Wilders assured a Senate majority if he has the VVD’s backing

As long as it has the support of the VVD, Geert Wilders’ first Cabinet can count on a majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate. The four parties currently discussing forming the new Dutch government - PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB - are only eight seats short of a Senate majority, and the other right-wing parties are willing to provide that, AD reports.

The necessity of the VVD’s participation in - or at least support for - the first PVV-led Cabinet could be seen in the Senate’s recent passing of the asylum distribution law. Wilders and his anti-immigration PVV vehemently opposed the law that would allow the government to force municipalities to take in a fair share of asylum seekers. During the election campaign, the VVD pulled its support from the bill. But the liberals did not tell its Senators to follow the party line, and the law passed through the Eerste Kamer thanks to the ten VVD Senators voting in favor, causing some strife in the coalition talks.

The negotiating parties currently hold 30 of the 75 seats in the Eerste Kamer - the BBB has 16, the VVD has 10, and the PVV has four. The NSC isn’t in the Senate yet. November’s parliamentary election was the first in which Pieter Omtzigt’s party participated.

That puts the potential Wilders I Cabinet eight seats short of a majority in the Senate. JA21 (3 seats), SGP (2 seats), FvD (2 seats), and 50Plus (1 seat) are willing to provide those eight seats, they told AD.

“We are in favor of a right-wing Cabinet. If they can come to an agreement in the Cabinet formation,” JA21 Senator Annabel Nanninga told AD. “We are not going to applaud everything, but there is a much greater chance that the proposals of such a right-wing Cabinet will receive a warmer reception.”

Johan Dessing of FvD also said the negotiating parties can likely count on their two seats. “We would like to grant a majority to a right-wing Cabinet. No matter how small we are, we are happy to support that,” he said. “What we do not support is climate transition or nitrogen. If all goes well, we will be done with that nonsense under the new Cabinet.

SGP Senator Peter Schalk said: “Our basic attitude is constructively governmental.”

“If you look at my past, you will understand that I am open to a right-wing Cabinet,” Martin van Rooijen, the only 50Plus Senator, told the newspaper. He expects many votes to split 37-37 in the Senate, making his one vote very important. “I can often have the decisive vote over the next four years,” he said but added that he will only support proposals that benefit senior citizens.