Why did the Dutch government collapse and what’s next?
Why did the Dutch government collapse and what’s next?

Why did the Dutch government collapse and what’s next?

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Pro-Palestine protesters in UK call for Israel arms embargo, sanctions

Pro-Palestine campaigners gathered outside the British Parliament in London. Thousands of protesters created a “Red Line for Palestine’, wearing red while encircling the building. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament that Israel’s actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are “appalling’ and “intolerable” Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned. Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day.

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Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel’s punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government.

Wednesday’s march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians.

Thousands of protesters created a “Red Line for Palestine”, wearing red while encircling the building.

Starmer told Parliament that Israel’s actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are “appalling” and “intolerable”.

“It is right to describe these days as dark,” Starmer said. “We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.”

Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions.

But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the “cruellest phase of this cruel conflict”.

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Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer’s entire speech to Parliament.

“There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,” Challands said.

“These protesters had formed a cordon, essentially all the way down from Parliament to the first bridge … that goes across to the other side of the [River] Thames, and they came back up … and returned over Westminster Bridge to join up here to make a full loop,” he added.

According to Challands, protesters say that their “red line” is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza.

It has not had “sufficient” red lines in place, he said. “The protesters say there should have been red lines before 54,000 deaths.”

In his remarks, Starmer also called for an end to the siege and said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and in the required quantities.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clean water, and fuel required by generators. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned.

Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day. The move came after Israeli forces opened fire at hungry aid seekers several times, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27.

The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage as many say aid is being weaponised and with the UN’s Guterres demanding an independent inquiry.

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Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the Health Ministry.

Source: Aljazeera.com | View original article

Q+A: Why the Dutch government collapsed — and why it matters

Far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled the plug on a four-party coalition. He cited a breakdown in talks over migration policy as the reason. Prime Minister Dick Schoof resigned, ushering in a new phase of political uncertainty. Leiden University’s Tom Louwerse explains why the government fell. He says Wilders made a deliberate choice to let migration be the issue that would break the government. He said: ‘If you want a truly strict asylum policy, you need to vote for me’ The Netherlands now enters months of caretaker governance with limited legislative power. The Parliament spoke with LouwerSE to examine the implications for Dutch politics, Wilders’ future and the country’s role in the EU. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. The Netherlands’ government fell amid Wilders push for a more hardline approach to asylum and migration policy, an issue central to his party’s identity. The government had been stumbling from crisis to crisis, so the collapse wasn’t entirely unexpected.

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After just 11 months in office, the Netherlands’ four-party coalition led by technocrat Dick Schoof has fallen apart. Leiden University’s Tom Louwerse explains why far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled the plug.

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The Netherlands’ government collapsed Tuesday after Geert Wilders pulled his far-right Freedom Party (PVV) out of a fragile four-party coalition, citing a breakdown in talks over migration policy.

The decision triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Dick Schoof — in office for just 11 months — ushering in a new phase of political uncertainty for the EU’s fifth-largest economy.

The coalition, which included Wilders’s PVV, the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the agrarian populist Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), and the centrist New Social Contract (NSC), had already faced deep ideological divisions. Wilders’ party — which won the most votes in November 2023, but failed to secure a majority — was only able to enter government after months of negotiations that saw him personally barred from the coalition. Party leaders then appointed Schoof, a technocrat without party affiliation, to lead the wobbly alliance.

The government fell amid Wilders push for a more hardline approach to asylum and migration policy, an issue central to his party’s identity. With new elections unlikely before autumn, the Netherlands now enters months of caretaker governance with limited legislative power.

The Parliament spoke with Tom Louwerse, professor of political science at Leiden University, to examine the implications for Dutch politics, Wilders’ future and the country’s role in the EU.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Did the collapse of the government come as a surprise?

This government had been stumbling from crisis to crisis, so the collapse wasn’t entirely unexpected. But until now, they had always managed to find a compromise or a way out. They could have done so again this time, but Wilders pushed things very far. By Monday evening, it was already clear the situation was critical.

This was a government where coalition partners never really trusted each other, and the structure of the coalition didn’t help build confidence either.

Why was migration the final straw?

Geert Wilders made a deliberate choice to let migration be the issue that would break the government. It’s the topic his party is best known for — they have real ownership of it. In his view, migration policy wasn’t going far enough. Even though he had signed up to the [government’s migration] agreement, he felt the implementation was too slow and the terms too soft.

He proposed a ten-point plan to accelerate and tighten migration measures, including border closures, no new asylum centres, and returning Syrian [immigrants] as soon as possible. His coalition partners were willing to discuss it but refused to sign the plan on the spot, which he essentially demanded. He was playing a high-stakes game, and the other parties no longer wanted to be part of it.

He preferred the government to fall over this subject, rather than over something like foreign policy, where he’d be forced to take public positions that have less voter appeal. By triggering a collapse now, he can put migration back at the centre of debate ahead of [fresh] elections.

At the outset, this coalition had promised the strictest asylum policy in Dutch history. Why do you think Wilders didn’t wait to see that through?

The main deviation from the original asylum plan was about declaring a state of emergency — that was the initial goal. But this had to be legally justified, and they failed to do that. So instead, the government agreed to pursue an emergency legislative procedure, which moved much more slowly.

That’s where things started to fall apart. In the Dutch system, a minister needs to seek consensus across various parties. Wilders’ minister, who was in charge of migration policy, wasn’t skilled at that — and Wilders’ confidence began to wane.

Polls also showed his party slipping, so I think he decided to act: to bring migration back into the spotlight, and to let the government fall on this issue if necessary. That way, he could send a message to voters: “If you want a truly strict asylum policy, you need to vote for me.”

Some critics say Wilders never really wanted to govern. He acted more like an opposition leader within his own government — making proposals that violated international treaties, while formally committing to uphold those same agreements.

We’ve seen far-right parties become part of governments all over Europe. The PVV entering government was a first for the Netherlands. Why didn’t it work?

The PVV has no real internal structure and few members with government experience. That was a problem. It also didn’t help that Wilders, as party leader, kept criticising the government — including his own ministers — from his seat in the House of Representatives.

He repeatedly said, “This isn’t good, this must change,” and his coalition partners started to feel that he needed to take some responsibility. They had agreed on a [migration] programme and wanted to stick to it. So when Wilders suddenly tried to reopen major parts of the deal, they were no longer willing to go along, especially given his lack of loyalty to the cabinet.

Are other parties still willing to govern with the PVV in the future?

The [centre-right] VVD hasn’t ruled it out yet — they’re being cautious. If they exclude the PVV entirely, they’ll likely be forced to form a coalition with the left. But working with such an unreliable partner as the PVV makes future cooperation very difficult.

The [centrist] NSC has been much clearer and now seems to be collapsing in the polls. The [populist] BBB was always the most PVV-aligned party in the coalition, but they’ve also lost support.

The [conservative] Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which has gained a bit in the centre-right, has also said they won’t govern with the PVV. That makes it hard for Wilders to form a new coalition unless the PVV becomes so large that it can govern with the VVD and a few smaller parties. It’s always theoretically possible if the numbers are there, but right now there’s no obvious coalition on the horizon.

Did Prime Minister Schoof have the authority to avoid these conflicts?

He didn’t. Schoof had no political support base — no party behind him — and the largest party in the coalition was perhaps its biggest critic.

He lacked a real mandate, and in the Dutch system, a prime minister needs to rally support across parties. It helps enormously if you have a solid backing bloc. Schoof didn’t have that.

What does the government’s collapse mean for the Netherlands’ role in the EU and NATO?

With the PVV leaving, the most sceptical voice on defence and Ukraine is out of the cabinet. The Netherlands will continue to honour its previous commitments. But as the government enters caretaker mode, the country’s international clout will decrease.

Schoof has little leverage now, especially since the largest party has exited. At this month’s NATO summit in The Hague, [Mark] Rutte — now NATO Secretary General — will lead the substantive programme. But long-term decisions, like increasing support for Ukraine, will become harder to push through.

What happens in the meantime, with the PVV still the largest party in parliament?

The cabinet is now in caretaker mode. Whether they can still govern depends largely on the House of Representatives. If MPs label a proposal “controversial,” it cannot move forward.

That said, parliament has recently become more willing to work on legislation even during caretaker periods — partly because these periods have been lasting longer. So we’ll likely see some legislative progress, but only on topics where there is broad consensus.

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Source: Theparliamentmagazine.eu | View original article

The Dutch government has collapsed after far-right Wilders pulls out of coalition. What now?

Dutch opposition parties call for fresh elections as soon as possible. Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders sparked the collapse of the country’s four-party coalition government. Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom ministers from the ruling coalition in a dispute over a crackdown on migration. Dutch electoral commission will schedule a general election for all 150 seats in the Second Chamber of parliament in the fall. The government says it will still be hosting the meeting of government leaders from the NATO alliance in the Hague later this month.. The Netherlands has provided arms to all NATO allies on June 24, Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on Xmas Day. He also said the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. The Dutch government will still handle vital policies in the coming months, but that some policies may be put on ice until there is a new coalition, he said. He said he wants to keep control, even in caretaker mode, of vital policies, highlighting security concerns and the need to continue support for Ukraine.

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Dutch opposition parties on Wednesday called for fresh elections as soon as possible, a day after anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders sparked the collapse of the country’s four-party coalition government.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s administration fell apart when Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom ministers from the ruling coalition in a dispute over a crackdown on migration. Schoof and the ministers of three remaining parties remain in power as a caretaker cabinet.

The government, with limited powers, now has to lead the country for months before new elections and during what could — again — be protracted talks to cobble together a new coalition in the fragmented Dutch political landscape after the vote.

Lawmakers can declare some policy areas “controversial” during the caretaker period, which would restrict the government from taking concrete action on those issues.

Schoof, a career civil servant who was handpicked by Wilders a year ago to lead the government, said he had repeatedly told coalition leaders in recent days that bringing down the government would be “unnecessary and irresponsible.”

Schoof’s 11-month-old administration goes down as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has said the caretaker government will still handle vital policies in the coming months, but that some policies may be put on pause. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)

Wilders told reporters that he was withdrawing his support for the coalition over its failure to act on his desire for a clampdown on migration, saying he “signed up for the toughest asylum policy and not the downfall of the Netherlands.” Coalition partners rejected that argument, saying they all support cracking down on migration.

What happens next

The Dutch electoral commission will schedule a general election for all 150 seats in the Second Chamber of parliament.

It is very unlikely to happen before the fall because of a parliamentary recess that starts July 4 and runs to Sept. 1, and that will be followed by several weeks of campaigning.

In a statement to lawmakers, Schoof said he wants to keep control, even in caretaker mode, of vital policies over the coming months, highlighting security concerns and the need to continue support for Ukraine, as well as the global trade war unleashed since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, “because that can have a direct effect on the Dutch economy and on our business community.”

Schoof leaves after handing in the resignation of Wilders’s PVV party ministers to King Willem-Alexander at royal palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)

He acknowledged that some other policies will be put on ice until there is a new coalition.

Opposition lawmakers urge speedy election

“I hope we can organize elections as quickly as possible, in the shortest possible time,” said Frans Timmermans, the former European commissioner who now leads a two-party, centre-left bloc.

He told The Associated Press that it was “an opportunity for all democratic parties to rid ourselves of the extremes because it’s clear that with the extremes you can’t govern. When things get difficult, they run away.”

Timmerman’s bloc of the Labour Party and Green Left is challenging Wilders’s party for top spot in Dutch polls. Wilders’s party won the most seats at the last election in November 2023 with a harsh anti-migrant and anti-Islam platform, in a shocking surge toward the far-right.

Frans Timmermans, of the center-left two party bloc of Labor Party and Green Left, speaks to the media in The Hague on Tuesday following Wilders’s withdrawal of his ministers. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)

Last week, Wilders unveiled a plan to radically slash migration, including using the army to guard land borders, turning away all asylum-seekers and halting family reunions for those already granted refugee status, warning that his party would be “out of cabinet” if stricter measures on migration weren’t implemented.

Lawmakers used Wednesday’s debate to attack Wilders for failing to make good while in office on his 2023 election pledges.

“You turned your back on these people,” Jimmy Dijk of the Socialist Party said, suggesting that Wilders apologize to his voters.

Wilders also is looking forward to campaigning.

“Let’s go back to the voter,” he said.

What about the NATO summit?

The government says it will still be hosting the meeting of government leaders from the NATO alliance in The Hague later this month.

“We look forward to welcoming all NATO allies on 24 June,” Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on X shortly after the administration’s collapse.

He also said the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. The Netherlands has provided key arms to Kyiv, including F-16 fighter jets.

Source: Cbc.ca | View original article

Why did the Dutch government collapse and what’s next?

Right-wing politician Geert Wilders pulls out of Dutch coalition government. Wilders said the other three parties had failed to back his plans to crack down on asylum for refugees. The four parties held 88 seats in the country’s 150-seat House of Representatives. It is unlikely for a single party to win the 76-seat majority and it takes months for a coalition to form. The Netherlands is scheduled to host a summit of NATO leaders on June 24-25 to discuss the Ukraine crisis and provide support to the European Union in its fight against the Kremlin-backed regime. The summit is expected to last for two days and will be held in the Hague, the capital of the Netherlands, and the city of Utrecht, in the east of the country. It will be the first time since the Second World War that the Netherlands has not had a government in place since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Dutch parliament is due to be dissolved on July 1, and a caretaker government will be in place until then.

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The Dutch government collapsed on Tuesday after far-right politician Geert Wilders pulled out of the right-wing coalition after a dispute over anti-immigration measures his party had proposed.

Wilders’ decision prompted the Dutch cabinet and Prime Minister Dick Schoof to resign.

Here is what triggered the government’s collapse, and what happens next:

Why did Wilders withdraw?

Wilders announced the withdrawal of his right-wing party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), from the 11-month-old right-wing Netherlands coalition government. Wilders said the other three parties in the coalition had failed to back his plans to crack down on asylum for refugees.

“No signature under our asylum plans. The PVV leaves the coalition,” Wilders wrote in an X post on Tuesday after a brief meeting in parliament with party leaders. Besides PVV, the coalition comprised People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) and the New Social Contract (NSC).

On May 26, Wilders announced a 10-point plan to extensively slash migration, deploying army officials at the Dutch land borders and rejecting all asylum seekers. Wilders threatened, back then, that his party would pull out of the coalition if migration policy was not toughened.

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The four parties cumulatively held 88 seats in the country’s 150-seat House of Representatives.

The PVV won the latest November 2023 election with 23 percent of the vote and 37 seats, the highest number of seats in the parliament out of all parties.

The majority mark in the House is 76 seats. The withdrawal leaves the coalition with only 51 seats.

When did Schoof step down?

After Wilders announced the withdrawal, an emergency cabinet meeting was called. After this, Schoof announced that he would step down, hours after the PVV withdrawal.

“I have told party leaders repeatedly in recent days that the collapse of the cabinet would be unnecessary and irresponsible,” Schoof said in the emergency cabinet meeting. “We are facing major challenges both nationally and internationally that require decisiveness from us.”

How did other Dutch leaders react?

Other leaders in the coalition called Wilders “irresponsible” and blamed him for putting his own political interests ahead of the country.

“There is a war on our continent. Instead of meeting the challenge, Wilders is showing he is not willing to take responsibility,” said Dilan Yesilgoz, leader of the VVD, which has 24 seats in the the House.

“It is irresponsible to take down the government at this point,” NSC leader Nicolien van Vroonhoven said about Wilders. The NSC has 20 seats.

Head of the opposition GreenLeft-Labour alliance Frans Timmermans said he could “see no other way to form a stable government” than early elections.

What’s next?

Schoof will now formally submit his resignation to the head of state, Dutch King Willem-Alexander. After this, elections are expected to be called. It is likely that the election will be held sometime in October or November, based on previous cycles.

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As of May 31, polls show that Wilders’ PVV has lost a little of its support, from 23 percent in the 2023 election to 20 percent.

This brings the party almost at par with the GreenLeft-Labour alliance, which has 19 percent of support and 25 seats in the lower house of parliament, the second highest number of seats after the PVV.

The fragmented politics of the Netherlands makes it difficult to predict which party will win the election. It is unlikely for a single party to win the 76-seat majority and it takes months for a coalition to form. According to the Dutch election authority’s data, no single party has ever won a majority since the first direct elections in 1848.

What happens until elections?

Schoof has said he and the other ministers of the coalition will continue with their positions in a caretaker government until a new government is formed after elections.

The political crisis comes as the Netherlands is scheduled to host a summit of NATO leaders at The Hague on June 24-25. Mark Rutte, the current secretary-general of NATO, was the prime minister of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024. Rutte was affiliated with the VVD.

Schoof had also been involved in European efforts to provide support to Ukraine in its war against Russia. In February, the Dutch PM was present at a meeting with other European leaders in Paris where the leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.

Source: Aljazeera.com | View original article

Dutch Government Collapses After Right-Wing Party Exits

The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew from the ruling coalition. Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent who took office last July, has resigned from his role in the wake of the collapse. The government’s fall after less than a year in power is expected to trigger snap elections, although experts say a vote before October is unlikely and the process of forming a new government could take months. The ruling coalition comprised four parties: PVV (37 seats), VVD (24 seats), NSC (20 seats), and BBB (7 seats), which together held 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. With PVV’s withdrawal, the coalition loses its majority, retaining only 51 seats.

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The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving the administration without a parliamentary majority and plunging the Netherlands into political uncertainty. Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent who took office last July, has resigned from his role in the wake of the collapse. The government’s fall after less than a year in power is expected to trigger snap elections, although experts say a vote before October is unlikely and the process of forming a new government could take months.

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Anti-immigration policy is at the top of Wilders’ agenda. His manifesto during the 2023 general election included a ban on all mosques, Islamic schools, the use of Qurans, and anyone wearing a Hijab entering government buildings in the Netherlands. The manifesto also said the PVV wants to reduce non-Western immigration and implement a “general asylum freeze.” Wilders’ speeches have been marked by hardline anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric as well: In late 2016, a panel of judges found him guilty of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans over comments he made in a post-election address in 2014; months later, ahead of parliamentary elections in 2017, Wilders described some Moroccans in the Netherlands as “scum.” As of January 2024, just under 3 million people in the Netherlands were born abroad, 176,000 thousand of whom were born in Morocco. One or both of another 250,000 residents’ parents were also born in Morocco.

Wilders has been calling for the Dutch government to implement his party’s 10-point plan, which includes slashing migration, turning away asylum seekers, and returning thousands of Syrians back to their home country. He has also been calling for changes to the “Main Outline Agreement” signed when the government coalition formed last year. On Tuesday morning, after walking out of a meeting of coalition party leaders, Wilders said in a post on X: “No signature for our asylum plans. No changes to the Main Outline Agreement. PVV leaves the coalition.” What could happen next? Wilders’ announcement that his PVV party will be leaving the coalition means that any party members holding ministerial positions in the cabinet will leave, while remaining ministers from three other parties will continue as part of a caretaker cabinet. After Prime Minister Schoof’s resignation on Tuesday, a general election is likely to be called as the current government will struggle to function with a minority in the House of Representatives.

The ruling coalition comprised four parties: PVV (37 seats), VVD (24 seats), NSC (20 seats), and BBB (7 seats), which together held 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. With PVV’s withdrawal, the coalition loses its majority, retaining only 51 seats.

Based on previous election timeframes, Reuters reported that an election before October is unlikely, and forming a new government in the meantime could take months due to the country’s fractured politics.

VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, whose party formed part of the government coalition, called for elections “as soon as possible” in a post on X, adding that the Netherlands needs a strong cabinet to “continue to deliver on the right-wing policies that the voters voted for.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Yesilgöz-Zegerius said in a separate post: “Wilders is putting his own interests above the interests of our country by walking away … Everything that could be done, we were already going to do. Everything we had already agreed upon.”

Source: Time.com | View original article

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