The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, resigned on Tuesday shortly after the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, announced the withdrawal of his party from the coalition government.
“If a party does not have the will to continue, it is not possible to stay together. With the departure of PVV, there is not enough support in the Lower House,” Schoof emphasized after a cabinet meeting that lasted about two hours, as reported by the broadcasting network NOS.
Why did the Prime Minister of the Netherlands resign?
Schoof, who formalized his resignation this afternoon before King Willem-Alexander, confirmed in a brief appearance that he will remain as interim prime minister until early elections are held and described the government’s fall, caused by the departure of PVV, as “irresponsible and unnecessary.”
The Dutch Royal House indicated that “the king, upon the recommendation of the prime minister, has immediately dismissed the ministers and secretaries of state proposed for appointment in the cabinet” by PVV, while to “the others” he has requested that they “continue to serve in the interest of the kingdom”.
In addition, due to this situation, Guillermo Alejandro shortened his State visit to the Czech Republic that was scheduled for this week by invitation of the Czech president, Petr Pavel, although Queen Máxima will continue with the agenda in Prague.
The collapse of the Dutch government comes after Wilders announced this Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the coalition due to the lack of an agreement on the ten-point plan with border control and anti-immigration measures that his party presented last week.
The cabinet, formed by the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) party, and the Farmers-Citizens Movement (BBB), will now remain in office without the PVV ministers.
Wilders had repeatedly threatened Schoof, who took office on July 2 last year, with bringing down the government if the borders were not closed to all asylum seekers “as soon as possible” and if his migration proposals were not approved.
The PVV was the most voted party in the November 2023 elections. After several failed attempts, it finally managed to gather support for a four-party coalition government in which, however, Wilders himself was left out due to the vetoes of the other formations, all of them conservative in nature.