AMSTELDAMS, June 3 (Reuters) – Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders’ PVV party has left the Governance coalition on Tuesday, set to overthrow the right-wing government, likely in a move that will likely lead to a new election.
Wilders said his coalition partners are unwilling to support his idea of stopping the movement of asylum.
“There is no signature under our asylum plan. PVV will leave the coalition,” Wilders said in a post on X.
Wilders said that all ministers of the PVV party have informed Prime Minister Dick Schuf that they are leaving the government. School has not responded to his resignation yet.
The Wilders surprise move ends an already vulnerable coalition that has struggled to reach any consensus since its establishment last July.
It will likely bring new elections in a few months, adding to political uncertainty for the eurozone’s fifth largest economy.
It could also delay decisions regarding historic increases in defense spending to meet new NATO goals.
And when it receives the NATO country leader for the summit to determine these targets in the Hague later this month, it leaves the Netherlands with the admin government alone.
Distrust, angry
Wilders’ coalition partners responded with distrust and anger.
“This makes us look like an idiot,” said the leader of conservative VVD party Dirun Yeshirgoz. “There’s a war on our continent. Instead of meeting the challenge, Wilder shows he’s not responsible.”
“This is incredible,” said Nikolienvan Valonhoven, leader of the centralized NSC party. “It’s irresponsible to overthrow the government at this point.”
The PVV has come out and the other parties have the theoretical option to proceed as a minority government. They are not expected and have yet to confirm it.
The Wilders won the most recent election in the Netherlands, but recent polls show that they have lost their support since joining the government.
The poll now places his party at around 20% of the vote, comparable to the second largest workforce and green combination in Congress.
Last week, Wilders called for immediate support in his proposal to halt immigration in asylum altogether, send Syrian refugees back to their home country and close the shelter in exile.
Coalition Partners did not accept his ideas and said it would be up to the immigration minister from Wilders’ own party to tackle a particular proposal. The Wilders were not part of the government’s own leader or minister.
He was convicted of discrimination after shaming Moroccans at a campaign rally in 2014, and managed to sign a coalition contract with three other Conservatives after giving up on a bid to become prime minister last year.
Instead, the Cabinet was led by an independent, unelected Schoolof, a career bureaucrat who was a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, who led the Dutch intelligence reporting agency AIVD.
(Written by Bart Meijer and Ingrid Melander, edited by Peter Graff and Bernadette Baum)
