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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Dutch election set for Oct 29 after government falls
The Netherlands will hold snap elections on October 29, authorities announced Friday, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled out of the ruling coalition, bringing down the government and sparking political chaos. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "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," added the minister. The vote in the European Union's fifth-largest economy and major global exporter will be closely watched in Europe, where far-right parties have made significant electoral gains. Polls suggest Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is running neck-and-neck with the Left/Green group of former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. The liberal VVD party stands just behind in the polls, suggesting the election will be closely fought. The election was prompted by the dramatic withdrawal of Wilders and the PVV from a shaky ruling coalition in a row over immigration policy. Wilders grumbled that the Netherlands was not fast enough to implement the "strictest-ever" immigration policy agreed by the four-way coalition -- and pulled out. He had stunned the political establishment in the Netherlands by winning November 2023 elections by a significant margin -- clinching 37 seats out of the 150 in parliament. The fractured nature of Dutch politics means no one party is ever strong enough to win 76 seats and govern with an absolute majority. Wilders persuaded the VVD, the BBB farmers party, and the anti-corruption NSC party to govern with him -- but the price was to give up his ambition to become prime minister. - Far-right rise - The PVV has apparently lost some support since that election, with recent surveys suggesting they would win around 28 to 30 seats. But the issue after the coming election will be: who will enter into a coalition with Wilders and the PVV? There was widespread fury with the far-right leader for bringing down the government over what many saw as an artificial crisis. Far-right parties have been on the rise across Europe. In May, the far-right Chega ("Enough") party took second place in Portugal's elections. In Germany, the anti-immigration far-right AfD doubled its score in legislative elections in February, reaching 20.8 percent. And in Britain, polls show the anti-immigration, hard-right Reform UK party of Nigel Farage is making significant gains following a breakthrough in local elections. ric/jhb
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
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. READ MORE 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
Sky News
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Geert Wilders: Dutch far-right leader accused of 'ego-trip' after coalition government collapses
Geert Wilders has blown up Dutch politics by taking his party out of the governing right-wing coalition. Tuesday's move makes fresh elections inevitable, but new polls may not deliver clarity and stability for the Netherlands. Mr Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) left the ruling coalition after a row over immigration policy - a subject he has campaigned on for all of his political career. He wanted his coalition partners to agree to his 10-point plan, which includes using the military to seal the country's borders to all asylum seekers, closing asylum centres and returning all Syrian nationals who have either applied for asylum or been granted temporary visas. Mr Wilders is a hugely divisive figure in Dutch politics - seen by some as a bold leader who speaks his mind and understands the frustrations of normal people; derided by others as a toxic populist who empowers bigots and racists. Even though the PVV was the biggest party in the 2023 election, his coalition partners refused to allow him to become prime minister. Instead, Dick Schoof, formerly a senior civil servant, was installed as a consensus candidate. The PVV's popularity has fallen slightly over the past year. It is still - probably - the most popular party in the country, but only by a fraction. The left has strengthened in that time, while it's likely that the centre-right VVD, which propelled Mark Rutte to multiple victories, has rediscovered its mojo. Mr Wilders' plan might be that he is fed up with compromises and believes that, if he's included in any future coalition, then the members need to sign up to his strident views on migration. But in the short term, he has caused chaos and bewildered the other members of his government. The VVD's Dilan Yesilgov said she was furious: "We had a right-wing majority and he's let it all go for the sake of his ego," she said.
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Far-Right Leader Pulls Out of Dutch Governing Coalition
Geert Wilders, the far-right leader of the biggest political party in the Netherlands, announced Tuesday that he would withdraw his ministers from the country's governing coalition over a dispute about migration, setting off a new political crisis. The move will likely trigger the imminent collapse of a government that was sworn in less than a year ago, as well as new elections. Mr. Wilders announced the withdrawal of his Party for Freedom from the four-party coalition on X, saying the decision was made because of his partners' refusal to sign off on a new list of proposals to curb migration. 'No signature for our migration plans,' he wrote in the message. The Party for Freedom, which has advocated banning the Quran, closing Islamic schools and entirely halting the acceptance of asylum seekers, won the largest number of seats in November 2023 elections, sending shock waves through the Dutch political system. Mr. Wilders was able to form a government with three other right-wing parties — the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, a center-right party; the Farmer Citizen Movement, a populist pro-farmer party; and New Social Contract, a new centrist party — after seven months of negotiations last year. Together, the four parties hold 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Far-right lawmaker Wilders pulls his party out of ruling Dutch coalition in dispute over migration
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders pulled his party out of ruling four-party Dutch coalition Tuesday in dispute over a crackdown on migration. Wilders announced his decision in a message on X after a brief meeting in parliament of leaders of the four parties that make up the 11-month-old administration. It was not immediately clear what Wilders' decision will mean for the government of Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
