Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders brought down the ruling coalition yesterday, counting on a snap election focused on immigration to bring victory at the polls and the realization of his decades-long ambition to take the highest political office.
A populist lawmaker shook up the political scene yesterday by withdrawing his party's ministers from the government. He accused coalition partners of not supporting his tough anti-immigrant policies enough.
However, Prime Minister Dick Schoff, an independent politician, accused Wilders of irresponsibility, while the other coalition parties denied that they had withheld support from Wilders, stating that they were waiting for concrete proposals from the Minister of Migration from his Party for Freedom (PVV).
Ministers from the PVV will leave the government, and the other parties will continue to function as a technical administration until the elections, which will probably not be held before October.
Reuters writes that discontent over migration and the high cost of living is fueling the far right and deepening divisions in Europe, at a time when it needs unity to effectively confront a hostile Russia and an unpredictable, combative US President Donald Trump.
"In recent days, I have repeatedly told party leaders that the fall of the government would be unnecessary and irresponsible," Schoof said after an emergency cabinet meeting called in response to Wilders' decision.
“We face great challenges, both nationally and internationally, that require determination,” he added, before submitting his resignation to King Willem-Alexander.
The possibility of new elections is likely to delay a decision on increasing defense spending and means the Netherlands will have only a technical government when it hosts a summit of NATO leaders this month.
Wilders said he had no choice but to leave the coalition.
“I proposed a plan to close the borders to asylum seekers, expel them and close the reception centers. I demanded that the coalition partners commit to this, which they did not do. I had no choice but to withdraw support for this government,” he told reporters. “I advocated for the strictest asylum policy, not for the downfall of the Netherlands.”
He said he would lead the PVV in new elections and expressed hope that he would become the next prime minister.
"We agreed that the Netherlands would become the strictest in Europe (on immigration), but now we are lagging behind and are at the very bottom," he told reporters.
Some analysts believe that, despite Europe's shift to the right, his plan could still backfire.
Reuters writes that polls show the PVV's popularity has fallen since he entered government and that, even if it remains the largest party, forming a coalition will be difficult in a deeply polarized country. Opposition parties refuse to cooperate with Wilders, and his sudden move yesterday angered and confused political partners.
Political scientist Joep van Liet of Radboud University in Nijmegen said elections were now most likely in late October or November. Even then, due to the fragmented political scene, forming a new government could take months, Reuters estimates.
It remains to be seen whether right-wing voters will see the development as Wilders' failure to turn his proposals into reality, or whether they will conclude that he needs a stronger mandate to enforce his will, Van Liet said.
Simon Otjes, an assistant professor of Dutch politics at Leiden University, said the PVV probably calculated that the next election would be seen as a referendum on immigration policy, “because they know they would win in that case.”
Amsterdam resident Michelle ten Berhe told Reuters that she hopes "that in the new elections we will elect a government that will be more moderate."
However, florist Ron van den Hogenband from The Hague said he expects Wilders to emerge victorious and take control of parliament "so he can do what Trump is doing, like other European countries where the far right is taking power."
Wilders won the last election in November 2023 with an unexpectedly high 23 percent of the vote.
According to polls, his party now has around 20 percent support, about the same as the Labor-Green alliance, which is currently the second strongest in parliament.
Wilders last week called for urgent support for his 10-point plan, which includes closing borders to asylum seekers, returning Syrian refugees and closing reception centres. He also proposed expelling migrants convicted of serious crimes and tightening border controls.
Migration has been a divisive issue in Dutch politics for years. The previous government, led by current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, also fell after failing to reach an agreement on immigration restrictions.
Wilders, a provocative politician who was convicted of discriminating against Moroccans in 2016, was not part of the last government.
He was able to reach a coalition agreement with three other conservative parties last year only after agreeing not to become prime minister. Instead, the cabinet was led by the unelected Schoff, a career civil servant.
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