The Far-right Has Collapsed The Dutch Coalition Government

Because of the refusal to radically restrict migration.

The migration issue, which has become a top concern for politicians and voters in many Western countries, led to the collapse of the Dutch coalition government on Tuesday. Gert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), pulled out of the coalition after the three other member parties refused to back his plan to limit migration, Bloomberg reported.

PVV insisted on closing borders to asylum seekers, temporarily ending family reunification and returning asylum seekers from Syria to their home country on the grounds that the situation there supposedly no longer poses a high risk to residents after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. In addition, the plan that Wilders presented last week called for the army to be involved in border patrols and for refugee shelters to be closed.

On Monday, Wilders demanded that the other three parties "put their signatures" to his plan and agree to implement a number of its points within the next few weeks. Otherwise, he threatened to withdraw the PVV from the coalition and realized his threat on Tuesday. This means that the Netherlands must now hold snap elections.

The migration issue is not the first time the Dutch government has been undermined. In 2023, the government of Mark Rutte, who was the longest-serving prime minister (14 years), collapsed because of it. By that time, far-right parties in many European countries were on the rise, thanks in part to promises to reduce migration. The PVV won a majority of votes in the election, but was unable to form a government on its own.

The other parties refused to choose Wilders as prime minister, and after months of negotiations, the non-partisan Dick Schof, former director of the General Intelligence and Security Service, took the post in July 2024.

Dylan Jeschilgeus-Zegerius, Rutte's successor as leader of the center-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the second-largest party in parliament, accused Wilders of selfishness and an unwillingness to take responsibility. According to her, the parties in the coalition have no fundamental disagreements and "it's not about the asylum," but about the fact that Wilders "chooses his ego and his interests," undermining the chances of right-wing parties.

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