Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), has announced his party’s withdrawal from the ruling coalition due to the rejection of his proposed immigration policy changes.
A disagreement over immigration policy has brought the Dutch government to the brink of collapse, as Geert Wilders pulls his party out of the governing coalition.
Wilders, whose PVV became the largest party in the 2023 elections, stated on Tuesday that the PVV is exiting the four-party coalition because his coalition partners would not agree to his suggested immigration overhaul. He informed Prime Minister Dick Schoof of the PVV ministers’ decision to leave the government.
“No signature under our asylum plans. The PVV leaves the coalition,” he posted on X on Tuesday.
Last week, Wilders presented a ten-point plan intended to dramatically decrease migration, increasing pressure on the coalition to take a stricter stance or risk a government crisis.
“I signed up for the toughest asylum policy and not the downfall of the Netherlands,” Wilders told reporters, according to Euronews.
Wilders sought the “strictest migration policy ever” in the Netherlands, a position that his coalition partners had ostensibly supported. In May 2024, the four ruling parties reached an agreement outlining “the strictest asylum admission policy and the most comprehensive migration control package ever.”
The proposal included halting asylum applications, temporarily suspending family reunification for recognized refugees, and deporting all Syrian asylum seekers or those residing in the Netherlands on temporary visas.
Wilders also advocated for the closure of asylum centers. Legal experts have cautioned that several aspects of the plan could violate European human rights laws and the UN Refugee Convention, to which the Netherlands is a signatory.
The Party for Freedom, led by Wilders and known for its proposals to ban the Quran and close Islamic schools, won the most seats in the November 2023 elections, signaling a major shift in Dutch politics.
Wilders formed a coalition government with three other right-leaning parties: the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the populist Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB), and the New Social Contract (NSC). This agreement, reached after more than six months of negotiations, marked the first time Wilders’ party had been included in a governing coalition, having previously been excluded by mainstream parties.
The four-party coalition controls 88 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, providing it with a strong majority.
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