Dutch government collapses after far-right leader Wilders quits coalition

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

The Dutch government collapsed today, most likely ushering in a snap election, after anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition, accusing other parties of failing to back his tougher immigration policies.
But Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent, accused the political maverick of irresponsibility, and the other coalition parties denied failing to support Mr Wilders, saying they had been awaiting proposals from his PVV party's own migration minister.
PVV ministers will quit the cabinet, leaving the others to continue as a caretaker administration until an election unlikely to be held before October.
Frustration with migration and the high cost of living is boosting the far right and widening divisions in Europe, just as it needs unity to deal effectively with a hostile Russia and an unpredictable and combative US president in the form of Donald Trump.
"I have told party leaders repeatedly in recent days that the collapse of the cabinet would be unnecessary and irresponsible," Mr Schoof said after an emergency cabinet meeting triggered by Mr Wilders' decision.
"We are facing major challenges both nationally and internationally that require decisiveness from us," he added, before handing his resignation to King Willem-Alexander.
The prospect of a new election is likely to delay a decision on boosting defence spending and means the Netherlands will have only a caretaker government when it hosts a summit of the transatlantic NATO alliance this month.
Election may be months away
Mr Wilders said he had no option but to quit the coalition.
"I proposed a plan to close the borders for asylum seekers, to send them away, to shut asylum shelters. I demanded coalition partners sign up to that, which they didn't. That left me no choice but to withdraw my support for this government," he told reporters. "I signed up for the strictest asylum policies, not for the demise of the Netherlands."
He said he would lead the PVV into a new election and hoped to be the next prime minister.
An election is now likely at the end of October or in November, said political scientist Joep van Lit at Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Even then, the fractured political landscape means formation of a new government may take months.
It remains to be seen whether right-wing voters will see the turn of events as Mr Wilders' failure to turn his proposals into reality, or rather decide that he needs a bigger mandate to get his way, Mr van Lit said.
Simon Otjes, assistant professor in Dutch politics at Leiden University, said the PVV must have calculated that the next election would be seen as a referendum on immigration policy, "because they know they would win that".
Amsterdam resident Michelle ten Berge hoped that "with the new election we will choose ... a government that's more moderate".
But florist Ron van den Hoogenband, in The Hague, said he expected Mr Wilders to emerge the winner and take control of parliament "so he can do like Trump is doing and other European countries where the extreme right is taking over".
Immigration a divisive issue
Mr Wilders won the last election in November 2023 with an unexpectedly high 23% of the vote.
Opinion polls put his party at around 20% now, roughly on a par with the Labour/Green combination that is currently the second-largest grouping in parliament.
Mr Wilders had last week demanded immediate support for a 10-point plan that included closing the borders to asylum seekers, sending back refugees from Syria and shutting down asylum shelters.
He also proposed expelling migrants convicted of serious crimes and boosting border controls.
Migration has been a divisive issue in Dutch politics for years. The previous government, led by current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, also collapsed after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration.
Mr Wilders, a provocative politician who was convicted of discrimination against Moroccans in 2016, was not part of the latest government himself.
He only managed to strike a coalition deal with three other conservative parties last year after agreeing not to become prime minister.