In November 2023, Geert Wilders’ stridently anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim party swept the Dutch elections in what the media called a political earthquake.

The magnitude of his win came as a shock to the centre and left parties in the Dutch legislature. They jointly decided that “Europe’s most dangerous man” should never become prime minister.

The Dutch are not alone in seeking an institutional fix against hard-right populism. In legislatures across the European Union, politicians are erecting a “cordon sanitaire” against extremism — a red-line tactic to block far-right parties from entering governing coalitions.

It’s hardly enough, but it’s an important first step.