively of the total of 150.

Baudet said he’ll remain in parliament till the elections and wants to remain involved with the party and help in whatever way possible. It remains unclear who will succeed him as party leader.