Dutch government collapses after Geert Wilders’ far-right party quits

While the PVV members of the government are resigning, Schoof said that the remainder of the government — including himself — would stay on in a caretaker capacity until there’s a new administration.

Schoof called Wilders’ move “unnecessary and irresponsible.” But, he said, “if one party lacks the will to continue [to carry out the government program], you cannot move forward with each other.”

The outgoing Dutch government, a coalition between Wilders’ far-right PVV, the populist Farmer-Citizens Movement (BBB), the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) and the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), had scheduled crisis talks Tuesday morning to discuss Wilders’ demands for stricter asylum measures.

Wilders wanted his coalition partners to commit immediately to the PVV’s “ten-point plan” on asylum.

Both he and his coalition partners doubted there’d be an agreement at the meeting — and so it proved.

“The PVV promised voters the strictest asylum policy ever,” including a proposal to “close the borders to asylum-seekers,” Wilders told reporters Tuesday morning. When his coalition partners refused to sign up to the plans, “I had no choice but to say: We rescind support for this Cabinet,” he said.