Failing to find support to form government, extremist Wilders abandons attempt to become prime minister of the Netherlands

2024-03-14 18:25:23Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Failing to find support to form government, extremist Wilders abandons attempt
Geert Wilders

Dutch populist anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders has abandoned his bid to become prime minister despite his party's landslide victory in the 2023 elections.

"I can only become prime minister if all the parties in the coalition support him. This was not the case. The love for my country and the voters is greater and more important than my position," Wilders said in X.

His Freedom Party won the most votes last year, but needed the support of other parties to form a coalition. It was claimed that the leaders of all four parties involved in the coalition negotiations will remain in parliament. This would create the possibility of a kind of technical cabinet made up of experts.

Wilders will not lead the government, but he and his Freedom Party will remain the driving force behind the next administration.

"Remember: I will still be prime minister of the Netherlands. With the support of even more Dutch people. If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. Because the voice of millions of Dutch people will be heard!", said Wilders.

Wilders on February 14 stated that he was willing to consider all options to form a government instead of calling new elections. The refusal of some members of the coalition parties to accept some of Wilders' most extreme promises had already forced him to drop unconstitutional measures, including bans on mosques, the Koran, the hijab and a referendum on leaving the EU.

The Freedom Party's victory last year not only shook Dutch politics but had ramifications across Europe as the Netherlands is one of the founding members of what is now the European Union.


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