Netherlands sets general election date after government collapse
June 6 (UPI) -- The Netherlands Friday scheduled a snap election for Oct. 29 following the collapse of the government caused by the far-right Party for Freedom leaving the governing coalition.
Outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Judith Uitermark announced the election date in a post on X.
"In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly!" Uitermark said.
Prime Minister Richard Schoof's four-party governing coalition collapsed when Party for Freedom's leader Geert Wilders demanded radical slashing of migration.
Schoof indicated in a message to lawmakers he will maintain control over critical policies in the months between now and the October election.
"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," Schoof said in the statement.
The far-right Party for Freedom quit the Dutch government Tuesday, prompting Schoof to submit his resignation to King Willem-Alexander's cabinet.
Schoof called the move to quit the government "irresponsible and unnecessary."
The current cabinet will stay in place pending the general election to act as a caretaker government.
"Schoof showed that he is not the right man in the right place. If you, as prime minister of a cabinet in which the PVV is the largest party, refuse to sign a letter about a stricter asylum policy and a tougher approach to criminal aliens, then you are unsuitable," Wilders said in a post on X.
The PVV pulled off a shock victory in the November 2023 election gaining more seats than ever before for the far right.
Wilders, an anti-Islamist right-wing politician, tried to parlay the 37 seats his party won into becoming prime minister, but he was forced to abandon that attempt.
There are 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.
The center-left Labor party and Green Left won the second highest number of seats.
Schoof became Prime Minister instead of Wilders, forming a government consisting of the PVV, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the New Social Contract and the Farmer-Citizen Movement.
That governing coalition was seated in July 2024.
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