The Dutch electoral council has named PVV leader Geert Wilders as the successor to Hans Jansen in the European parliament in what the Dutch media have called a ‘futile’ gesture.

Wilders is technically entitled to the seat following Jansen’s surprise death earlier this year but will ‘naturally’ not make use of the offer, news agency ANP reported.

After the European parliamentary elections last year, Wilders said he intended to take one of the PVV’s seats in Brussels but was prevented from doing so by EU rules which rule out a dual mandate. Wilders is an MP in the Dutch parliament.

In addition, the PVV’s failure to form an alliance with six other parties made the option less attractive, commentators said.

Four weeks

However, Wilders now has four weeks to consider if he would like to make the move to Brussels. And, he told ANP this weekend, the PVV is on the verge of clinching enough allies to create a formal grouping within the European parliament.

The PVV currently works with the Front National, Austria’s FPÖ, Italy’s Lega Nord and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang. Two more parties would give the alliance formal status, entitling members to more financial support and debating time.

‘We are almost there,’ Wilders told ANP, adding that there is a possibility that a press conference will be held in Brussels on Tuesday.