Dutch government falls over immigration policy

What happened

The Dutch coalition government collapsed Tuesday after far-fight leader Geert Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom's ministers from Prime Minister Dick Schoof's Cabinet. Wilders claimed that the coalition's other three parties were stymieing his hardline anti-immigration measures.

Who said what

Wilders' departure ended the "rocky 11-month rule by the country's first far-right government" and highlights how immigration "continues to roil European politics," said The New York Times. Schoof, a career civil servant tapped by Wilders to be prime minister, called the decision to sink the government "unnecessary and irresponsible."

The coalition always "seemed a marriage of convenience," complete with "infighting," and an "emboldened" Wilders said Tuesday he intends to become prime minister, the BBC said. The "far right and Green-left parties are neck-and-neck" in polls, but Wilders' decision to "collapse the government is being seen as reckless" and may scare away future coalition partners.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

What next?

The Schoof administration will go "down in history as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history," The Associated Press said. The remaining ministers "will run a caretaker administration until new elections can be organized," probably in the fall.