Dutch government falls, elections probably in October – StMaartenNews.com – News Views Reviews

THE HAGUE – The government of Prime Minister Dick Schoof collapsed last week after PVV-leader Geert Wilders withdrew his support. The first realistic option for elections is October 29, according to the Dutch electoral council.

Wilders promised the creation of “the most severe” immigration policy ever, but even though the minister that had to deal with the issue, Marjolein Faber, is a member of the PVV, she has not delivered anything during her tenure. Wilders blamed his coalition partners for the delays and said that he could no longer support the government. He demanded that his coalition partners signed an agreement to review the governing accord and when they refused to do this, he dropped his support for the government.

Wilders came with some proposals that were already part of the government’s policy (for instance stricter border controls) but he also made proposals that would violate basic rights. Example: Wilders wanted to revoke the Dutch nationality of citizens with a double passport.

Coalition partners VVD, NSC and BBB are extremely angry about Wilders’ decision. NSC-leader Nicolien van Vroonhoven labeled it as irresponsible and incomprehensible. Caroline van der Plas (BBB) noted: “He does not put the Netherlands first, he puts Wilders first.”  VVD-leader Dilan Yesilgöz: “The only thing I can see is somebody who does not want to take responsibility.”

Whether new elections will create a way out of the political mess remains to be seen. Two parties (NSC and CDA) have already indicated that they will not join another coalition with the PVV. The VVD has not gone that far yet, saying that it awaits the results of the elections.

Polls generated after the fall of the government indicate that the PVV would drop from its current 37 seats in parliament to 28. The combination of Green Left and PvdA would win three seats and end up with 28. The VVD goes from 24 to 30 seats, while NSC practically disappears: it goes from 30 to just 2 seats and will therefore most likely become politically irrelevant. The CDA would jump from 5 to 18 seats.

These numbers concern the most prominent parties in the Dutch political landscape. The parliament has 150 seats so a coalition needs to have at least 76 seats for a majority to form a government.

It is easy to see that the PVV has put itself in a near impossible position. Wilders will have to find 48 seats if he wants to be part of the next government.  Because Green Left/PvdA will most likely stay away from a new venture with Wilders and the CDA will not join a PVV-coalition, while the VVD is still sitting on the fence, the formation of a government that includes the PVV is practically impossible.

Let’s not forget that the numbers quoted above stem from political polls. The voters will decide what a future Dutch government will look like but as things stand now, things don’t look good for Wilders and his supporters.

###

Photo caption: Photo taken from DossierKoninkrijksrelaties.nl.

###

ADVERTISEMENT