New election in the Netherlands after the government breaks up

This was announced by non-party Prime Minister Dick Schoof after the right-wing populist Geert Wilders caused the government coalition to collapse in a dispute over asylum policy. Schoof announced that he would offer the King the resignation of the government.

However, the government of the independent prime minister, which took office just under a year ago, will remain in office for the time being. The impasse hits the Netherlands just three weeks before an important NATO summit in The Hague, which the government is hosting.

New elections probably in the fall at the earliest

New elections are not expected until the fall. Until then, the Netherlands is threatened with political gridlock in some areas. Schoof did say that he would continue to work with the remaining government parties on urgent and important issues.

However, there is a risk of delays on controversial issues. As all ministers from Wilders' party are leaving the government with immediate effect, the relevant portfolios will have to be reallocated.

Wilders had repeatedly threatened to break up the governing coalition if his demands for a hard line on asylum policy were not met. On Tuesday morning, he then announced the withdrawal of his radical-right Party for Freedom (PVV) from the four-party coalition, in which it was the strongest party.

The other coalition partners had previously refused to retroactively include a ten-point PVV plan with tougher asylum rules in the coalition agreement. Instead, they proposed discussing the plans in parliament.

Wilders wants to send refugees back

In principle, the government partners in the Netherlands agreed on a stricter course in asylum policy. However, the PVV, the strongest party in parliament since the recent election, made far-reaching demands, such as closing the borders to all asylum seekers.

If necessary, the army would have to be deployed to control the borders, Wilders declared when presenting the plan a week ago. Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees should be sent back to their home country and asylum centers should be closed. Wilders also called for an end to family reunification for recognized refugees and the deportation of offenders with dual nationality, in which case their Dutch citizenship would have to be revoked.

Coalition unstable from the start

In the election in November 2023, the radical-right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by anti-Islamist Wilders surprisingly became the strongest party. The PVV also entered the government for the first time. The coalition also includes the right-wing liberal VVD, the center party NSC and the right-wing populist farmers' party BBB.

The four-party alliance was unstable from the outset. The center party NSC had strong doubts as to whether the government partner PVV would abide by the constitution. Most recently, the coalition parties NSC and VVD criticized the PVV Minister for Asylum, Marjolein Faber, accusing her of incompetence.