Geert Wilders with Marine Le Pen, leader of the French National Front and a fellow opponent of Muslim immigration

With 11 days to go to the Dutch elections, the far-right firebrand Geert Wilders is neck and neck with the prime minister and within touching distance of a shock victory that could cause a political earthquake across Europe.

Whatever the outcome, the Freedom Party (PVV) leader has broken the mould in Dutch politics, polarising society, dividing his family and wrecking his personal life.

Mr Wilders, 53, has dropped the Euroscepticism he led on in 2012 elections to focus on immigration and Muslims, launching his campaign last month with a diatribe against “Moroccan scum who make the streets unsafe”.

His slogan is “the Netherlands, ours again” and his campaign speeches are dominated by “Henk and Ingrid”, an imaginary couple suffering at the hands of a corrupt