Geert Wilders says he is there for ‘everyone’
amid uncertainty over Dutch government formation – Europe live
Far-right leader says his Party for Freedom is
‘broad’ people’s party as he tries to form coalition
08.58 CET
Wilders
argues he is there for 'everyone' amid uncertainty over government formation
Geert
Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most
seats in last week’s election, is upping efforts to portray himself as an
acceptable possible prime minister.
The Party
for Freedom is a “broad” people’s party, he wrote on social media this morning.
“2.4
million people voted for us. High and low educated, native and immigrant,
employed, retired, young and old. From the city, the countryside,” he wrote,
adding: “The PVV is there for everyone”.
But despite
his strong election performance, Wilders’ views remain controversial – and it
is unclear if the PVV can reach agreements with other parties to form a
coalition.
Updated at 09.17 CET
10m ago
09.45 CET
Senay
Boztas
The
far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders admitted on Monday that he was not off
to a “dream start” in his attempts to form a government, after the man he
appointed to oversee coalition talks quit over fraud allegations before getting
started in the role.
As leader
of the biggest party, and as is customary in Dutch politics, Wilders had last
week engaged the PVV senator Gom van Strien to act as his choice of “scout” – a
person tasked with shuttling between party leaders to clinch a deal.
However,
allegations emerged in the NRC Handelsblad newspaper over the weekend that Van
Strien was one of several people accused by Utrecht Holdings of “irregular”
handling of commercial spin-offs from Utrecht University and University Medical
Center Utrecht. While Van Strien has rejected any questions over his integrity
and denied any allegation of fraud, he withdrew from the political process on
Monday morning.
Dutch
coalition processes typically take months and it is not unusual for them to be
interrupted by party politics. Wilders has said he will look for a new scout
“with more distance from politics” to attend the first meetings, which will be
with him, the GreenLeft/Labour leader, Frans Timmermans, the VVD leader, Dilan
Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, and the head of the liberal democratic D66, Rob Jetten.
Although a
prospective government could be made from the PVV, the rightwing VVD (current
prime minister Mark Rutte’s party), the New Social Contract party led by Pieter
Omtzigt, and the Dutch Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB), led by Caroline van der
Plas, only the BBB has given a strong nod.
Having
previously excluded Wilders, Omtzigt has said the result must be respected and
his party would “take responsibility”. Yeşilgöz-Zegerius has already told media
that she would not serve in a government under Wilders but would be willing to
work in a confidence and supply arrangement.
Read the
full story here.
Updated at
09.48 CET
1h ago
08.58 CET
Wilders
argues he is there for 'everyone' amid uncertainty over government formation
Geert
Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most
seats in last week’s election, is upping efforts to portray himself as an
acceptable possible prime minister.
The Party
for Freedom is a “broad” people’s party, he wrote on social media this morning.
“2.4
million people voted for us. High and low educated, native and immigrant,
employed, retired, young and old. From the city, the countryside,” he wrote,
adding: “The PVV is there for everyone”.
But despite
his strong election performance, Wilders’ views remain controversial – and it
is unclear if the PVV can reach agreements with other parties to form a
coalition.
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