Dutch coalition collapses after Wilders withdrawal – DW – 06/03/2025
A shaky coalition in the Netherlands has collapsed after far-right leader Geert Wilders withdrew amid a migration row.
The Dutch coalition government led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof fell apart on Tuesday after Geert Wilders, the head of the far-right PVV (Party for Freedom), pulled his party out, citing differences with his partners over immigration policy.
"No signature for our asylum plans ... PVV leaves the coalition," said Wilders on X, formerly Twitter.
Wilders had been frustrated with what he saw as the slow pace of introducing the "strictest-ever immigration policy" that he had agreed with coalition partners after his election win in November 2023.
More to follow.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
20 hours ago
- DW
Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders makes PM gamble – DW – 06/04/2025
Far-right firebrand Geert Wilders, with his shock of white-blond hair, has upped the ante on his political future by blowing up the governing coalition in the Netherlands. It's a high stakes move which could backfire. Dutch voters are set to head back to the polls for fresh elections before the end of the year, after the far-right PVV party withdrew from the coalition government over a migration policy bust up. It was Geert Wilders, the leader of the PVV, who rolled the dice and pulled his ministers from the four-party government, throwing the Netherlands into months of political uncertainty. His aim is clear: "I intend to become the next prime minister," he said. Outgoing Prime Minister Dick Schoof will lead a caretaker government in The Hague until a new vote is held, which experts believe will happen no sooner than October. Dick Schoof will remain as Dutch Prime Minsiter, but as a caretaker until elections are held Image: Peter Dejong/AP/picture alliance The consideration now is whether Wilders, one of Europe's longest-standing players in far-right politics, can plot a path to finally becoming the prime minister, or whether he's now a busted flush in the eyes of the Dutch electorate. "That's the million-dollar question," Armida van Rij, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House's Europe Programme, told DW. With multi-party coalition governments being the norm in the Netherlands, there are two main aspects needed to succeed politically in the EU's fifth biggest economy: votes from the public and the ability to build alliances with other parties. Wilders 'orchestrated' a crisis around migration To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Responsibility shirker? Having first taken a seat in parliament in 1998, Wilders spent over a decade on the far-right fringes until surging support saw his party first prop up a coalition government led by Mark Rutte in 2010, before pulling out in 2012. He has a growing reputation as a politician who walks away when things get tough. "This all looks bad on Wilders," said Adriaan Schout, a Senior Research Fellow at the Netherlands-based think tank, Clingendael. "He supported the Rutte government, and he walked out back then in 2012 [over new austerity measures], and that's been that's always stuck to him. Doing it again now looks very bad in the eyes of the public." Geert Wilders, in 2010, stares at former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte whose coalition government he would later bring down. Image: picture alliance/dpa Wilders' PVV party currently holds more seats (37/150) than any other party in the Dutch parliament after surprise success in the 2023 election. Polls indicate declining popularity since PVV joined the government but suggest that his party would still be the biggest in the parliament if elections were held now. "Voters may now actually reward Wilders, even if he pulled the plug, due to discontent over the lack of migration policy changes," said Pieter Cleppe, Editor-in-Chief of a right-leaning magazine covering EU politics. "Forming a government without Wilders will then only be possible by taking over at least part of his anti-immigration agenda," he told DW. But now, with the former coalition parties expressing their "fury" over this week's government collapse, if Wilders were to succeed in the upcoming elections, the other parties may well call his bluff and refuse to join a coalition with him, let alone allow him to lead as prime minister. Toughest Asylum Policies Ever The political battle over migration came to a head when Wilders went all-in and, at the end of May, proposed a '10-point plan' on asylum which would bring in some of the most draconian migration policies in Europe. It included military units stationed at national borders, a complete end to accommodation being provided for refugees, a temporarily halt on family reunions for asylum-seekers who have been granted refugee status and sending Syrian refugees back home despite any risk of persecution. Dutch coalition government collapses over migration dispute To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The refusal of the coalition partners to sign onto his plan immediately caused Wilders to pull his ministers from government. "The plan itself is deeply problematic because it violates a number of EU laws and international law provisions, namely, the right to asylum," said Davide Colombi, a researcher in the Justice and Home Affairs Unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). "Migration and asylum are actually instrumentalized in European politics," continued Colombi in an interview with DW. "There seems to be a tendency to normalize unlawful policy proposals across the EU, not only in the Netherlands, as if migration and asylum were something outside of the law." Far-right Fragmentation Europe is now seeing a once-unified far-right starting to fragment, not along ideological fault lines, but under the constraints of the democracies they operate in. France's Marine le Pen is banned from running in the 2027 presidential election due to embezzling EU funds and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government agenda on migration has been hobbled by domestic courts. French far-right leader Marine le Pen leaves a Paris court during her 2025 trial for misuse of EU funds Image: Stéphane Geufroi/OUEST FRANCE/MAXPPP/IMAGO "In Sweden and Denmark, rightwing populists have been able to successfully affect policy, but the Netherlands does not have a tradition of minority governments," said Cleppe from the right-leaning magazine. "Wilders could have prepared better for government by attracting more mainstream figures into his political movement." The shuffling of the Dutch political deck begins again with the elections. The coming months will see political parties jostling for position and many will to try to edge Wilders out of the game. Wilders himself so far appears defiant and looks set to double down on selling his anti-immigration policies to the public, rather than hedging his bets and trying to build alliances with other political parties. Edited by: Matt Pearson
DW
2 days ago
- DW
Dutch coalition government collapses over migration dispute – DW – 06/03/2025
Thorkil Rothe 06/03/2025 June 3, 2025 Geert Wilders, leader of the Netherland's far-right PVV, has pulled his party from a shaky ruling coalition, plunging the government into crisis. Hours later, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced his resignation.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
FBI Hounded for Epstein Files Update After Launching Tip Line to 'Protect Children' From Gender-Affirming Care: 'You Care More About Votes'
Social media users began relentlessly harassing the FBI, calling for the release of the agency's files on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after the bureau announced that it was looking for tips regarding gender-affirming care for children. The FBI took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to ask for such tips and other relevant information. "Help the FBI protect children. As the Attorney General has made clear, we will protect our children and hold accountable those who mutilate them under the guise of gender-affirming care. Report tips of any hospitals, clinics, or practitioners performing these surgical procedures on children at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the agency wrote. Users quickly pointed out the bureau's goal of protecting children, arguing that releasing the Epstein files would uphold that sentiment. "Seeing that Epstein files are still unreleased; I don't think the FBI actually cares about children's safety," wrote one user. "Here's a tip: investigate yourselves! Everyone from Epstein's client list is still walking free, with zero repercussions. You guys are NOT serious about protecting our children," another chided. "Right. Just like you helped the children on Epstein's island," one user said sarcastically. "You c***s are literally hiding the biggest pedophilia ring known to man, because it was rich people who bought the children. Kindly f*** off," one user added. "Have you thought of arresting high-profile pedophiles like Epstein's clients? Letting a certain group of pedos go solely because they are rich, famous people being used by our Deep State and the Mossad shouts that you care more about the ability to garner votes/favors than the welfare of the abused children," another wrote. "Good luck when you meet God and try to explain." The post from the FBI came on the second day of Pride Month, with the Trump administration having launched a crackdown on rights for LGBTQ+ youth, especially transgender individuals, since President Donald Trump's first day in office. "Health care for trans youth is just that — it's health care," Laurel Powell, a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, said in a statement obtained by Axios. "Threatening to weaponize the FBI against American doctors who are following medical best practice would undermine parents who just want their children to thrive. There is no room for Donald Trump, the FBI or anyone else in the exam room," they continued. Originally published on Latin Times
