Geert Wilders will not become the next prime minister of the Netherlands, despite his party winning the largest share of votes in last year’s elections.
The right-wing populist Freedom Party leader said that in the fractured Dutch political system, “I can only become prime minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case.”
The centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party blocked Wilders’ chances of becoming PM. NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt last month attacked Wilders’ spending proposals as unaffordable and described his views on Islam as “unconstitutional,” despite the Freedom Party figure having dropped his calls for a ban on mosques and the Quran.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that the other parties in the four-way coalition—outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right People’s Party of Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the agrarian populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB)—were happy for Wilders to take the reins.
Despite failing to become PM, Wilders said he will remain in the coalition because “I would like a right-wing cabinet. Less asylum and immigration. Dutch number one. The love for my country and voter is great and more important than my own position.”
He has, however, made it clear that he is “angry” with the “unfair” outcome of the coalition talks.
Now, however, talk has turned to who will become prime minister instead. Dutch writer Eva Vlaardingerbroek said that her “best bet” is that it will be Mona Keijzer of BBB. Vlaardingerbroek pointed to her record of opposing the introduction of digital COVID passes, for which she was sacked, and to her experience both in the political and legal fields, adding:
[Keijzer is] seen as a somebody with common sense and [as] more rightwing leaning than most former Christian Democrats. She has an impressive resume, is a Catholic woman with five children and would become the first female PM of the Netherlands if the other parties approve.
Reports suggest that talks to finalise the makeup of the coalition cabinet could now drag on for months.
