Relief that Wilders won't be Prime Minister, State Sec. says in asylum debate

Outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) called it an “excellent choice” that the negotiators for the new Cabinet have decided that it will not be a Wilders I Cabinet. He said this in a debate with the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, about the asylum policy. He also said he would not be the Minister for Migration in a PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB Cabinet.

The leaders of the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB have agreed to be parliamentarians and not sit in a Cabinet of these four parties. That became clear during the final report of former negotiations leader Kim Putters on March 13.

PVV leader Geert Wilders initially responded fairly mildly to the fact that he would not be Prime Minister if the four parties managed to form a Cabinet together. The national interests come before his own, he said on social media. A day later, he called it constitutionally wrong and undemocratic that he would not be Prime Minister. Recently, he repeatedly said he was terribly disappointed and found it unfair.

Wilders responded angrily to Van der Burg’s statements on X, calling him a “scary little man.” According to the PVV leader, it is “time for him to move on quickly.” Van der Burg is a member of the VVD, with which the PVV is negotiating a new Cabinet.

Asylum debate

The Tweede Kamer is dissatisfied with a bill to extend the legal period within which the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) must decide on an asylum application. The reasons for this dissatisfaction differ, but the Kamer agrees that Van der Burg’s proposal is not the solution for the painfully slow asylum process. It is not yet clear whether the bill will have the support of a parliamentary majority.

PVV, VVD, NSC, and SGP mainly insisted that the influx of asylum seekers must be reduced. They might support Van der Burg’s proposal if it is tightened up on several points. GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, and SP won’t support the bill.

PVV, VVD, and SGP, among others, think that the bill does not go far enough. These factions want to scrap the penalties the IND must pay to asylum seekers if their asylum procedure takes longer than the legal period. The VVD and SGP also want to deal harshly with asylum seekers who miss an appointment with the IND, maybe by stopping their asylum application.

GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, and SP don’t want to keep these vulnerable people in uncertainty any longer. If the bill comes into effect, the IND will have 21 months to decide on an asylum application. That was recently already extended to 15 months.

Van der Burgh acknowledged that “we need to get things in order on other points, such as restricting the influx of asylum seekers. But even if the parties in the formation talks reach an agreement on asylum policy, it will take years before the IND can clear its backlog, he immediately added.

The BBB was not present at the debate. Spokesperson Mona Keijzer attended the information meetings on Wednesday afternoon. When asked, she told the ANP that her party has not yet determined a position on the bill.