Latest news with #Wilders'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany urges Dutch to crack down on citizens' border checks
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's interior minister and the head of its federal police union on Tuesday criticised unofficial border checks by citizens in the Netherlands, saying they expected decisive action from the Dutch authorities to stamp out such practices. A group of citizens carried out their own checks near the northern Dutch town of Ter Apel on Saturday evening, stopping vehicles to look for asylum seekers, local broadcaster RTV Noord reported on Sunday. The news comes a few days after Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders toppled the ruling coalition in a dispute over migration policy. While Wilders' party only shared power in the government, his anti-immigration views have shaped Dutch policy for decades. The Netherlands has some of the European Union's toughest policies on asylum and immigration. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday there was no legal basis for the citizens' action. "I believe we will indeed take another look at this if this phenomenon continues ... I also assume that the authorities will end such measures," Dobrindt, who introduced stricter border controls and immediate rejections for asylum seekers last month, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The head of Germany's Federal Police Union, Andreas Rosskopf, said the Dutch authorities' reaction had been "a bit too little", and urged greater efforts to avoid escalation. "It must be clear that citizens without legal authority have no right to intervene, to monitor, and ultimately to carry out the tasks of the security authorities, the police authorities," Rosskopf told journalists. Dutch broadcaster RTL reported that police found no criminal offence when they arrived at the scene. Caretaker Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said citizens' frustration was understandable but that they must not take the law into their own hands. "Let the police and military police do their job," he said on social media platform X on Sunday. Dutch immigration has slowed significantly from a peak in 2022. The Netherlands received almost two first-time asylum applications per 1,000 inhabitants in 2024, slightly below the EU average, according to Eurostat data.
The Advertiser
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Dutch snap election set for October 29: minister
The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies
West Australian
06-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Dutch snap election set for October 29: minister
The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies
Perth Now
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Dutch snap election set for October 29: minister
The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the coalition government this week. "We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025," Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X. "In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly," added the minister. Less than a year in office, Prime Minister Dick Schoof's government fell apart when Wilders demanded that coalition partners sign a 10-point anti-migration plan or risk the cabinet's end. The proposal included sealing the borders with military patrols and rejecting all asylum-seekers at entry points. The four-party coalition, formed more than six months after the November 2023 election, brought together Wilders' PVV party alongside other centre-right parties under the leadership of Schoof, a former intelligence chief. Recent polls show support for Wilders' PVV has declined, although it remains the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. Schoof will continue to lead a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed following the October vote. Agencies
RTÉ News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Dutch government collapses after far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
The Dutch government collapsed today, most likely ushering in a snap election, after anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition, accusing other parties of failing to back his tougher immigration policies. But Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent, accused the political maverick of irresponsibility, and the other coalition parties denied failing to support Mr Wilders, saying they had been awaiting proposals from his PVV party's own migration minister. PVV ministers will quit the cabinet, leaving the others to continue as a caretaker administration until an election unlikely to be held before October. Frustration with migration and the high cost of living is boosting the far right and widening divisions in Europe, just as it needs unity to deal effectively with a hostile Russia and an unpredictable and combative US president in the form of Donald Trump. "I have told party leaders repeatedly in recent days that the collapse of the cabinet would be unnecessary and irresponsible," Mr Schoof said after an emergency cabinet meeting triggered by Mr Wilders' decision. "We are facing major challenges both nationally and internationally that require decisiveness from us," he added, before handing his resignation to King Willem-Alexander. The prospect of a new election is likely to delay a decision on boosting defence spending and means the Netherlands will have only a caretaker government when it hosts a summit of the transatlantic NATO alliance this month. Election may be months away Mr Wilders said he had no option but to quit the coalition. "I proposed a plan to close the borders for asylum seekers, to send them away, to shut asylum shelters. I demanded coalition partners sign up to that, which they didn't. That left me no choice but to withdraw my support for this government," he told reporters. "I signed up for the strictest asylum policies, not for the demise of the Netherlands." He said he would lead the PVV into a new election and hoped to be the next prime minister. An election is now likely at the end of October or in November, said political scientist Joep van Lit at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Even then, the fractured political landscape means formation of a new government may take months. It remains to be seen whether right-wing voters will see the turn of events as Mr Wilders' failure to turn his proposals into reality, or rather decide that he needs a bigger mandate to get his way, Mr van Lit said. Simon Otjes, assistant professor in Dutch politics at Leiden University, said the PVV must have calculated that the next election would be seen as a referendum on immigration policy, "because they know they would win that". Amsterdam resident Michelle ten Berge hoped that "with the new election we will choose ... a government that's more moderate". But florist Ron van den Hoogenband, in The Hague, said he expected Mr Wilders to emerge the winner and take control of parliament "so he can do like Trump is doing and other European countries where the extreme right is taking over". Immigration a divisive issue Mr Wilders won the last election in November 2023 with an unexpectedly high 23% of the vote. Opinion polls put his party at around 20% now, roughly on a par with the Labour/Green combination that is currently the second-largest grouping in parliament. Mr Wilders had last week demanded immediate support for a 10-point plan that included closing the borders to asylum seekers, sending back refugees from Syria and shutting down asylum shelters. He also proposed expelling migrants convicted of serious crimes and boosting border controls. Migration has been a divisive issue in Dutch politics for years. The previous government, led by current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, also collapsed after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration. Mr Wilders, a provocative politician who was convicted of discrimination against Moroccans in 2016, was not part of the latest government himself. He only managed to strike a coalition deal with three other conservative parties last year after agreeing not to become prime minister.
