Wilders Plunges Dutch Politics Into Turmoil With Coalition Exit

Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders threw the Netherlands into political chaos by pulling his party’s ministers from the governing coalition over disagreements on immigration policy, the Associated Press’ Mike Corder reported.

A date for new elections has not yet been set, but they are unlikely to occur before fall. I Photo: Geert Wilders

The collapse of the coalition means the Netherlands will operate under a caretaker government just weeks ahead of a major NATO summit it is set to host.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof held an emergency Cabinet meeting before offering King Willem-Alexander the resignations of ministers from Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV).

Schoof, a career civil servant handpicked by Wilders to lead the government less than a year ago, warned that bringing down the coalition was “unnecessary and irresponsible.”

“We are facing major challenges nationally and internationally and, more than ever, decisiveness is required for the safety of our resilience and the economy in a rapidly changing world,” Schoof said.

A date for new elections has not yet been set, but they are unlikely to occur before fall. Schoof’s administration, in office for just 11 months, will go down as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history.

Wilders announced his decision in a post on X, after a brief parliamentary meeting with leaders of the four-party coalition. He said he was pulling support due to the coalition’s failure to deliver a crackdown on migration, a key demand of his platform.