Cabinet Members "disappointed" and "embarrassed" by Wilders and PVV's departure
The non-PVV Cabinet members all responded with disappointment and anger to Geert Wilders’ decision to pull the PVV out of the coalition and recall his Ministers from the Schoof I Cabinet. They described it as “embarrassing,” “sad,” and “unnecessary,” speaking to the media on their way into the Prime Minister’s office to discuss how to proceed. Housing Minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) went so far as to call Wilders a traitor.
“I think Geert Wilders is betraying the Netherlands,” Keijzer said, according to NOS. “He ultimately put himself first, instead of the Netherlands.”
Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security (VVD) said he was “angry, disappointed, and sad” about Wilders’ move. “It is completely unnecessary. This seems like a set-up, as if he no longer wanted to bear the responsibility.”
Van Weel also called Wilders’ timing “less than ideal” with the NATO summit coming up in The Hague later this month. “It affects how we are looked at.”
“I find it embarrassing how this is going,” said Minister Judith Uitermark of Home Affairs (NSC). She accused Wilders of creating chaos and putting his own image ahead of the Netherlands. “If we had expected this, we would not have joined this Cabinet.”
“I am very disappointed,” said Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs (NSC). “This is a political dive by Geert Wilders.”
Minister Sophie Hermans of Climate and Green Growth (VVD) said she was feeling a lot of things. “Angry, pissed off, disappointed. And a feeling: how can you do this at such a time, when you look at what is going on in the world and our country?”
The PVV Ministers were much more understanding. “Too little is happening and it is going too slowly, so I understand very well that it’s over for Geert Wilders now,” said Reinette Klever for Foreign Trade.
“I naturally think it’s a shame that this right-wing Cabinet is ending this way, but I do understand it,” said Barry Madlener of Infrastructure. “If the ten points are not embraced, there’s no point in continuing to govern.”
Madlener referred to Wilders’ 10-point plan for a stricter asylum policy, which he presented last week without consulting with the other coalition parties, and used as the reason to pull out of the coalition. The plan contained several measures that experts consider legally unfeasible, like a complete asylum stop, closing shelters, halting family reunification, and deporting Syrian asylum seekers.
Like Wilders, the PVV Ministers didn’t mention that it was their PVV colleague, Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration, who was responsible for implementing the “strictest asylum policy yet.”
Health Minister Fleur Agema (PVV) did not talk to the press, but did pause to take a photo of the waiting journalists and post it on X.
So far, Prime Minister Dick Schoof has not responded to the PVV’s departure.
