Dutch edge towards govt without Wilders as PM

Four months after far-right leader Geert Wilders swept to a stunning election win, the Netherlands appears poised for a breakthrough in forming a government — without the firebrand at the helm. The anti-Islam, anti-immigration Wilders announced Wednesday he was dropping — for now — a bid to lead the European Union’s fifth economy due to a lack of broad support.

Kim Putters, the “informer” overseeing torturous coalition talks between four right-wing parties, sets out his recommendations in a hotly-awaited report later on Thursday. Party leaders have reportedly agreed to give up posts for themselves in favor of an “extra-parliamentary” cabinet made up of experts drawn from outside politics or loosely tied to parties.

Public broadcaster NOS said the normally dense coalition agreement would be shorter and less concrete — with the idea that parliament would have more say on individual policies. The last time the Netherlands had an “expert” government was in 1918 but the concept of a technocratic government is familiar to some other European countries, especially Italy.

Since the 1990s it has become common to call in unelected outsiders at times of crisis in Italian politics — notably in 2021 when European Central Bank Mario

Draghi became PM. It is not immediately clear how the system would work in the Netherlands, but Wilders is expected to take the lead in proposing a premier to replace current PM Mark Rutte.

The next step however is likely to be more talks between the four parties — Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV), farmers party BBB, centre-right Liberals VVD, and anti-corruption NSC. Negotiations between the four have been fractious throughout, with sniping on social media and major concerns over some of the PVV anti-Islam, anti-EU policy positions. Last month, NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt abruptly stormed out of the talks amid unbridgeable differences with Wilders, plunging the whole process into chaos.

But Putters appears to have smoothed ruffled feathers, gathering the four leaders at a country estate in the central Dutch countryside. Polls show that support for Wilders and his PVV party has only grown since his election win, when he clinched 37 seats out of 150 in the Dutch parliament.

Some surveys have him gaining as many as 50 seats if an election was held again, giving him an even more powerful position. “Do not forget: I will become prime minister of the Netherlands one day. With the support of even more Dutch,” Wilders posted on X, formerly Twitter. “If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Because the voices of millions of Dutch will be heard!”

The far-right is increasingly performing well in elections in Europe but has struggled to translate votes into power as other parties refuse to work with them. In Portugal’s elections this weekend for example, anti-immigration party Chega was the big winner, soaring to 48 seats from just 12 in last elections in 2022. — AFP