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Irish Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- 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.'
Bloomberg
21 hours ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Netherlands May Hold Elections as Early as Oct. 29
By Updated on Save The Netherlands may hold a general election as early as Oct. 29, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his Freedom Party out of the Dutch government when his coalition partners rejected his latest proposals to curb immigration. This is the first possible option for a date, according to a statement from the Electoral Council, which suggests dates to lawmakers based on feasibility.
Irish Times
a day 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
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Dutch PM vows Ukraine support despite political chaos
THE HAGUE: Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof vowed Wednesday to keep up support for Ukraine and stick to defence commitments, despite the political crisis roiling the Netherlands after the government collapsed. Schoof said he would stay on as PM until elections, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his Freedom Party (PVV) out of the fragile ruling coalition. In the Netherlands, a caretaker government may not take new initiatives but can continue with priority policies with the support of parliament. Schoof set these out in a fiery parliamentary debate, with passions running high after the shock decision of Wilders to collapse the government. 'Life in the Netherlands and abroad goes on and decisions have to be taken that cannot be delayed,' said Schoof. 'I think these concern domestic and international security, including support for Ukraine and everything we need to do for defence,' he added. He said other priorities included international trade given global tariff battles, and introducing a budget in September. The sudden collapse of the government Tuesday came just weeks before the Netherlands welcomes world leaders including US President Donald Trump for a NATO summit. It plunged the European Union's fifth top economy and major exporter into chaos, only 11 months after a cabinet was formed. According to Dutch law, authorities require three months to prepare new elections, with most analysts expecting a vote in October or November. Polls show the PVV neck-and-neck with the Green/Left party of former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, with the liberal VVD close behind. Timmermans called for elections as soon as possible and attacked Wilders as a 'stain on this country.' 'I really hope that you never, ever, have any influence in running this country ever again,' said Timmermans.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- General
- New Straits Times
Wilders: firebrand 'Dutch Trump' gambles for power
SOMETIMES known as the "Dutch Trump" both for his bouffant dyed hair and firebrand rhetoric, Geert Wilders' anti-Islam, anti-immigrant and anti-EU message has catapulted him to the brink of power. From calling Moroccans "scum" to holding competitions for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Wilders has built a career from his self-appointed mission to stop an "Islamic invasion" of the West. He has remained defiant despite brushes with the law – he was convicted for insulting Moroccans – and death threats that have kept him under police protection since 2004. Now his latest political gamble has collapsed the coalition government he agreed to, in the hope of finally realising his ambition to become Dutch prime minister. After years in the political wilderness, the 61-year-old made his breakthrough in 2023, stunning Europe with a surprise election win. His far-right Freedom Party (PVV) took 37 seats in the 150-seat parliament, handily beating the more established Green/Left and liberal VVD parties. He toned down his anti-immigration rhetoric during the campaign, even saying during the last election debate there were "bigger problems than fighting against the flood of asylum seekers and immigrants." Wilders vowed to put his anti-Islam outbursts "in the freezer" as the price for taking up residence in the "Little Tower", as the prime minister's office in The Hague is known. But his coalition partners had other ideas. The Dutch political system is based on consensus, meaning no one party can dominate, and two of the four party leaders were queasy at the thought of Wilders leading the country. He reluctantly stepped aside to clinch a coalition deal, writing on X: "The love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position." After rollercoaster talks, the four parties agreed on Dick Schoof as a compromise PM, with a mandate to introduce the "strictest-ever" asylum policy seen in the country. But Wilders' ambitions were unsated and he frequently voiced his desire to become premier. He also again ramped up his anti-Islam rhetoric. "Walk the streets of Western Europe... and you will see that it often looks like a mediaeval Arab city, full of headscarves and burqas," he alleged in a recent speech. "Islam is rising but I do not want Islam to rise... for Islam and freedom are incompatible." Born in 1963 in southern Venlo, close to the German border, Wilders grew up in a Catholic family with his brother and two sisters. His mother was half-Indonesian, a fact Wilders rarely mentions. He developed an interest in politics in the 1980s, his older brother Paul told Der Spiegel magazine. "He was neither clearly on the left or the right at the time, nor was he xenophobic. But he was fascinated by the political game, the struggle for power and influence," Paul Wilders said. His hatred of Islam appeared to have developed slowly. He spent time in Israel on a kibbutz, witnessing first-hand tensions with the Palestinians. He also voiced shock at the assassinations of far-right leader Pim Fortuyn in 2002 and the radical anti-Islam filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004. When he heard the news of Van Gogh's murder: "I remember my legs were shaking with shock and indignation," he wrote in a 2012 book. "I can honestly say that I felt anger, not fear." Wilders entered politics in 1998 in the VVD party. During his early days in politics he started dying his brown hair blonde and learnt his media-savvy ways. Over the years he vowed not to be silenced, despite being convicted of insulting Moroccan-Dutch citizens. In 2006 he quit the VVD to found his own party and in 2017 it became the second largest in parliament, falling back to third largest in 2021. By tapping into a seam of Dutch discontent, Wilders also managed to push the political discourse in the Netherlands to the right. But Wilders also cut an isolated figure. He was married to a Hungarian woman but they had no children. When not posting anti-Islamic invective on his one social media account, he posted pictures of their cats on another. His party consisted of just one person: himself. And his security meant he had little contact with the outside world. "Geert's world has become very small," his brother told Der Spiegel. "It consists of the parliament, public events and his apartment. He can hardly go anywhere else."
