Geert Wilders gambles on election at the risk of losing political allies
Geert Wilders
's second taste of power lasted less than a year. Will Europe's veteran populist ever get another?
The far-right firebrand brought down the
Dutch
government on Tuesday, 17 months after winning national elections for the first time and forming one of the most rightwing coalitions in history.
But his patience with the constraints of governing snapped as his partners refused to sign up to an immigration policy that they said was almost certainly illegal.
'I will continue and become the next prime minister of the Netherlands,' Wilders told the media as the incumbent, Dick Schoof, tendered his resignation to the king.
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For the anti-Islamic politician, the move was a trademark political gamble: create upheaval, stand out as the authentic voice of the far right, and rely on voters to make his Freedom Party impossible to ignore.
But in the notoriously fragmented arena of Dutch politics, where 15 parties claim seats in parliament, it is a gamble that still requires Wilders ultimately finding allies to share power – a task he is making ever more difficult.
'It's unlikely anyone will govern with Wilders again,' said Sarah de Lange, professor of political pluralism at the University of Amsterdam.
Wilders's three coalition partners had already scotched his dream to claim the premiership after he won the November 2023 election. They agreed to join a government but only if the volatile Wilders was not in charge.
The compromise saw the four party leaders remain in parliament, naming technocrats and other MPs to the cabinet.
Wilders picked Schoof, a former spy chief with no political experience. He had no party affiliation and struggled to control the unwieldy coalition. But his old knack for uncovering secrets would have often seemed essential: ministers gathered in party groups before cabinet meetings to agree positions, with Schoof largely kept out of the loop.
Even attempts to team build fell flat. One morale-boosting card game was reportedly interrupted when Pieter Omtzigt, the leader and founder of the centre-right New Social Contract, walked out over a budget disagreement. He has since quit politics, handing over to his deputy.
Wilders's move to abandon the four-way coalition, where his Freedom party was the biggest group, was interpreted as an attempt to put migration at the heart of any new election campaign. But for his coalition partners and rivals, the abrupt move seemed to reinforce his role as the renegade of Dutch politics.
Even his closest government allies rounded on him, including the radical rightwing Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), which had backed his campaign to 'put the Dutch first'.
'I think Geert Wilders is betraying the Netherlands,' said Mona Keijzer, the BBB housing minister, on her way into the cabinet meeting. 'He ultimately put himself first, instead of the Netherlands.'
Sophie Hermans, of the conservative liberal VVD, said she was 'angry, pissed off, disappointed'.
'How can you do this at such a moment, when you look at what is going on in the world and in our country?'
The veteran anti-Islam campaigner, who lives in a safe house because of death threats, had attacked the government repeatedly over asylum policy. 'I signed up for the strictest asylum policy, not for the downfall of the Netherlands,' he said.
However, other party leaders said the asylum minister, Marjolein Faber of the Freedom Party, had declined to present proposals on how to cut numbers arriving.
'He's blaming the others for the failure of his own minister,' said a senior member of one of the coalition parties.
Immigration policy has become the bane of several Dutch coalition governments. Mark Rutte, the long-time prime minister from the VVD, broke up his own coalition in 2023 for refusing to back tougher migration policies.
The Netherlands, one of the world's most densely populated countries, has struggled to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees in recent years. Reception centres overflowed and a housing shortage was exacerbated.
Wilders responded with a 10-point plan to cut migration and demanded the other coalition leaders signed. It included using the army to patrol the border, closing refugee accommodation centres and sending home all Syrian refugees because the country is now safe.
It would also ban family members from joining refugees who were already in the Netherlands.
But for all the friction over migration policy within the coalition, polls suggest the Netherlands could return to its more traditional centrist position.
The Dutch set the populist pace for the EU in 2022 when the BBB won regional elections and then again when Wilders topped the 2023 poll. But no party has suffered more in polls since the election than Wilders.
One person close to the VVD said the current leader, Dilan Yesilgoz, had erred in the last campaign by failing to rule out a deal with Wilders, which boosted his profile.
'Now he's had a chance and blown it. He's heading for opposition. The next election will be about security and defence.'
Dutch politics is so volatile that the NSC and BBB are likely to be almost wiped out at the election, expected in September
The VVD, which can govern with the centre left or centre right, is polling between 25-31 seats, about the same as the Freedom party.
The Labour/Green alliance led by former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans is between 25 and 29. The resurgent Christian Democrats, who suffered heavily from defections to the NSC, set up by their former MP Omtzigt, are on 16-20.
Any government needs 76 of the 150 MPs in the lower house of parliament.
Deniz Horzum, a former Dutch official, said it would be a traditional battle between left and right. 'Expect VVD and Labour/GreenLeft to turn this into a political duopoly: vote for me or you get the crazies on the other side.'
He said a coalition led by either would return one of the founder members of the European project to the centre of EU affairs.
'After years of punching above our weight in Brussels, we started shooting ourselves in the foot during this last period. A more traditional, stable and centrist coalition might help restore our position.'
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
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Letters to the Editor, June 5th: On immigration, trade union dues and red squirrels
Sir, – Michael McDowell (' EU cannot ignore what's happening in Poland and the Netherlands ,' Opinion, June 4th) presents a cynical view of so called 'EU fragility' in the face of populism. The real threat to European stability is not migration, but far-right nationalism and the failure of democrats to sufficiently oppose it. EU immigration policy is being misrepresented by people like Mr McDowell. According to Eurostat, more than 72 per cent of non-EU immigrants of working age in the EU are employed, a figure that exceeds employment rates in many native-born populations. These individuals are not a burden; they are essential to keeping European economies functioning, particularly in care, construction, and the service and transport industries. READ MORE Instead of platforming opposition to immigration, European leaders should be articulating an opposition to fascist ideologies now resurgent across the world. The lesson of the 1930s was that appeasement emboldens extremists. Migration scapegoating is nothing less than cowardice in the face of this new fascism. The EU faces a demographic crisis. Eurostat projects that by 2050 the EU's working-age population will shrink by nearly 50 million. Without inward migration, welfare systems will become unsustainable. The only viable path forward is a managed migration system that upholds European values while addressing real economic needs. Poland and the Netherlands may be warning signs, but not for the reasons Mr McDowell suggests. The real crisis is not federalism, but the failure to confront the anti-democratic forces undermining it from within. – Yours, etc, DECLAN DOYLE, Kilkenny. Whither the weather? Sir, – In this time of world chaos and such turmoil, I was comforted in my bed early this morning listening to the weather forecast to hear that the showers heading in our direction in the Northwest were organised as opposed to scattered as predicted elsewhere in the country. 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The possibilities are endless. Would Fórsa also support these outcomes? Thankfully, we have a Constitution which protects freedom of association and prevents the State from forcing anyone to join or contribute directly to any private organisation. The general secretary of Fórsa is paid €186,000 per annum, three times the average salary of the public sector workers who they want to force to fund its operations. The suggestion that the Oireachtas should enforce some form of 'closed shop' to pay for this harks back to a time decades ago when trade unions expected, as of right, a 'cut' of any benefits gained by workers. – Yours etc BARRY WALSH, Clontarf, Dublin 3. Miracle required Sir, – Stephen O'Sullivan reflects on the unhappy fate of 'people who have borne the title of 'tsar' in its myriad linguistic variations' (Letters, June 3rd). Among those he lists is Karl I of Austria-Hungary. While his fate at the end of the first World War was indeed unfortunate, it seems that he enjoys the very best of what the afterlife has to offer, having been beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004 – and the cause for his canonisation is active. Another miracle is required for his canonisation. Maybe we should pray to him to solve the housing crisis in Ireland. Interceding with him for that miracle would likely be more efficacious than appointing a 'housing tsar'. – Yours, etc, FELIX M LARKIN, Cabinteely, Dublin 18. Funding the arts Sir, – The recent controversy surrounding the Arts Council's €6.6 million spend on a failed IT project invites a deeper conversation – not only about financial oversight, but about how arts funding is structured in this country. Too often, when additional money flows into the sector, it's accompanied by a parallel growth in consultancy, compliance, and oversight roles. These positions are not always filled by those with lived artistic experience, and are rarely held to the performance standards expected in sectors like tech or finance. The result? Those around the arts often prosper more reliably than those who actually make it. While artists are frequently required to demonstrate tangible outcomes or community impact – sometimes before the work even exists – those in administrative or consultancy roles tend to operate with far less visible scrutiny. Much of the current funding model treats art as product, not provocation or inquiry. The application process is often invasive, time-consuming, and artistically irrelevant – better designed to reward those fluent in institutional language than those pushing creative boundaries. The hoops increasingly serve funders more than artists. One wonders whether Joyce or Stravinsky would have made it through. 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A wholly homogeneous tribe would be extremely rare on earth, but that doesn't stop us recognising and respecting other people's tribal ethnicities. While the Irish have happily welcomed many to our land, it must be noted that geographical placement and low ancestral mobility has meant that, contrary to the rather startling descriptors used in your headline, we have been for at least four millennia a relatively homogenous, indigenous people. – Yours, etc, DEIRDRE CALLERY, Blacklion, Co Cavan. Sir, – As an Irish woman, I am deeply offended and appalled by the use of the derogatory term 'mongrels' in reference to the Irish people. This language is not only disrespectful but entirely inaccurate. The author of the article in question appears to have a misguided understanding of Irish history. Attempting to portray the Irish as 'mongrelised' – whether as a verb or adjective – is an unacceptable distortion of our heritage. 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We are inordinately proud of the women in the family, including both Mary and The Liberator's grand mother, Mháire Ní Dhuibh O'Donoghue, and their own contributions to Irish history as well as my mother, Dr Una O'Connell, who was an early pioneer as a female consultant in the NHS. I have a great deal of respect for Justine's journalism and her many excellent articles. However, it would have been preferable not to use a family grave for an article about respect of women, however commendable such an objective. I was also surprised that the Liberator's active promotion of women's rights was not mentioned but that is for another (soon) day. – Yours, etc, DANIEL O'CONNELL, Great, great, great grandson of the Liberator, Co Kerry. Squirrel spotting Sir, – Noting recent correspondence about red squirrels, one place where they may be found is the churchyard of St Luke's in Formby, near Liverpool, which is also the burial place of Percy French. Visiting his grave, I have often sat quietly on a bench and watched them - far more appealing than their ubiquitous grey relatives. – Yours, etc , PAUL GRIFFIN, Liverpool.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Dutch voters welcome collapse of right-wing coalition, according to poll
The first political opinion poll taken after the collapse of the Netherlands ' right-wing coalition government on Tuesday says only 14 per cent of voters believe it achieved anything worthwhile during its 11 months in office. The coalition of Geert Wilders ' Freedom Party, the centre-right VVD, agrarian BBB and progressive New Social Contract collapsed after Mr Wilders made good on a threat to pull out of the coalition unless the other parties backed tougher immigration reforms. King Willem-Alexander cut short a state visit to the Czech Republic to return to The Hague on Tuesday to accept the resignation of prime minister Dick Schoof, who will remain in a caretaker capacity until the outcome of a general election in October. The Schoof government took office last July. The poll by current affairs television programme EenVandaag surveyed 16,117 respondents in the hours immediately after Mr Wilders abandoned the coalition. READ MORE It gave the government – racked by relentless infighting and stung by external criticism from the start – an overall satisfaction rating of 3.6 out of 10. Eighty-three per cent of the responses to the opinion poll were negative, while only 14 per cent were positive. Given its troubled tenure, most voters – 65 per cent – welcome the coalition's demise. Non-Freedom Party voters blame Mr Wilders personally, frequently describing him as 'childish'. By contrast, his own supporters say he was 'obstructed' by the other coalition parties and needs a new mandate to govern as prime minister – a post all the parties' leaders agreed to forego last year. [ Geert Wilders pulls party from Netherlands government Opens in new window ] As a result, only 16 per cent of respondents said they would like to see the same parties work together again. Almost three-quarters – 72 per cent – agree with Labour-GreenLeft leader Frans Timmermans that elections are the only practical way to achieve a newly stable government for the fifth-largest economy in the euro zone. As the inevitability of an autumn election sank in, parliament began a post-collapse debate on Wednesday morning, full of angry recriminations. The mood of MPs wasn't helped by the prospect of a nationwide train strike on Friday that has been overshadowed by the political crisis. Arriving for the debate, Mr Wilders said he would keep up the pressure for tighter immigration. 'Let's start now: close asylum centres, don't let people in, and don't allow family migration.' However, Christian Democrat leader Henri Bontenbal responded that after the 'chaos' of an 11-month 'political experiment' the mood now was for a return to 'stability'. 'Society is longing for normality and for politicians who deliver more – not less – than they promise.'
