The Hague (AFP) – Anti-Islam Geert Wilders and three other party leaders agreed on a coalition deal early Thursday that will push the Netherlands towards the hard right, concluding half a year of turbulent negotiations that still leave it unclear who will become president. Ministers.
The “Hope, Courage and Pride” agreement imposes strict measures on asylum seekers, abolishes refugee family reunification and seeks to reduce the number of international students studying in the country.
“Deport people who do not have a valid residence permit as much as possible, even by force,” the 26-page document states.
“We are writing history today,” Wilders declared, saying he had ensured that the other three coalition parties, including the party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, had accepted the essence of his programme.
“The sun will shine again in the Netherlands,” Wilders said. “It is the strongest asylum policy ever.”
with Far-right and populist parties They are now part of or leading six governments in the 27-nation European Union, and appear poised to make gains in the bloc’s June 6-9 elections. Wilders has been a political ally of far-right and populist leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and French opposition leader Marine Le Pen.
“My party will be in the center of power. It makes us very proud,” Wilders said.
However, he had to make personal concessions. Wilders has already reluctantly admitted that he will not succeed Rutte as head of the country. The parties have yet to agree on a prime minister, who is expected to be a technocrat from outside the party structures.
Speculation has centered around Labour’s Ronald Blasterk, who returned to the scene this year when he became the first “navigator” to hold talks with political leaders about potential coalitions.
The agreement stated that the next government will continue current plans to combat climate change, including continuing to pay for the climate change fund established last year. But the Citizen Farmer Movement is part of the coalition, and the agreement includes soothing language and concessions to farmers who have blocked off cities with tractors during disruptive protests.
Other points in the agreement include increasing social housing, toughening penalties for serious crimes and capping property taxes.
The group intends to continue supporting Ukraine and wants to enshrine in law the NATO standard of spending 2% of GDP on defense.
The EU headquarters may not welcome a clause in the coalition agreement stating that “the Netherlands is strongly critical of further EU enlargement,” at a time when many other member states want to add Ukraine and some other eastern countries. The European Union needs consensus among its existing countries before it can add more.
The parties will explain the program to parliament on Thursday, although a discussion on the agreement will not take place until next week.
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