The FvD's Shifting Geopolitical Alignments: An Analysis of Pro-Russian and Anti-Ukrainian Sentiment in Dutch Politics (2016-2025)

Henk Otten, the co-founder and former treasurer of the Forum for Democracy (FvD), was once an indispensable figure in the party's early success. However, his tenure ended abruptly in 2019 after a bitter power struggle with party leader Thierry Baudet, leading to his expulsion from the very party he helped create. His story is one of an influential political strategist who became a casualty of his own ambition and the FvD's increasingly centralized power structure.