Wilders grouses over “unfair” process preventing him from becoming Dutch PM
A day after saying he would no longer attempt to become the next Prime Minister, Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders said it was “unfair” and “constitutionally incorrect” that his potential Cabinet coalition partners denied him the opportunity.
Wilders stressed that he was the leader of the largest party after the parliamentary election. “So I also think I should have become Prime Minister. I also said at the negotiating table that I think it should be me,” the PVV leader said before meeting with Cabinet formation leader Kim Putters and the leaders of the VVD, NSC, and BBB on Thursday. “But you need the support from all parties for that.”
The PVV leader said only received full support from BBB leader Caroline van der Plas to become Prime Minister. “One other party” said they’d rather not have Wilders as Prime Minster but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, Wilders said. He did not elaborate, but according to NOS, it is clear that NSC was the roadblock here.
Wilders said he ultimately had to choose between fighting to become Prime Minister - “Which many people voted for and also expected me to become, and I am just as angry as they are” - and making this concession so that the talks could continue. The PVV leader said that he ultimately decided to accept this disappointment in the national interest, “no matter how much it hurts and how unfair I find it and how constitutionally incorrect it is.”
On Wednesday, it became clear that the party leaders intend to remain in parliament and not take positions in the Cabinet. According to NOS, the leaders of the VVD, NSC, and BBB said it was the only way they would be willing to continue negotiations.
Wilders himself confirmed that he wouldn’t be Prime Minister in a post on X. "The love for my country and voter is great and more important than my own position,” he wrote, along with promises to put Dutch people first and reduce the number of people seeking asylum in the Netherlands.
Putters is meeting with the leaders of the four parties for a last time on Thursday before presenting his report on this round of talks to parliament later today. On Tuesday, Putters said that the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB are ready to take the next step in the Cabinet formation process. The four parties are expected to begin negotiating the terms for an extra-parliamentary Cabinet.
