After Six Months of Talks, Dutch Populist Geert Wilders Forms Right-Wing Coalition Government
In the 26-page coalition document, the new group promises to ‘Deport people without a valid residence permit as much as possible, even forcibly.’
The Dutch Party for Freedom leader, Geert Wilders, is forming a coalition with three other parties to form the most conservative government the Netherlands has seen in years.
Mr. Wilders, probably best known for his proposals to ban Mosques and the Quran, was the most popular politician in last year’s election in the Netherlands.
In the 2023 vote, Mr. Wilders’ party, the PVV won about 24 percent of the vote, the most of any party. The next most popular parties won about 16 percent and 15 percent each. His party will go into government with the conservative-liberal VVD, the centrist New Social Contract and the Farmer Citizens Movement (BBB).
The announcement of a coalition agreement signals the end of months of negotiations in the country, though it’s still unclear who will serve as prime minister.
“We are writing history today,” Mr. Wilders proclaimed. “The sun will shine again in the Netherlands.”
Euronews reports that the new right-wing coalition is framed around the slogan “hope, courage and pride” and will likely crack down on illegal immigration and refugees. In the 26-page coalition document, the new group promises to “Deport people without a valid residence permit as much as possible, even forcibly.”
As in other European Union countries, like Belgium, the ascendant anti-immigrant party has been fueled, in part, by younger voters and the economic woes facing a younger generation such as the lack of affordable housing.
The new coalition in the Netherlands would join a growing crop of governments dominated by some of their most far-right members, like Hungary and Italy.
Though it’s not yet clear who would serve as prime minister in the Netherlands, Euronews reports that the new coalition is widely expected to choose a technocrat from outside of the party structures.