Dutch Government Collapses After Popular Right-Wing Party Protests Immigration Policy

ByTim Pearce

“We had no choice. I promised the voters the strictest asylum policy ever, but that was not granted to you.”

The Dutch government collapsed on Tuesday after the Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders pulled out of the coalition over the government’s asylum policy.

Wilders had been adamant leading up to the collapse that without strict restrictions on immigration, his party would leave the coalition government. Wilders made good on those threats Tuesday.

“We had no choice. I promised the voters the strictest asylum policy ever, but that was not granted to you,” said Wilders, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Netherlands’ prime minister, Dick Schoof, said Tuesday following the Party for Freedom’s exit that he would hand his resignation to the king. Schoof’s government toppled less than a year after taking office.

The prime minister said that he and the other ministers, minus those with the Party for Freedom, would stay on as a caretaker government until new elections can be held, according to Politico.

The Party for Freedom is the largest party currently in the Dutch parliament and is the most popular party overall, though its lead in popularity is slim. Public support for Wilders’ party sits at 20%, down from a high of 33% last year. The Labour-Green Left party is close behind with 19% support. The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy follows in third with 18%.