A surprising victory in the November 2023 Dutch general elections brought far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders and his party, the Freedom Party (PVV), from decades of parliamentary opposition into government. His party obtained 37 of 150 seats in the Dutch House of Representatives, a 12-seat lead over second place, a center-left coalition (GL/PvdA). Wilders’ subsequent coalition would eventually comprise the leading PVV, the liberal-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the center-right New Social Contract (NSC), and the far-right Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB). His victory marked the most right-wing Dutch government since World War II as he proclaimed “we will govern.”
Yet, over one year later, the coalition has endured partisan squabbles, policy deadlocks, and political crises. Why does governance remain so difficult for the coalition? While coalitions in multiparty systems frequently require compromise and disagreement, the Netherlands’ governing coalition is plagued by an unclear vision and coalition tensions between Wilders and other government partners.
Wilders’ Leverage
Wilders’ electoral victory did not secure him the premiership. In the months following the election, he was unable to form a coalition with himself at the helm due to his decades of firebrand rhetoric. Without political support, Wilders ultimately ceded the premiership to a coalition-approved compromise candidate, Dick Schoof, after months of political gridlock. Schoof, the former head of Dutch intelligence, has never held a political post and was seen as an apolitical alternative to the partisan Wilders. Though not Prime Minister, Wilders remains highly influential due to his leadership of the largest coalition party and his alignment with Europe’s far-right political network.
As leader of the PVV, Wilders often employs brinkmanship to extract concessions from his coalition partners. On February 11th, he threatened to quit the coalition government if a new, strict asylum law was not adopted. The draft law faced criticism from a legislative advisory body, the Council of State, which recommended against its passage as it criticized the law’s legality and quality. The PVV’s withdrawal could collapse the government, potentially triggering new elections if no alternative coalition is formed. The asylum law debate remains unresolved.
As the preeminent far-right politician in the Netherlands, Wilders is well-connected with other far-right figures. In June 2024, in Brussels, Wilders joined France’s Marine Le Pen, Portugal’s André Ventura, and Belgium’s Tom Van Grieken, among others, to discuss uniting the bloc’s divided right wing. Wilders also joined the Patriots for Europe political alliance in the European Parliament alongside Andrej Babiš’s ANO party from Czechia, Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party from Hungary, and the Freedom Party of Austria. Within the European Union, this network has major benefits in bloc-wide elections and expands national shifts to the international sphere.
NSC Disagreements as Counter-Leverage
While Wilders leads the largest parliamentary party, coalition dynamics have limited his dominance. No other party has wielded threats as aggressively as Wilders, but numerous crises posed risks to the stability of the coalition. For example, the NSC party, a reluctant, newly-formed coalition member led by the anti-institutionalist Pieter Omtzigt, has used countering strategies including roadblocking and fears of coalition dissolution.
The coalition’s inherent weakness—persistent deadlock— has served as a counterbalance to Wilders’ dominance. In October 2024, PVV Minister Marjolein Faber of Migration and Asylum recommended the passage of an “emergency law,” predicated on the far-right framing of an immigration crisis, to stem asylum entries into the Netherlands. However, acting leader of the NSC Nicolien van Vroonhoven stated she would not support tougher immigration measures without the approval of the Council of State advisory body, which had recommended against the law due to its questionable legality and poor quality. Wilders demanded that the NSC join its coalition partners in approving the measure and, in December 2024, threatened to leave the government. The resulting stand-off created significant political tension. Ultimately, the proposed emergency law lacked the legal foundation necessary for passage, and instead an ‘urgent law’ was introduced, which is now passing through committees. Though temporary, this resistance successfully curbed far-right ambitions.
The government’s far-right rhetoric has also precipitated crises. On November 7, 2024, in Amsterdam, rioters assaulted fans of the Israeli Maccabi Tel-Aviv football team following the football match between their team and the Dutch club team Ajax. Following this incident, Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar, a Moroccan-born jurist and member of the center-right New Social Contract (NSC) party, resigned after racist remarks by other cabinet members. Her resignation precipitated fears of further NSC resignations, thus breaking the coalition. Following intense party dialogue, the coalition survived. This resignation highlights how a single defection can destabilize the coalition.
Despite these challenges, the system favors Wilders. The VVD and BBB’s willingness to follow the PVV’s lead limits resistance. The government is also facing increasingly low approval ratings, especially regarding the NSC and BBB, while the PVV and Wilders himself continue to receive strong ratings.
Schoof and Optics
Another check, particularly at the rhetorical level, is Prime Minister Schoof. In sharp contrast to Wilders, Schoof has a calm, polite demeanor in line with traditional European politics and engages in broad dialogues, while Wilders is confined to the right. While Schoof is willing to implement PVV-adjacent policies, his diplomatic approach contrasts with Wilders’ confrontational style. Intentionally, this behavioral contradiction complicates Dutch government optics, thereby challenging the effectiveness of government policy and negotiations within the EU: foreign leaders have struggled to navigate the contrast between Schoof’s diplomatic leadership and Wilders’ behind-the-scenes dominance.
Conclusion
The PVV’s 2023 victory marked a populist shift in Dutch politics, challenging the traditional establishment. This rightward shift resonates with a broader trend in European politics, with mutually reaffirming consequences for national and international right-wing leaders. If even the famously tolerant Netherlands sees fit electing the far-right to resolve its concerns, the left has seemingly lost its governing allure amongst broad swaths of Europe. However, the Dutch far right, wholly new to a governing position, currently lacks the ability to govern effectively due to the quirks of the coalition system and differences between partners. Despite his populist appeal, Wilders has struggled to unify parliamentary forces behind him. While he remains powerful in the Netherlands and across Europe, he faces contradictions in the new party system he helped build.
Edited By: Alice Weldon