In the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander swore in a new government on Tuesday, marking the first change of prime minister in 14 years, more than seven months after an election that handed a majority to a far-right, anti-Islam party.
Dick Schoof, a former head of the Dutch intelligence and counterterrorism service, signed a formal decree at Huis ten Bosch Palace, saying he “declares and undertakes” to fulfill his duties as the country’s prime minister. The 67-year-old Schoof was formally sworn in along with 15 other ministers who make up the country’s right-wing coalition.
Dutch government appoints former intelligence chief as new prime minister
The party of anti-immigration firebrand Geert Wilders won the most seats in last year’s election but took 223 days to form a government.
The new coalition government quickly came under fire from opposition groups and party members alike for its signature anti-immigration policies. Protesters gathered outside the palace where Tuesday’s ceremony took place, with one woman holding a sign asking: “Are we democratically abandoning democracy?”
The four parties in the coalition government are Wilders’ Party for Freedom, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the populist Farmers and Citizens Movement and the centre-right New Social Contract party.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander meets with Prime Minister-designate Dick Schoof (right), Monday, July 1, 2024, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Pool Photo by Patrick van Katwijk/via Associated Press)
The formal agreement to create the new coalition, titled “Hope, Courage and Pride,” aims to introduce tougher measures against asylum seekers, end refugee family reunification and reduce the number of international students studying in the country.
Opposition from other coalition partners prevented the controversial Wilders from assuming the prime ministerial position. During months of negotiations, he backed down on some of his most extreme views, including withdrawing proposals banning mosques, Islamic schools and the Quran.
For the first time since World War II, the Netherlands is led by a prime minister who is not affiliated to a political party. Prior to taking over as head of the Dutch intelligence agency, Mr Shoaf served as head of counter-terrorism operations and as director of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
Other government ministers were sworn in on Tuesday in order of seniority from their respective ministries. Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma was sworn in in Frisian, the country’s second official language after Dutch.
November’s general election is widely seen as a victory for the far right, but political youth wing are already pushing back against the ambitions of the new government. Ahead of the inauguration, the youth organisations of six parties, including two coalition partners, called for an easing of the asylum scheme.
“The influx has to be limited, but it’s very important that we receive people here fairly and with dignity,” Eva Brandeman, president of the New Social Contract youth wing, told Dutch national broadcaster NOS.
Her colleagues in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party, which was ousted last summer over concerns over refugee family reunification numbers, said the problem stems from the administration, not immigration.
“If we don’t solve it, the problem will only get bigger,” Mauk Bresser, chairman of the People’s Freedom Democratic Party’s youth wing, told The Associated Press.
While Bresser believes the number of refugees coming to the Netherlands should be reduced, his organisation says those already here should have their applications processed in a timely manner and be given the chance to integrate.
The new deal, which would cut the country’s education budget by about 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion), has sparked backlash from universities. “Students will no longer get the education they deserve,” Nivja de Jongh, a linguistics professor at Leiden University and part of a group of academics who have spoken at lunchtime about the importance of research and opposed the proposed cuts, told The Associated Press.
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The new government will spend this summer solidifying the coalition agreement into a governing plan.
The Netherlands is not alone in the rise of far-right anti-immigrant ideology, which was also seen in last month’s European Parliament elections. French voters face a crucial choice on July 7 in a runoff election in early parliamentary elections that could see the country elect a far-right government for the first time since the Nazi occupation of World War Two.
