From the start, it was unlikely that the Dutch cabinet led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof would sit out the full four-year term. The coalition between the four right-wing parties PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB was formed in July 2024 after tense negotiations that lasted nine months. It was the first time that the populist PVV, led by Geert Wilders, was part of the government; in the past, most parties felt its viewpoints were too extreme, especially on migration. However, since the PVV received the most votes in the election, it was impossible to ignore the democratic will of the Dutch people.
Finally, after difficult negotiations, a coalition agreement was reached that promised the ‘strictest immigration policy ever’. Still, most of Wilders’ extreme views had been watered down in the agreement. Neither did Wilders, as leader of the largest party, become Prime Minister – having a right-wing populist PM went too far. Instead, career civil servant Dick Schoof was installed to keep all parties in line. Wilders himself remained a simple Member of Parliament, with no special powers. However, behind the scenes he decided what the PVV ministers in the cabinet said and did.
From the start, the other parties seemed to feel uncomfortable working with Wilders, who often voiced opinions that went against those of his coalition partners. Several times he threatened to leave the government, but every time the ripples were smoothed over. At the same time, Wilders felt that he had already made too many concessions in the coalition agreement and that it was not strict enough on topics important to him.
Finally, in early June, matters came to a head – again regarding migration. Wilders presented a new plan about immigration, which was stricter than set out in the coalition agreement. This plan entailed that all Dutch borders should be closed to new asylum seekers, and that all Syrian refugees in the Netherlands must be sent back home. The other coalition parties refused to sign, maintaining that the PVV could simply get to work on the points already in the coalition agreement, without needing Wilders’ new plan. They asked Wilders instead to submit his plan to the PVV Minister of Asylum and Migration, Marjolein Faber, who could then propose a new law to the House of Representatives. However, Wilders feared that the House would disagree and his ideas would be scrapped. Therefore, he announced that he withdrew his ministers, resulting in the end of the Schoof cabinet.
VVD, NSC and BBB were angry and surprised. The coalition partners and opposition accused Wilders of not taking responsibility by pushing his own agenda rather than acting in the interests of the country. Since there is now no cabinet in power, decisions cannot be made on important topics that need urgent solutions, such as the housing shortage, climate change and international geopolitics. For now, a caretaker government is in power until a new coalition can be formed. The other three parties have divided the empty ministers’ positions between them – not without a lot of arguing – but cannot make important decisions.
New elections will take place on 29 October. Whatever the results, it will be difficult to form a new government. VVD, NSC and BBB have all stated they will not work with Wilders again. It seems even more unlikely that any of them will work with the main opposition party, the GreenLeft/Labour alliance. Whether the PVV will suffer from its attempt at governing remains to be seen. Some PVV voters voiced disillusion in the media, accusing Wilders of sabotaging his chance to implement his ideas by arguing with his coalition partners. Others maintained the other parties were never serious about implementing the coalition agreement and opposed Wilders whenever they could – a line of reasoning that Wilders himself has often expressed. In any case, the Netherlands seems in for another long negotiation after the elections, while no solutions are forthcoming on the issues that the country is facing.
Written by Saskia Roselaar