NEW DUTCH PM VOWS TO CARRY OUT ‘STRICTEST-EVER’ IMMIGRATION POLICY
The Dutch king has sworn in former spy chief Dick Schoof as prime minister of a government promising to deliver the Netherlands’ “strictest-ever” immigration policy.
Mr Schoof takes over from Mark Rutte, the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history, 223 days after Geert Wilders won a shock victory in an election that stunned Europe.
He presented his ministers in the Right-wing coalition to Willem-Alexander in the ornate “Oranjezaal” in the royal palace, with them each stepping forward to swear allegiance to the king and the constitution.
Mr Wilders, the populist firebrand leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), was forced to shelve his ambitions to become prime minister to keep coalition talks on track.
There were fears his campaign promises to ban the Koran and hold a Nexit referendum on Dutch EU membership were too extreme.
Instead, the four coalition partners agreed their leaders would not be in government before compromising on Mr Schoof, 67, who previously ran the Dutch secret service.
Mr Wilders, who campaigned for “zero asylum seekers”, secured backing for a crackdown on asylum and migration from the pro-business VVD party, radical centrist NSC and farmers’ party the BBB.
The coalition has pledged a two-year asylum crisis act to drive down numbers arriving in the Netherlands and to demand an opt-out from EU asylum rules, which will put the new government on a collision course with Brussels.
It plans a maximum reduction in migrant numbers without giving a hard figure. The agreement includes austere reception centres, a hold on processing asylum applications and only temporary asylum being granted.
The 26-page coalition agreement, titled Hope, courage and pride, also calls for considering the idea of moving the Dutch embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Seven youth branches of Dutch political parties, including the VVD and NSC, called on the new government to reconsider the asylum plans on Tuesday.
They said that the asylum crisis was actually a reception crisis caused by a staffing and housing shortage that left asylum centres overcrowded.
Amnesty International held a protest outside the royal palace as the ministers were sworn in.
‘Strictest-ever admission policy for asylum’
Mr Schoof, a keen marathon runner, has vowed to implement “decisively” the “strictest-ever admission policy for asylum”.
The former Labour Party member has also said: “I am without a party. I don’t see myself kowtowing to Mr Wilders.”
Mr Schoof has played a key role in crisis situations, leading the Dutch probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014 over war-torn Ukraine.
Sarah de Lange, professor of political pluralism at the University of Amsterdam, said he “will have a lot of work keeping ideological and personal conflicts under control” in the four-party coalition.
Mr Wilders is an enthusiastic and provocative user of social media.
Ms de Lange said. “It is still an open question though, how he will respond if Wilders tries to put him under pressure by voicing public criticism of his functioning on X.”
A new Ipsos I&O poll published on Tuesday showed confidence in the government had increased to 42 per cent from a low of 29 per cent in September 2022.
Mr Rutte, known for riding his bike to work, will be the next secretary general of Nato after a 14-year stint in power that earned him the nickname “Teflon Mark”.
He handed over the key to the “little tower” prime ministerial office to Mr Schoof, telling him to “hold it tight” and wishing him “much success”.
2024-07-02T14:55:23Z dg43tfdfdgfd