Dutch snap election to be held on 29 October after coalition collapse
Following the collapse of the ruling government and the resignation of Prime MInister Dick Schoof, the Netherlands will elect a new parliament on 29 October, outgoing Minister of Internal Affairs Judith Uitermark confirmed on Friday.
The snap election was announced less than a year after the Dutch four-party coalition was formed, falling apart after far-right Party For Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders withdrew his ministers.
Schoof's 11-month-old administration goes down in history as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history.
Wilders blamed his coalition partners for failing to act on his desire to crack down on migration.
Last week, he demanded they sign on to a 10-point plan aiming to radically slash migration, including using the army to guard land borders and turning away all asylum-seekers. He said at the time that if immigration policy is not toughened up, his party 'is out of the cabinet.'
A crisis meeting lasted mere minutes before Wilders made good on that pledge, angering other party leaders, who said they all had supported a clampdown on migration.
"I'm shocked," leader of the right-wing People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) Dilan Yesilgöz told reporters, calling the decision "super irresponsible."
'The prime minister who appealed to us this morning said that we are facing enormous international challenges, we have a war on our continent, an economic crisis may be coming our way,' Yesilgöz added.
The national Electoral Council had advised on a 29 October election earlier this week. An earlier election would have been hard to pull off due to a parliamentary recess that begins on 4 July and lasts until 1 September, followed by several weeks of campaigning.
It means Schoof will lead a caretaker government when his country hosts the NATO summit in The Hague in a few weeks.
Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said the government remains committed to hosting the meeting despite political turmoil.
In a statement to lawmakers, Schoof said he wants to maintain control, even in caretaker mode, over vital policies in the coming months.
'As far as I'm concerned, it's about security, both nationally and internationally, including support for Ukraine and everything that's needed for defense," he said.
He also wants to be able to act on the economy, including the global trade war unleashed since the start of US President Donald Trump's second term, "because that can have a direct effect on the Dutch economy and on our business community.'
D-Day veterans gathered in Normandy on Friday to mark the 81st anniversary of the pivotal military landing in World War II.
Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades, and historical reenactments.
Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which US soldiers played a major role, with veterans at the American Cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer.
On 6 June 1944, the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France represented the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's defences in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself.
In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians between June and August 1944.
The exact German casualties are unknown, but historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing during the D-Day invasion alone.
'The heroism, honour and sacrifice of the Allied forces on D-Day will always resonate with the US Armed Forces and our Allies and partners across Europe,' said Lt Gen Jason T Hinds, deputy commander of US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. 'So let us remember those who flew and fell."
"Let us honour those who survived and came home to build a better world. And let us ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain by meeting today's challenges with the same resolve, the same clarity of purpose, and the same commitment to freedom.'
Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day.
Of 160,000 troops landing in Normandy on D-Day, 73,000 were from the US and 83,000 from the UK and Canada. Forces from several other countries took part in the fighting, including French troops under General Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces.
More than 2 million Allied soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and other people from a dozen countries were involved in the overall Operation Overlord, the battle to wrest western France from Nazi control that started on D-Day.
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Video. Astana hosts major military parade for WWII 80th anniversary
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