Wilders blows up the coalition: Asylum policy escalates in the Netherlands!

Wilders blows up the coalition: Asylum policy escalates in the Netherlands!

Geert Wilders, the leader of the radical right party for freedom (PVV), has announced the withdrawal of his party from the Dutch government coalition today. This step took place in the course of a dispute over asylum policy after the coalition could not reach an agreement on the desired asylum plans. Prime Minister Dick Schoof, independent, has already announced that the number of new elections will be scheduled after the coalition has only kept less than a year. frekn.de has reported that the PVV is not leaving the coalition on Coalition agreement will take place.

In the run-up to the coalition break, Wilders had presented a ten-point program on asylum and migration policy. The suggestions included the suspension of family reunification, stronger control of the Dutch external borders and the deportation of migrants to Syria. However, these demands failed because the other government parties could not agree with him. Wilders had threatened to leave the coalition if his suggestions were not implemented. Now Wilders sees the patience of his party in asylum policy as exhausted and presented the government an ultimatum that was not adhered to.

unstable coalition and political reactions

The coalition was unstable from the start and was about to break several times. Wilders' PVV emerged as the strongest force in the election in November 2023, but the coalition could not implement its promised measures, especially in migration policy. In a crisis meeting of the parliamentary group leader in the Hague, which only lasted a few minutes, Wilders asked the PVV ministers to withdraw, declaring his responsibility to be ended. The reactions of the coalition partners were partly sharp: Dilan Yesilgöz from the VVD accused Wilders to put his ego over the country, while Caroline van der Plas von der BBB and Nicolien van Vroonhoven from NSC Wilders' decision.

Prime Minister Schoof said that the new elections will soon be announced, while the coalition will remain in office until then. However, a specific date for the elections has not yet been mentioned. In the meantime, the government crisis is carefully observed by the EU, especially since it enters the Hague shortly before a significant NATO summit.

Current developments in asylum policy

The Dutch government had recently submitted a legislative package for harder asylum rules and border controls, which also included a planned proclamation of an emergency due to the asylum crisis. However, these plans were rejected. A border control is to be introduced from the end of November, while the aim is to return to Belgium and Germany for illegally entered migrants. Wilders himself described the measures now presented as historical and as the toughest asylum policy in general, although lawyers and municipalities express considerable concerns about the feasibility of the new regulations.

The EU also rejected the Dutch wish to get out of the common asylum rules. The number of asylum seekers, which is stable in the Netherlands annually at around 40,000 annually, is a challenge. The political tensions and uncertainties about asylum legislation could further burden public order and political stability in the Netherlands.