Dutch Election Winner Geert Wilders Reaches Agreement on Forming Government
Geert Wilders, the election winner, has reached an agreement this month on forming the government with three other conservative parties, after ruling himself out of the top job.
Dick Schoof Proposed as Prime Minister
Former Dutch intelligence chief and political outsider Dick Schoof said on Tuesday he will uphold the rule of law and govern for all after being proposed as prime minister of the incoming right-wing cabinet.
He said he had been asked by the four parties that will form the new government to lead it – not only by Geert Wilders’ nationalist PVV, the clear winner of the November 22 election.
“I am not affiliated to any party, I am not standing here in the name of the PVV… I want to be the prime minister of all the Dutch,” Schoof, who has had no previous experience in parliament or in government, told reporters.
Schoof’s Background and Plans
Schoof, 67, is currently the senior official at the Dutch ministry of justice, after having led the intelligence agency AIVD and anti-terrorism agency NCTV for years. He was the head of the Dutch immigration service in the early 2000s.
“I guess it will be a surprise for a lot of people that I’m standing here… It’s actually also a surprise for me,” he told reporters.
In its governing plan published on May 16, the coalition said it would aim for the “strictest-ever asylum regime” with stronger border controls and harsher rules for asylum seekers, setting up a potential clash with the EU before even taking office.
Schoof will head a cabinet that the four parties have said would have looser ties to parliament. It could take weeks to put together, with the parties all negotiating over the portfolios and responsibilities.
Challenges and Expectations
That government will, however, have to stick to the agreement reached by the four parties, which is aiming to secure exceptions on EU asylum and environmental rules.
“I think that, in all my positions, the common thread has always been the functioning of democratic rule of law and that will help me in my function as prime minister,” Schoof said, adding that outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte is for him “a form of inspiration in the way he handles things”.
Far-right leader Wilders last week said he expected the new government to be operational by June-end.
Besides his experience at the intelligence and anti-terrorism services, Schoof has also worked on reforming the police force. Having worked mostly on domestic policies, Schoof, a divorced father of two, does not have a high international profile.
