Trump's Playbook Backfires in the Netherlands

Geert Wilders, the anti-Islam front-runner in the Dutch general election campaign, owes a large debt -- ideologically, strategically and tactically-- to U.S. Republican leaders, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. But the ways in which he is different from them, and the ways in which the Netherlands is different from the U.S., make it unlikely that he'll win power in the March 15 elections.

In a country which doesn't have much of a political campaigning traditions, Wilders looks more like Trump than any other Dutch politician. "Wilders has the same tactics as Trump," says Erik van Bruggen, the head of BKB, an Amsterdam firm that organizes advocacy campaigns and runs a campaigning school for aspiring politicians. "This campaign is all about him. He campaigns via Twitter, he refuses to participate in debates or give critical interviews, he pushes his message directly to the voters, creating the impression that he tells it like it is, without trying to talk smooth or soft."