Dutch government collapses as far-right leader exits coalition

The Dutch government collapsed after Geert Wilders withdrew his far -right party from the govering coalition following a line on migration.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof confirmed that he resigned on Tuesday and offered the cabinet to the King Willem-Alexander.

In television remarks after an emergency firm meeting, Schoof said that Wilders’ decision to withdraw support from his PVV party was “irresponsible and useless”.

“As far as I’m concerned, that shouldn’t have happened,” he added.

The power coalition was in place for less than a year.

The row that led to its collapse occurred after Wilders pushed 10 additional asylum measures, including a freeze on applications, stopping the construction of reception centers and limiting family reunification.

Schoof had launched a last -minute call to the leaders of the coalition parties on Tuesday morning, but the meeting lasted a minute before Wilders went, ending the coalition.

“No signature for our asylum plans. The PVV leaves the coalition,” said Wilders on X.

There was a shock and anger among the political leaders, many of whom stressed that several of Wilders’ requests were similar to the policies already in the coalition agreement, and that they would not be in terms of PVV to implement them.

Many of the additional proposals presented by Wilders were rejected during the talks in coalition due to legal problems.

Wilders’ decision ended a difficult governance coalition which was born in July 2024 after months of political disputes following the elections of the previous year.

His anti-immigration PVV, far right, was the largest party. The other members were the conservative-liberal VVD, the Citizen Movement of Farmers (BBB) ​​and the new centrist social contract.

From the start, the coalition seemed a marriage of convenience, characterized by intestine struggles and seemed to fight to pass all the policies which she had proudly promoted.

After its collapse, the former partners of the Wilders coalition accused it of engineering the crisis. VVD chief Dilan Yesilgoz said this decision was “super irresponsible”, adding: “It was not at all asylum”.

“I think Wilders betrays the Netherlands,” said Vice-Prime Minister Mona Keijzer of the BBB.

But Wilders seems to feel embarrassment. On Tuesday, he told journalists that he intended to become Prime Minister in the Netherlands “and to make sure that PVV becomes bigger than ever in the next elections.”

Sandra Phlippen, the chief economist of the ABN Amro Bank, said that the immediate economic impact of the cabinet’s collapse seemed minimal because during his 11 months in mandate, the government had “barely made concrete plans”.

The polls show that the parts on the far right and green-left are shoulder to shoulder, with problems of migration and cost of living power supplying political volatility across Europe.

Wilders wanted the government to collapse while the support of its Freedom party continues to fall into the ballot boxes, according to Armida Van Rij, head of the Europe program at Chatham House.

With the NATO summit to be held in The Hague at the end of the month, the Schoof ministers will seek to stay in power until a date is fixed in the Netherlands to return to the polls – probably in the fall, according to Dutch media.

In the Dutch political system, becoming the Prime Minister requires forming a majority coalition in the Parliament of 150 places.

Even if Wilders again goes beyond the expectations of political experts, its decision to collapse the government is considered to be reckless – and the perceptions that it puts a personal ambition above national stability could further complicate its ability to form alliances after the next elections.

The reluctant or refused parties to go to the government with Wilders after the last elections are likely to find this type of partnership even less attractive now.

In addition, by reversing the coalition on the question of asylum, it is probably that Wilders Metra at the center of his next electoral campaign.

However, given that his party was responsible for asylum and immigration for almost a year, there is no guarantee that such a bet will pay.