PVV leader Wilders says Dutch PM Schoof “is absolutely not in charge”

Prime Minister Dick Schoof "is absolutely not in charge," asserted PVV leader Geert Wilders on X on Saturday. He was contradicting Schoof's own previous statement about his Cabinet, formed from a coalition of the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB political parties.

Since Schoof took office as a nonpartisan prime minister of a Cabinet aiming to operate more independently from the four-party coalition, there has been uncertainty about his position. In political theory, the prime minister is essentially the chair of the Council of Ministers, but over the past few decades, the role has grown increasingly powerful.

Previous prime ministers have relied on their own parties for support. These parties are typically the largest in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament.

"As prime minister, you're in charge," Schoof said in a Saturday interview with AD regarding speculation that Wilders is the one really calling the shots behind the scenes. "Well, you are the boss... you are the prime minister. So you determine what the Cabinet does, and no one else."

Wilders disputed this, pointing out that the Tweede Kamer is constitutionally "in charge." The PVV leader coveted the role of prime minister, but was forced to abandon the idea when other party leaders balked at the idea of joining a coalition with Wilders as political leader.

Instead, all four party leaders agreed to take a seat in the Tweede Kamer when they formed a coalition. It is from there that Wilders is believed to be directing his party members and ministers, despite insistence from the NSC that the Cabinet be more independent from the Tweede Kamer.