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Join on Telegram Leader of the Dutch far-right Party For Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders resigned on Tuesday morning, leading to a European political crisis. This resignation by the leader of the Dutch government’s largest political party has led to the collapse of said coalition government and calls for snap elections in near future.
Geert Wilders is a far-right populist politician who has been criticized repeatedly for racist and xenophobic statements. In 2016, he was found guilty of discrimination against the Moroccan immigrant community in a rally. Political experts have meanwhile reported him to be a NATO sceptic and anti-migration. Wilders’s party is also known for calling for “no Islamic schools, Qurans and Mosques.”
The far-right in the Netherlands has grown consistently over the past decade, paving the way for Wilders’s party winning the most seats during the 2023 parliamentary election.
This resulted in a prolonged period of coalition negotiations, eventually leading to a new government in July 2024. The coalition was ultimately led by civil servant Dick Schoof, as other parties refused to accept a Wilders-led government, forcing him into the political margins.
Tense cohabitation at the top
The relationship between Geert Wilders, leader of the largest party, and Dick Schoof, leader of the coalition, was tense from the start.
Although officially a member of the government, Wilders had been criticizing the government continuously on elements of policy like the continued support for Ukraine.
Wilders eventually made an ultimatum to the government, stating that if the Prime Minister and other members of the coalition, which includes several parties, didn’t accept the proposals on asylum migration, he and his party would resign from the government.
“Voters signed up for the toughest asylum policy and not the downfall of the Netherlands,” he fumed. Wilders then proposed his 10-point plan which parties were supposed to debate on Tuesday, despite not expecting much agreement.
The 10 points include sealing all borders with military patrols, rejecting all asylum seekers, suspending family reunification for refugees, and deporting Syrians on temporary Visas as he claimed Syria is now safe.
Wilders on Tuesday morning informed the prime minister that he was resigning and that his party would be withdrawing from the coalition. He then gave a speech at The Hague following a meeting with coalition leaders. The far-right politician then made an announcement on social media, explaining his reasons for resigning. This brought instability to the four-party coalition.
An ‘unnecessary and irresponsible decision’
The resignation led to strong condemnation of other coalition leaders, including Dilan Yesilogoz, the leader of the Freedom and Democracy Party, former Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s old party. “
Wilders is putting his own interests above those of the country,” Yesilogoz lamented. Dick Schoof agreed, arguing that the far-right leader’s decision was “unnecessary and irresponsible.” But Schoof admitted that this left the government position untenable.
Schoof presented the resignation of the PVV ministers to King Wilhem-Alexander. But he stated that his government would resign as he realized that with only 51 out of 150 seats the government couldn’t control the parliament. But Schoof stated that his government would remain in place until elections are called in the near future.
With the resignation of Wilders, the Netherlands has to call for a snap election to be held in the near future. Polls predict that these elections will lead to large gains from centre-based parties and the Labor-Green alliance is likely to do well in the next election.
Yet, despite the fact that the PVV is predicted to lose some support, many expect it to still win the highest number of seats. This means that the Netherlands is entering a period of great political uncertainty.
