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Netherlands to head for early elections again? Dutch govt collapses after Geert Wilders exits coalition
With the collapse of the Dutch government yet again, the Netherland awaits the announcement of fresh elections.
The Dutch government has yet again collapsed after far-right leader Geert Wilders withdrew his party's support from the coalition in a rerun of what happened in July 2023.
With the collapse of the government, Prime Minister Dick Schoof stated that his administration will continue on as the "caretaker government."
PVV exits coalition
Taking to X, Wilders announced that PVV (Freedom Party) will be leaving the coalition.
"No signature for our asylum plans. No changes to the Main Outline Agreement. PVV leaves the coalition," stated Wilders.
Speaking to reporters, the far-right leader, who was the clear winner of the 2023 snap elections, stated that his party signed up for a strict asylum policy and “not for the downfall of the Netherlands.”
With the PVV's exit, PM Schoof's party is left with 51 seats out of 150 in the Parliament.
“We proposed a plan to close the borders to asylum seekers, to stop them, to send them away. To stop building asylum-seeker centers, to close them," the leader said, adding that the coalition refused his proposals.
Dick Schoof to lead caretaker govt
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has said that his coalition government will become a caretaker administration after the collapse of the government.
Schoof told reporters he would offer the resignation of ministers from Wilders’ Freedom Party to the Dutch king.
With this, the Netherlands host the NATO 2025 Summit in end June with a caretaker administration.
Why did the Dutch government collapse?
In a major throwback to 2023, the Dutch government once again collapsed due to the ongoing row over migration.
In July 2023, former prime minister Mark Rutte announced the collapse of the government due to disagreements on the Netherlands' immigration policy.
Following this collapse, the Netherlands called for fresh elections and in November 2023, which were secured by Wilders and its Party for Freedom.
However, Wilders did not run for the post of PM and struck a deal with the conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) and the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), to form a coalition.
