Geert Wilders, the anti-immigration party leader in pole position to be the next Dutch prime minister, said on Monday that the Netherlands was “Europe’s fool” for accepting too many Ukrainian refugees.

The hard-Right nationalist won a shock landslide victory in the Dutch general election three months ago but has so far failed to form a coalition government.

“Ukrainians are coming to the Netherlands in droves, not because of the war but for free housing, free care and our jobs,” he said on social media. “Once again, we are Europe’s fool.”

Mr Wilders, who has faced accusations of being soft on Vladimir Putin, wants to stop Dutch military aid to Ukraine, arguing that the Netherlands needs weapons to defend itself.

More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in the Netherlands, which has a population of about 18 million, since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.