Wilders threatens to pull out of Dutch coalition over further asylum policy compromises

PVV leader Geert Wilders said he will not support any further concessions when it comes to the Cabinet’s plan to approach asylum measures in the Netherlands. The issue could lead to the PVV dropping out of the four-party right-wing coalition with the VVD, NSC and BBB, the far-right leader said on Tuesday.

If parties are going to insist on compromises on asylum policy, “Then it will be over,” he said. In that case, new elections should be held, Wilders stated. It was just the latest in a series of moments of in-fighting that threatened to bring down the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Dick Schoof, which has only been in office since July 2.

Wilders said that his party has made many concessions in recent months, referring to the tax plan, the education budget and the state emergency law. But the PVV was elected to deliver strict policy on asylum matters, claimed Wilders. “And if, for whatever reason, we cannot deliver that, then we have to go back to the voters.”

Last week, after two weeks of negotiations, the coalition reached an agreement with opposition parties CDA, SGP, ChristenUnie and JA21 on reducing education spending cuts. This was necessary because the Cabinet does not have a majority in the Senate. Wilders leads his party in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, and he said he does not want to go down that path on asylum, he emphasized to reporters.

“Ultimately, there is a package of asylum measures. They will have to go through the Tweede Kamer. I will not budge on that. If that leads to fuss within, outside the coalition, I know what, then it is over. And I hope that does not happen,” Wilders said.

On Friday, the Cabinet will discuss two bills on immigration. These are the Asylum Emergency Measures Act and the Dual Status System Act. The PVV leader said that his warning is not specifically about these two proposals. “It is not a threat to leave the Cabinet now.”

But there are many more proposals in the area of asylum, he stated. “These proposals can also count on criticism from some, in addition to applause. What I am saying, what my message is, is that my patience is at an end. That I will no longer tolerate strong opposition, because then I will no longer feel like being in the Cabinet.”

Coalition partner NSC has been firmly at odds with the PVV on the measures to reduce the number of asylum seekers, which were over-estimated during the election campaign in November 2023. The NSC refused to join the coalition without a firm commitment to uphold the democratic rule of law in the Netherlands.

Let by Pieter Omtzigt, the NSC was deeply troubled by PVV Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber and Schoof himself, who intended to push through a declaration of a state of emergency regarding asylum. Despite lower asylum figures than projected, and a lower influx compared to recent years, the state of emergency would give the Cabinet unilateral power to make an end-run around Parliament to make urgent policy changes, potentially causing a Constitutional crisis.

Omtzigt said he only wanted to go along with that plan if there was “supporting motivation.” In the end, the tough stance was reigned in, also because the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, indicated that it also did not agree with the Cabinet’s plans.