The Dutch government has fallen apart after Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) pulled out of the governing coalition. This has left the government without a majority in parliament and created political instability in the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent who assumed office last July, has resigned because of the collapse. The government’s failure after less than a year is likely to lead to early elections. However, experts believe a vote before October is improbable, and forming a new government could be a lengthy process.
Without the PVV’s 37 seats, the coalition government is now reduced to 51 seats out of 150 in parliament.
Wilders’ party achieved a surprising victory in November 2023, indicating a significant shift to the right in the Netherlands. This trend has been reflected in other European elections over the past year, including those in , , and the .
Who is Geert Wilders?
Wilders, 61, is a prominent and controversial figure in Dutch politics. Hailing from Venlo in the southern Netherlands, he entered politics in 1990, working for Frits Bolkestein, a center-right politician and then-leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He secured his first elected position in 1997 as a councilor.
He was elected to the House of Representatives the following year and has since become a long-standing member. He distanced himself from the VVD and established his own party, later named PVV, which he currently leads.
Anti-immigration policy is Wilders’ top priority. His proposals have included banning all mosques, Islamic schools, the Quran, and the wearing of hijabs in government buildings in the Netherlands. He has also stated that the PVV aims to decrease non-Western immigration and enforce a “general asylum freeze.”
Wilders’ speeches are known for his strong anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric. In late 2016, a panel of judges convicted him of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans for comments made in a post-election address in 2014. Months later, ahead of parliamentary elections in 2017, he referred to Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands as “scum.”
Currently, nearly 3 million people in the Netherlands were born abroad, with 176,000 originating from Morocco. Additionally, one or both parents of another 250,000 residents were born in Morocco.
Wilders has been urging the Dutch government to implement his party’s 10-point plan, which involves significantly reducing migration, rejecting asylum seekers, and returning thousands of Syrians to their home country.
He has also been advocating for changes to the agreement signed when the government coalition was formed last year.
On Tuesday morning, after leaving a meeting of coalition party leaders, Wilders stated: “No signature for our asylum plans. No changes to the Main Outline Agreement. PVV leaves the coalition.”
What could happen next?
Wilders’ announcement that the PVV is leaving the coalition means that any party members holding ministerial positions in the cabinet will depart. The remaining ministers from the other three parties will continue as part of a caretaker cabinet.
Following Prime Minister Schoof’s resignation on Tuesday, a general election is likely to be called, as the current government will struggle to operate with a minority in the House of Representatives.
The ruling coalition consisted of four parties: PVV (37 seats), VVD (24 seats), NSC (20 seats), and BBB (7 seats), holding a combined 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. With the PVV’s departure, the coalition loses its majority, retaining only 51 seats.
Based on previous election timeframes, it is anticipated that an election before October is unlikely, and the process of forming a new government could take months due to the country’s fragmented political landscape.
VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, whose party was part of the government coalition, has called for elections “as soon as possible”, adding that the Netherlands requires a strong cabinet to “continue to deliver on the right-wing policies that the voters voted for.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Yesilgöz-Zegerius stated: “Wilders is prioritizing his own interests over the interests of our country by walking away… Everything that could be done, we were already going to do. Everything we had already agreed upon.”