Dutch politician Geert Wilders said Wednesday that he is unlikely to become prime minister of the yet-to-be formed new Dutch government even though his far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) has won the elections.
“I can only become Prime Minister if all parties in the coalition support it,” Wilders said on social media platform X. “That was not the case. I would like to have a right-wing cabinet, with less asylum seekers and less immigration.”
The PVV won the general elections in the Netherlands on Nov. 22, 2023, by a landslide, and negotiations on a center-right-wing majority government started afterwards, involving the center-right party New Social Contract (NSC), the rightist People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the farmers movement BoerBurgerBeweging.
Normally, the largest party in the Dutch elections delivers the prime minister in a majority government. This time it’s different, because both NSC and VVD have expressed serious reservations about joining a majority government with the PVV.
In mid-February, former politician Kim Putters was appointed as explorer in the second round of the negotiations between the four parties. He was tasked with investigating the most viable form of government.
Putters is expected to present his final report of the second round of the negotiations on Thursday. ■
