Venlo Grapples With Immigration as Wilders Leads | JQJO

Venlo’s election mood is taut: immigration and housing dominate talk as Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom campaigns on a halt to asylum and border troops. Wilders, whose party toppled the government in June, leads polls for votes but faces isolation in coalition talks and could lose seats. In the aging town, businesses need workers even as housing feels scarce. Plans to convert a monastery into a temporary asylum center sparked protests and counterprotests. Residents voice distrust and fatigue, linking newcomers to crime and costs, even as national crime rates have fallen across demographics.