Prime minister Mark Rutte has condemned a video posted online by Geert Wilders telling Turkey to ‘forget about’ joining the European Union, the AD reports.

In the film, spoken in Dutch and English versions with Turkish subtitles, the anti-Islam party leader describes Turkish leader Tayyip Recep Erdogan as a ‘dangerous Islamist who is raising the Islamic flag’. He also repeats his call from last year’s municipal elections for ‘not more, but less Islam’ in the Netherlands.

Wilders addresses his comments directly to the Turkish people. Commenting on Ankara’s long-standing ambition to become an EU member, he says: ‘Just forget it. You’re not Europeans and never will be. An Islamic state like Turkey doesn’t belong in Europe.’

In his response, Rutte called the video ‘completely inappropriate’ and an ‘incredible’ insult to the Turkish people, though he acknowledged Wilders had the freedom to express his views.

The latest De Hond opinion poll at the weekend put the PVV on 26% of the vote, which would translate into 39 out of the 150 seats in the Dutch lower house, making it the largest party.