So this is "a winning face," then? Last week, Geert Wilders, the figurehead of the Dutch far-right and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), won the Dutch parliamentary elections to the surprise of all, comfortably beating the Green and Labor alliance list to win 37 of the 150 seats in the Second Chamber. Once a coalition has been found with the parties of the right and center-right, the populist Wilders will be able to roll out his program in all its complexity and depth: Out with the immigrants.
Wilders' victory may not have been by a hair's breadth – far from it – but it was
particularly striking from a hairstyle point of view. Geert Wilders, like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson or Javier Milei in Argentina, has joined the long line of populists whose haircuts are as disruptive as their rhetoric. In this case, there is nothing natural about Wilders' slicked-back mane. A perfectly artificial blond, it has even earned him the nickname "Captain Peroxide" back home, inspired by a character in the iconic series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In addition to his spectacular hair, Wilders is here wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt and red silk tie. In other words, when it comes to resembling Trump, the Dutchman doesn't do things by halves. However, while the American populist sports the symmetrical and totally unattractive "Windsor" knot, the Dutch populist prefers the "half-Windsor," which on paper is asymmetrical and charming, but in this case is dramatically ill-tightened.
While we are on the subject of ties, let's take a look at the tie worn by one of the two security guards behind Wilders – in this case, the one on the left. A copper-colored tie does indeed hang around his neck, but that is not the problem here. So what is? The huge gap – it is huge – between the shirt's collar and the man's throat is indeed indicative of a terrible shirt-sizing error. Far too big, the shirt droops at the neck, causing the whole outfit to sag. It is a useful reminder: Breathing is good; elegance is better.
Time to call it a day? Precisely: Let's zoom in, between the thicket of outstretched microphones, towards Wilders' watchband. This brushed steel watchband is an Oyster, Rolex's flagship model. The flat, three-link design was first marketed in 1948 and was manufactured for a long time by the Swiss company Gay Frères, before it was bought out by Rolex in 1998. Coincidentally, it was in this same year – 25 years ago – that Wilders began his rise to the top, by becoming a Member of Parliament for the first time.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.