Dutch far-right Party for Freedom set for gains in European Parliament polls

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders is riding high ahead of this month's European Parliament elections, hoping to destroy from within what he calls the "monster of Brussels".

Despite an unprecedented backlash after he called for "fewer Moroccans" in the Netherlands, his Party for Freedom (PVV) looks set to make gains in the May 22 vote, including extra clout and cash by joining a pan-European populist alliance.

Wilders in November announced "the start of the liberation of Europe" from the European Union after forming a partnership with the French far-right party National Front (FN).

Like the FN's leader Marine Le Pen, Wilders wants to take his country out of the EU and to abandon the euro.

"Wilders is hunting for power in Europe. He wants to be part of a broader movement and wants more influence in the European Parliament," said Adriaan Schout, a researcher at the Clingendael Institute for International Relations.

The latest Ipsos opinion poll on May 1 ranked Wilders' PVV third in the Netherlands, just below the ruling coalition partner People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the pro-Europe D66.

But Wilders' campaign, which has been based almost solely on anti-Islamic, anti-immigration and anti-EU rhetoric, has suffered a number of setbacks in recent months.