Lots of speculation about who will be the new Dutch Prime Minister

PVV leader Geert Wilders has still not said who he plans to nominate for Prime Minister if the right-wing PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB Cabinet works out. That has sparked rampant speculations in the political circles in The Hague.

The leaders of the four parties agreed in March that none of them would be Prime Minister or a member of the Cabinet if their talks succeed. Despite much grousing from the PVV leader, Wilders, Pieter Omtzigt (NSC), Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD), and Caroline van der Plas (BBB) will remain in parliament.

As the leader of the largest party, Wilders must nominate someone and the fact that he hasn’t has caused some unrest in the VVD, Niewsuur reported. The party worries that he will make his Prime Minister nomination at the last minute, without prior discussion with the other parties, as he has done when nominating formation talks leaders.

The PVV doesn’t have many politicians with lots of administrative experience, so Wilders will likely look outside his own party. According to the current affairs program Nieuwsuur, Wilders may be considering politicians and former politicians with a decidedly right-wing profile, like Fred Teeven (VVD) and Marco Pastors (JA21).

Newspaper AD has heard the names Johan Remkes (VVD), Edith Schippers (VVD), Hans Hillen (CDA), Kees van der Staaij (SGP), and Elbert Dijkgraaf (SGP) mentioned on the right. But the names of left-wing politicians with right-leaning tendencies—Ronald Plasterk and Kim Putters, both PvdA and previously nominated by Wilders to lead the formation talks—are also circulating.

Remkes has told NOS that he has no intention of becoming Prime Minister. “I am retired in Groningen and I intend to remain so.” Van der Staaij told AD that he was unavailable. Dijgkraaf said he’d “rather not” take the job. Others, like Teeven and Schippers, have refused to respond. Putters gave AD a mysterious answer of “not an issue,” which isn’t quite a no.

Whoever gets nominated will have to deal with several massive, ongoing crises, such as climate change, the housing shortage, the tight labor market, and ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, on top of mediating with strong personalities like Wilders and Omtzigt.

“That’s why I think it will be someone with political experience and not an expert from outside politics,” VVD prominent Henk Kamp told AD, firmly adding that he was not available for the position. “It is really important that you know how a Cabinet works, the Tweede Kamer, the mutual relationships, and you’ll need a thick skin.”